Introduction:

Microsoft Excel provides various options to manage and organize data effectively. Two commonly used features are hiding and freezing columns. These features help users to focus on specific data or information without getting distracted by unnecessary columns. While both hiding and freezing columns serve similar purposes, they have some key differences. Let's explore these differences in detail.

Hiding Columns:

When you hide a column in Excel, it becomes invisible, and its data is temporarily removed from the view. However, the column is not deleted or permanently removed; it is just hidden from the current view. Here's how you can hide a column:

1. Select the column(s) you want to hide.
2. Right-click on the selected column(s).
3. Click on the "Hide" option from the context menu.

Key Points:
- Hiding a column makes it temporarily invisible.
- The hidden column can be unhidden at any time.
- The hidden column does not affect any formulas or calculations.
- Hidden columns are not printed when you print the worksheet.

Freezing Columns:

Freezing columns, also known as freezing panes, allows you to keep specific columns visible while scrolling through large datasets. This feature is particularly useful when dealing with wide datasets where you want to keep important columns in view at all times. Here's how you can freeze columns:

1. Select the column to the right of the column(s) you want to freeze.
2. Go to the "View" tab in the Excel ribbon.
3. Click on the "Freeze Panes" option.
4. Choose "Freeze Panes" from the dropdown menu.

Key Points:
- Freezing columns keeps specific columns visible while scrolling.
- You can freeze multiple columns by selecting the column to the right of the last column you want to freeze.
- Frozen columns remain fixed even when scrolling horizontally or vertically.
- Freezing columns does not affect any calculations or formulas.

Differences between Hiding and Freezing Columns:

1. Visibility: Hiding columns makes them temporarily invisible, whereas freezing columns keeps them visible while scrolling.
2. Impact on Formulas: Hiding columns does not affect any calculations or formulas, while freezing columns also does not impact formulas or calculations.
3. Printing: Hidden columns are not printed when you print the worksheet, while frozen columns are included in the printout.
4. Flexibility: Hidden columns can be easily unhidden, whereas frozen columns require you to unfreeze the panes to regain flexibility.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, hiding and freezing columns are valuable features in Excel for managing and organizing data. Hiding columns temporarily removes them from view, while freezing columns keeps them visible while scrolling. Both features have their own advantages and can be used based on your specific needs and preferences. By utilizing these features effectively, you can enhance data analysis and presentation in Excel.

Hidden column -
a) The column cannot be seen by the user
b) The column cannot be edited by the user usually.
c)Column letter is also hidden in this case.

Freezed Column -
a) The column can be seen by the user.
b) The column can be edited by the user usually.
c) Column letter is not hidden in this case.
Hope that helps :)
Upvote and lemme know if that did :)