Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Rounded Corners on Cells.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 3, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Kartik wonders how he can get rounded borders on cells in Excel. The short answer is that you cannot; Excel allows you to place square-cornered borders, but not rounded-corner borders.
The only possible workaround is to create a drawing object that is a rectangle with rounded corners. If you make the drawing object the same size as your cells and format it so it has no fill color, you could copy the object to as many cells as you want to have the border. Remember, however, that this is just a workaround—if you change the size of the cell in which one of these drawing objects is located, the "border" won't resize with the cell; it will remain small.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6749) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Rounded Corners on Cells.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Want a quick way to replace background colors in cells? It's easy to do using Find and Replace, or you can simply use the ...
Discover MoreNeed to get rid of the borders around a cell? The shortcut in this tip can make quick work of this formatting task.
Discover MoreExcel makes it easy to add all sorts of lines around a cell or range of cells. How easy? This tip demonstrates how to add ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments