How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel

One of the best ways to display your data with emphasis or clarity is to add borders in Excel. You can apply and customize borders in a variety of ways in Microsoft Excel to suit your needs and your data.

You have a few easy ways to add borders in Excel and then customize the line weight, color, and position. Let’s look at how to use each one.

How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 1

Use the Borders Button and Menu

Probably the simplest way to add cell borders is using the Borders button. This option lets you quickly apply a top, bottom, outside, or double border using the default line style and color.

  1. Select the cells by dragging your cursor through them. For the entire sheet, use the Select All button (triangle) on the top left of the worksheet.
  2. Go to the Home tab, use the down arrow next to the Borders button to see your available options, and choose the one you want.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 2

The nice thing about the Borders button is that it retains your previous selection. This means you can select another cell or range and just use the button to apply the same border as before.

For example, here we applied the Top and Double Bottom Border. You can see that the same border style is available on the Borders button for reuse.

How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 3

Draw Borders and Border Grids

Another way to add borders in Excel is by drawing them. With this method, you can insert borders without selecting the cell or range of cells first. Plus, you can place the border anywhere in the sheet you want.

Customize the Border Line

It’s best to choose the line color and style before you choose the Draw option you want to use. Otherwise, you’ll have to redo the steps and redraw the border.

  1. Go to the Home tab and use the arrow next to the Borders button to view the menu.
  2. In the Draw Borders section, use the pop-out menus for Line Color and Line Style to make your selections. For instance, you can choose a dotted line in red or a double line in blue.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 4

Draw the Border

Once you customize the line, you can then draw your borders.

  1. Go to the Home tab and use the arrow next to the Borders button to view the Draw Border options in the menu.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 5
  1. You’ll see Draw and Draw Grid which each work a bit differently.
  2. Draw: Add a single border line on any side of a cell.
  3. Draw Grid: Add inside and outside borders to a range of cells.
  4. Once you pick the Draw option you want to use, you’ll see your cursor change to a pencil icon. Simply select a cell edge (Draw) or the group of cells (Draw Grid) where you want the border.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 6
  1. Continue this process until you have added all the borders you want.
  2. When you finish, do one of the following to turn off the Draw tool:
  3. Use your Escape key.
  4. Deselect the Borders button.
  5. Deselect the Draw option in the Borders menu.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 7

Use the Format Cells Feature

One more way to add borders in Excel is by using the Format Cells feature. With this option, you can mix and match line colors and styles as well as add diagonal lines inside cells.

  1. Select the cell, range, or sheet where you want to apply the border.
  2. Do one of the following to open the Format Cells dialog box:
  3. Right-click and pick Format Cells.
  4. Go to the Home tab, open the Borders menu, and choose More Borders.
  5. Go to the Home tab and open the Font Settings using the tiny arrow in the lower right corner of the Font group.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 8
  1. When the Format Cells box opens, go to the Border tab. Then, use the options on the left to customize the line Style and Color.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 9
  1. On the right, choose a preset at the top, or the position buttons beneath to add the borders where you want them. You’ll see your selections in the preview.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 10
  1. When you finish, choose OK to apply the border to your selected cells.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 11

Remove Borders in Excel

Just like adding borders in Excel using a variety of methods, you can remove borders in a few different ways. Because of the flexibility offered by Excel, you can mix and match options here too.

For example, if you draw a border, you can then remove it using the Format Cells feature or if you add a border with the Borders button, you can remove it with the eraser.

Do one of the following to remove a border in Excel:

  • Select the cell or range, go to the Home tab to open the Borders menu, and choose No Border.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 12
  • Go to the Home tab, open the Borders menu, and choose Erase Border. Then, select each line on the cell(s) you want to remove. Turn off the eraser by deselecting it on the Borders button.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 13
  • Select the cell or range, right-click, and choose Format Cells. On the Border tab, choose None below presets at the top or remove the lines using the position buttons or directly on the preview. Choose OK to save your change.
How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel image 14

By adding borders in Excel, you can make your data easier to read, apply organization, and create attractive sheets, especially when printing. Experiment with different types of border styles and colors that complement your dataset and your brand.

Now that you know how to add borders in Excel, take a look at our tutorial for using conditional formatting to automatically apply borders or colors to your spreadsheet.

The post How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel first appeared on Help Desk Geek.


Source : How to Add and Customize Borders in Microsoft Excel

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Add or Remove a Secondary Axis in Microsoft Excel Charts

Image
When you have a chart with mixed data types or a dataset that varies broadly between series, consider using a secondary axis in Microsoft Excel. With it, you can display the data you need without overwhelming or confusing your viewers. When to Use a Secondary Axis As mentioned, if you have different data types or your series amounts widely vary, these are good times to use a secondary axis. For instance, you can see that the column chart below doesn’t accurately depict the visitors and sales in our dataset. There’s a large variance in the sales amounts, making it hard to get a decent picture of the number of visitors per month. Plus, the sales are in dollar amounts, whereas the visitors are basic number values . If your chart would benefit from a secondary axis like this one, here’s how to add one as well as remove a secondary axis later if you change your mind or your data. How to Add a Secondary Axis in Excel To add a secondary axis to your Excel chart, you’ll use the combo ...
Read more

How to Use and Customise the Status Bar in Microsoft Excel

Image
Excel’s status bar is one of the hidden gems (and an unsung hero) that makes it the default spreadsheet software you turn to. It quietly resides at the bottom of the Excel window, often overlooked but brimming with valuable information and customization options. In this article, we will look at it and show you how to take advantage of it. Excel Status Bar Default Options Even before you customize the Excel status bar, it’ll display some helpful information and give you access to some useful functionalities. The common Excel options you can find as default on the status bar are: Cell Mode Macro Recording Tool Accessibility Check Page Number Statistics/Mathematical Options Worksheet Views Zoom Options Let’s see what each of them does and how you can use them. Cell Mode At the leftmost side of the Excel status bar, you’ll find the cell mode indicator. It’ll inform you about the status of the currently selected cell. There are four different status modes: Ready . It ...
Read more

What Is Windows AI-Powered Copilot?

Image
Microsoft has released its brand-new artificial intelligence (AI) companion, Microsoft Copilot. Previously known as Bing Chat, Copilot has a series of new abilities that can help you get more done in less time. In this article, we’ll provide a brief description of each of Microsoft’s new AI copilots, then we’ll focus on the Windows 11 copilot and what it can do to boost your productivity. What Is Microsoft Copilot? Microsoft Copilot is an artificial intelligence chatbot you can ask to perform different tasks, including generating text and images and answering general questions. Microsoft’s plan is to have a Copilot in each of its apps to provide assistance and improve user experience across the Microsoft ecosystem. Here are the different Copilots that are currently available or slated for future release: Windows 11 Copilot: Available for free as a preview in North America, Asia, and South America, Windows 11 Copilot lets you perform tasks, get answers, and create AI-generate...
Read more