If you use Microsoft Excel 2007, you are probably familiar with that program’s ability to “freeze” rows and columns. This capability lets you scroll through data in a spreadsheet without losing track of row and column headers. You may not know that you can achieve a similar effect in Word 2007.

In Word you can keep any object visible on one part of the screen while you scroll through the text on another part of the screen. This can come in handy when you need to refer back to, for example, a table, while writing about it on a different page. Without being able to view the table, you would need to either print the page it is on, scroll back and forth to view it, or paste the table into a new document and then view the two documents side-by-side. Fortunately, there are easier ways to do this. There are two ways of keeping a portion of a document in front of you while working on another part at the same time. You can either create a split screen or open a new window with the same document in it, then view the windows side-by-side.

Split-Screen Method

Let’s look at the split-screen method first. Because this method divides the screen horizontally, it can be the best one to use when the area you want to “freeze” on-screen is wider than it is tall. Open the document with the portion you want to have available at the top of the screen. Click the View tab on the Ribbon and then click the Split button. A horizontal line will appear with the cursor over it. Click where you want the split to occur. You can adjust the split line later by simply clicking it and dragging it with the mouse.

An alternative way to split the screen is to click the small horizontal line just above the vertical scroll bar and drag down until the split line is where you want it. To get rid of the split line, simply double-click it or click and drag it to the very top or bottom of the document work space.

Notice that each pane can have its own zoom setting. Place the cursor in the pane you want to change and use one of the many methods for adjusting zoom. You can even choose different views for each pane.

Dual-Window Method

You may prefer the dual-window method when the content you want to “freeze” is taller than it is wide. You may also prefer it if you have a widescreen monitor or dual monitors.

Click the View tab on the Ribbon and click New Window. This will create a new window that contains the same document. Click the View Side By Side button in the Window section to place the two windows next to each other. (If you have more than two Word 2007 windows open, you will be given the choice of which window to place next to the current one.)

Placing windows side-by-side will create two windows of equal size next to each other. At this point, you can resize the window that contains the object you want to view so that it takes up the minimum amount of screen space. Then you can expand the window you are going to type in. As long as a Word 2007 window isn’t maximized, you can always click and drag its edge to change its size.

You want the content in the window to stay in one place. If you find that both windows scroll when you scroll in one window, go to the View tab on the Ribbon and click the Synchronous Scrolling button in the Window group to deactivate that function. Now you can scroll in one window while the other one stays in place. Changes you make in one window will be reflected in the document in the other window, just like with the split-screen method.

Splitting your screen or viewing two copies of the same document side-by-side will help you work more efficiently in a variety of situations.