This article was co-authored by How.com.vn staff writer, Rain Kengly. Rain Kengly is a How.com.vn Technology Writer. As a storytelling enthusiast with a penchant for technology, they hope to create long-lasting connections with readers from all around the globe. Rain graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema.
There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 127,900 times.
Learn more...
Grid lines, which are the faint lines that divide cells on a worksheet, are displayed by default in Microsoft Excel. You can enable or disable them by worksheet, and even choose to see them on printed pages. These are different from cell borders, which you can add to cells and ranges and customize with line styles and colors. Here's how to add grid lines to your Excel spreadsheet on Windows and Mac computers.
Showing Gridlines in Excel for Windows
- To display the default gridlines on your Excel worksheet, click View at the top. Find the Show section and check the box for Gridlines.[1]
- To print the gridlines, click Page Layout → Sheet Options → check the box for Print underneath Gridlines.[2]
- For more border customizations, add a cell border to your data instead.
Steps
- Open a worksheet in Microsoft Excel. You can use an existing project or create a new spreadsheet.[3]
- Gridlines can't be customized in the same way borders can. For more customization options with cell borders, see this section.
- Click View. This is the tab at the top.Advertisement
- Locate the "Show" section. This will be between the Workbook Views and Zoom section.
- You should see a list of options, such as Ruler, Gridlines, Formula Bar, etc.[4]
- Check the box next to "Gridlines". When this box is checked, you'll see the gridlines appear on your Excel worksheet.[5]
- Gridlines do not print by default. If you want to print with the gridlines on, do the following:
- Click the Page layout tab at the top.
- Find the Sheet Options section.
- Check the box next to Print underneath Gridlines.
- Gridlines do not print by default. If you want to print with the gridlines on, do the following:
- Open a worksheet in Microsoft Excel. You can use an existing project or create a new spreadsheet.
- Click Page Layout. This is in the top toolbar.
- Check the "View" box. This will be underneath Gridlines. When this box is checked, you'll see the gridlines appear on your Excel worksheet.[6]
- If you want to print with the gridlines on, check the box next to Print.
- Open a worksheet in Microsoft Excel. You can use an existing project or create a new spreadsheet.
- Gridlines appear on all sheets by default, but they may not be bold enough to make your data stand out. If you want to surround certain data with more visible lines, you can add borders to those cells.
- Select the range of cells you want to add borders to. You will be able to add a border that surrounds the entire selected range, and/or around each individual cell in the range.[7]
- Click the Home tab. It's at the top of Excel.
- Click the arrow next to the Borders icon. The Borders icon is a dotted grid on the "Font" panel at the top of Excel. A list of border styles will appear.
- Select a border style. If you want to add darker grid lines that surround each selected cell, choose All Borders. Otherwise, choose any of the other options, such as Outside Borders, which adds one solid border around the selected range.[8]
- Click the arrow next to the "Borders" icon again. Now that you've inserted some cell borders, you can customize how they look.
- Click More Borders…. It's at the bottom of the menu.
- Choose your border options. You can customize the line style, border style, and even color.[9]
- To customize the actual line used in the border (such as changing a solid line to a dotted line), select one of the line styles from the Styles area.
- To make the border a different color, choose a color from the Color menu.
- Click OK. This adds your border preferences to the selected range.
- To remove cell borders, click the arrow next to the Borders icon in the toolbar, and then choose No Border.
- Unlike gridlines, cell borders are always shown on printed sheets.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/show-or-hide-gridlines-on-a-worksheet-3ef5aacb-4539-4ad5-9945-5ed53772dc4d
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/print-gridlines-in-a-worksheet-fdb32f2a-8a5a-41fe-a5b0-0a734fdfade1
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-new-workbook-ae99f19b-cecb-4aa0-92c8-7126d6212a83
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-gridlines-on-a-worksheet-3ef5aacb-4539-4ad5-9945-5ed53772dc4d#OfficeVersion=Windows
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-gridlines-in-word-powerpoint-or-excel-47b1189c-f867-479e-a208-34ee54055f6f
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/show-or-hide-gridlines-on-a-worksheet-3ef5aacb-4539-4ad5-9945-5ed53772dc4d#OfficeVersion=macOS
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/apply-or-remove-cell-borders-on-a-worksheet-dc8a310b-92e3-46a7-9f17-2ab745810f4a
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/apply-or-remove-cell-borders-on-a-worksheet-dc8a310b-92e3-46a7-9f17-2ab745810f4a
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/apply-or-remove-cell-borders-on-a-worksheet-dc8a310b-92e3-46a7-9f17-2ab745810f4a
About This Article
1.Click the File menu and select Options.
2.Click Advanced.
3.Select the sheet from the "Display options for this worksheet" menu.
4.Check the box next to "Show gridlines."
5.Click OK.
Is this article up to date?
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Content from Wiki How English language website. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License; additional terms may apply.
Wiki How does not encourage the violation of any laws, and cannot be responsible for any violations of such laws, should you link to this domain, or use, reproduce, or republish the information contained herein.
- - A few of these subjects are frequently censored by educational, governmental, corporate, parental and other filtering schemes.
- - Some articles may contain names, images, artworks or descriptions of events that some cultures restrict access to
- - Please note: Wiki How does not give you opinion about the law, or advice about medical. If you need specific advice (for example, medical, legal, financial or risk management), please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.
- - Readers should not judge the importance of topics based on their coverage on Wiki How, nor think a topic is important just because it is the subject of a Wiki article.