Adding Borders to Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 30, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Excel allows you to quickly and easily add different types of borders to your individual cells and ranges of cells in your spreadsheet. You can use a number of different line types for your border. To add borders to cells, follow these steps:
  1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want bordered.
  2. Select the Cells option from the Format menu. You will see the Format Cells dialog box.
  3. Click on the Border tab. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

  4. In the Border section of the dialog box, select where you want the border applied. (Outline will surround the entire cell or cell range.)
  5. Select a line type from the Style area.
  6. Click on OK.
Another way to add borders around cells is to use the Borders tool on the toolbar. You can use this tool by following these steps:
  1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want bordered.
  2. If the type of border you want applied appears on the Borders tool, click on it and you are finished. (If not, proceed with the remaining steps.)
  3. Click on the downward-pointing triangle at the right side of the Borders tool. A drop-down palette of border types is displayed.
  4. Select the border you want applied to each cell in the range. You can outline the range by selecting the outline border, which is at the bottom-right position on the border palette.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2663) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Fixing "Can't Find Files" Errors

If you get errors about unfindable files when you first start Excel, it can be frustrating. Here's how to track down and ...

Discover More

Putting Your Index after Your Endnotes

Endnotes are supposed to be at the end of your document, right? Not necessarily. You may want something else at the end, ...

Discover More

Limiting Where a Workbook is Used

Want to limit who can use your workbook and on what system? Locking down a workbook can be trickier than you might imagine.

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Rounded Corners on Cells

As you are formatting a worksheet, Excel allows you to easily add borders to cells. Adding rounded corners to cells is a ...

Discover More

Drawing Borders

Adding borders around cells is a common formatting task. You can make the task more intuitive by actually drawing the ...

Discover More

Replacing Background Colors in Cells

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 More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.