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: Removing Borders.

Removing Borders

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 23, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Adding borders to cells is a very common thing in Excel. You may add them to help draw attention to number, or to divide numbers from column headings in a table.

Here is a quick way you can remove any borders applied to a cell or group of cells: simply press Ctrl+_. (That is the underscore, which means you must hold down the Shift key as well.) Excel leaves the other formatting of the cell set, but removes any borders.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2321) 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: Removing Borders.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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