Remember last month when I was working on this massive sales report? Scrolled right to check some figures and completely lost track of which product those numbers belonged to. Total nightmare. That's when locking columns became my Excel salvation. Let's break down exactly how do you lock a column in Excel without tearing your hair out.

First things first - there are actually two completely different techniques people mean when they ask about locking columns. This trips up so many users:

I'll show you both approaches because honestly, most tutorials only cover one or the other. Let's start with the scrolling solution since that's what most folks need immediately.

Keeping Columns Visible While Scrolling (Freeze Panes)

This is the "quick fix" for when you're analyzing wide spreadsheets. Why does Excel hide your important columns when you scroll? Drives me nuts too. Here's how to pin them in place:

Freezing the First Column

Dead simple if you just need column A locked:

1. Open your worksheet
2. Navigate to the View tab
3. Click Freeze Panes
4. Select Freeze First Column

That gray vertical line? That's your confirmation it worked. Now scroll right and watch column A stay put. Magic.

Freezing Multiple Columns

This is where people get stuck. Want to lock columns A through C? Here's the trick:

1. Select cell D1 (the column immediately AFTER your last column to freeze)
2. Go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes

Why does this confuse people? Because you're not actually selecting what to freeze - you're selecting where the freeze should start.

Fun story: I once taught this to my colleague who kept freezing the wrong columns. Turns out he was highlighting the columns he wanted frozen rather than selecting the next cell. Small detail, huge difference.

Locking Columns from Editing (The REAL Column Locking)

Now this is what most people actually mean by "how do you lock a column in Excel" - preventing accidental changes. Especially crucial when you've got formulas you don't want destroyed. Here's the reality:

Locking cells does NOTHING until you protect the worksheet. That's why people think they've locked columns but they can still edit them. Infuriating, right?

Step-by-Step Protection

1. Select your columns: Click the column letter(s) at the top
2. Open Format Cells: Right-click > Format Cells or Ctrl+1
3. Lock checkbox: Go to Protection tab > Check "Locked" (checked by default for all cells)
4. Unlock other cells first: Want only specific columns locked? Select ALL cells (Ctrl+A), unlock them, THEN lock only your target columns
5. Protect the sheet: Review tab > Protect Sheet > Set password (optional but recommended)

Password Considerations

To password or not to password? My take:

• Use passwords when sharing externally
• Skip passwords for personal use (avoids lockout headaches)
• Password manager essential if using protection - Excel has NO password recovery

Honestly, I avoid passwords for internal files because our IT department gets at least three "locked out of Excel" tickets weekly. Not worth the hassle unless absolutely necessary.

When Locking Columns Goes Wrong (And How to Fix It)

We've all been there. Tried locking columns and either nothing happened or everything broke. Common disasters:

Advanced Locking Scenarios

Real-world data rarely plays nice. Here's how I handle complex situations:

Locking Columns but Allowing Sorting

By default, protecting sheets disables sorting. To fix:

1. Protect sheet normally
2. In protect sheet dialog, CHECK "Sort" under "Allow all users of this worksheet to"

Locking Formulas Only

My most requested tutorial. Clever approach:

1. Press F5 > Special > Formulas (selects all formula cells)
2. Lock these cells (Format Cells > Protection)
3. Select all other cells > Unlock them
4. Protect sheet

Partial Column Locking

Need to lock only rows 1-10 in Column A? Possible but tedious:

1. Select entire column A > Unlock
2. Select cells A1:A10 > Lock them
3. Protect sheet

Honestly? This method sucks for large ranges. Use VBA if doing this frequently:

Sub LockSpecificRange()
Worksheets("Sheet1").Range("A1:A10").Locked = True
Worksheets("Sheet1").Protect Password:="YourPassword"
End Sub

Freeze vs Protect: Which to Use When?

Still confused about locking columns in Excel? This cheat sheet helps:

Your Locking Columns Questions Answered

Can I lock columns in Excel Online?

Why can't I freeze multiple columns in Excel?

How do I lock just one column from editing?

Does locking columns affect printing?

Can I password-protect just one column?

Locking Columns on Mobile Devices

Needing to lock columns in Excel on your phone? Surprisingly possible:

iOS/Android Freezing Panes

1. Open spreadsheet in Excel app
2. Tap View menu (bottom toolbar)
3. Toggle "Freeze Panes" on
4. Tap row number/column letter to set freeze point

Protecting Sheets on Mobile

More limited but functional:

1. Select cells to lock/unlock
2. Tap Format (paintbrush icon)
3. Under Protection, toggle lock state
4. Go to Review > Protect Sheet to enable

Annoyance: Password options are buried in advanced settings. Takes five taps to set one.

Final Thoughts: Mastering Column Locking

After years of Excel battles, here's my hard-won advice about locking columns:

Freeze early, freeze often. When working with wide data sets, freeze your header row and key columns immediately. Saves so much scrolling confusion.

Protect before sharing. Any file leaving your hands should have locked formulas and protected sheets. Trust me, you'll avoid "but I just clicked something" emails.

Practice the select-cell-next-to trick. This is the #1 hurdle for freezing multiple columns. Once it clicks, you'll use it constantly.

Password only when essential. I've seen too many people permanently lock themselves out of critical files. Use passwords selectively.

Mastering how do you lock a column in Excel transforms spreadsheet chaos into ordered data. It's one of those skills that seems trivial until you desperately need it. That sales report disaster I mentioned? Now I freeze the product names column before even entering data. Lesson learned.