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: Understanding Underlines.

Understanding Underlines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There are several different types of underlines you can use in Excel. Underlining of information within cells is handled by choosing Cells from the Format menu, whereupon the Format Cells dialog box is displayed; you should make sure the Font tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

In the Underline box, in the lower-left corner, you can select any of five different underline types.

Underline Type Meaning
None Removes any underlining from the cell contents.
Single Adds a single underline, the entire width of the cell contents.
Double Adds a double-line underline, the entire width of the cell contents.
Single Accounting Same as the Single underline, except it is moved downward just a bit.
Double Accounting Same as the Double underline, except it is moved downward just a bit.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2508) 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: Understanding Underlines.

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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