Excel Borders: How to Add, Style, and Remove Cell Borders
How to add and remove borders, and which lines make a table easier to read.
2026-11-10
Key points
- 1Use mostly horizontal lines instead of a full grid
- 2Put a line above the total row and a double line below it
- 3Change line color and weight on the Border tab of Ctrl + 1
How to add borders
- 1
Select the cells
- 2
Click the ▼ next to Borders on the Home tab
- 3
Choose a border such as All Borders, Outside Borders, or Bottom Border
Shortcuts
On Windows, press Alt → H → B, then the key for the border type.
| Border | Keys (Windows) |
|---|---|
| All Borders | Alt → H → B → A |
| Outline | Alt → H → B → S |
| Bottom Border | Alt → H → B → O |
| Top Border | Alt → H → B → P |
| Bottom Double Border | Alt → H → B → B |
| Top and Double Bottom Border | Alt → H → B → U |
| No Border | Alt → H → B → N |
| Add an outside border instantly | Ctrl + Shift + 6 |
Choosing lines for readability
Boxing every cell makes the lines louder than the numbers. Choose lines by what they do.
| Item | Qty | Amount |
| Notebook | 12 | 18,000 |
| Pen | 5 | 1,250 |
| Total | 17 | 19,250 |
| Item | Qty | Amount |
| Notebook | 12 | 18,000 |
| Pen | 5 | 1,250 |
| Total | 17 | 19,250 |
| Where | Border |
|---|---|
| Under the headers | A slightly thicker line |
| Between data rows | A thin, light gray line |
| Total row | A thin line above, a double line below |
| Between columns | Usually none |
To make your lines stand out, also clear Gridlines on the View tab.
Change line color and weight
- 1
Select the range and open Format Cells with Ctrl + 1
- 2
Open the Border tab
- 3
Choose the Style and Color first
- 4
Click Outline, Inside, or the line buttons to apply them in the preview
- 5
Click OK
The key is the order: pick the color and weight first, then click the line buttons.
Remove borders
| Method | Steps |
|---|---|
| Remove all borders from the selection | Select the range, then Borders → No Border (Alt → H → B → N) |
| With the keyboard | Ctrl + Shift + _ |
| Erase by dragging | Choose Borders → Erase Border, drag over the lines to remove, then press Esc |
Lines that won't go away and printing
QNo Border doesn't remove the lines.
The lines may come from conditional formatting or a table style. Check your conditional formatting rules or Table Design.
QDotted lines appear between cells.
Those are page breaks. Clear "Show page breaks" under File → Options → Advanced.
QDo gridlines print?
Not by default. To print lines, add borders.
- There's a line under the headers
- Not too many vertical lines
- The total row stands out
Related guides and practice
Readable Spreadsheet Drill →
36 exercises that fix hard-to-read tables in a virtual Excel
Building a table →
8 steps from data entry to finishing touches
Merge Cells →
Merging and unmerging, and centering without merging
Conditional Formatting →
Colors based on values: whole rows, multiple conditions, weekends
Custom Number Formats →
Thousands, units, red negatives, dates with weekdays
Hide Zeros →
Whole sheet, some cells, or a formula, and when to use each