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: Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines.

Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 30, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Most people using Excel leave the gridlines visible so that they can easily see where the various cells are. By default the gridlines are a light gray. You can easily change the gridlines to a different color by following these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Ensure the Gridlines check box is selected.
  4. Using the Gridlines Color drop-down list, choose the color you want to use.
  5. Click OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2374) 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: Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines.

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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