Borders make worksheets more visually attractive. Adding borders to ranges of similar cells also makes them more organized and easier to read. Just like any other formatting attributes, you can add a variety of borders to the cells in your worksheet using the Formatting toolbar (specifically, the Border button) or the Format cells dialog box. Just like the previous formatting lessons, we’ll cover both methods of adding borders in this lesson.
Although it isn’t absolutely necessary, removing the gridlines in the worksheet makes it easier to see borders.
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1.
Select Tools → Options from the menu and click the View tab.The Options dialog box appears with the View tab selected, as shown in Figure 3-13. Here you can change how the worksheet is displayed. You’re only interested in one view option here: you want to remove the cell gridlines in this worksheet so you can more easily see the borders you will be adding in this lesson.
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Uncheck the Gridlines check box and click OK.The dialog box closes and the cell gridlines no longer appear on the worksheet. Don’t worry—the worksheet works exactly the same with or without the gridlines. Gridlines are only a visual aid to help to you determine which column and row a cell is in.
Figure 3-13
The View tab of the Options dialog box.
Figure 3-14
The Expense Report worksheet with borders added.
Figure 3-15
The Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
Border list
Figure 3-13 Figure 3-14
Figure 3-15 Display/Hide gridlines
Preset border formats
Adds a border around only the outside edge, inside the grid, or removes any borders from the selected cell range.
Click one or more buttons to add or remove borders for the selected cells
Select a line size and style for a border
Select a line color for a border
Chapter Three: Formatting a Worksheet
109
Quick Reference
To Add a Border: 1. Select the cell or cell
range you want to add the border(s) to.
2. Click the Border list arrow on the Formatting toolbar and select the border you want. Or…
• Either right-click the selection and select
Format Cells from the shortcut menu or select
Format → Cells from the menu. Click the Border
tab and select the border(s) you want to add.
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Select the cell range A4:G4, click the Border button list arrow on the Formatting toolbar, and select the Bottom Border (located in the second column, first row).A single, thin border appears at the bottom of the selected cells. You can choose from several different border styles. Try using a different border style in the next step.
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Select the cell G17, click the Border list arrow on the Formatting toolbar and select the Bottom Double Border (located in the first column, second row).Excel adds a double-lined border to the bottom of the selected cell. The Border button is usually the fastest and easiest way to add borders to your worksheets, but you can also add borders using the Borders tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
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Select the cell range A5:G17, select Format → Cells from the menu and click the Border tab.The Format Cells dialog box appears with the Border tab selected, as shown in Figure 3-15. The Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box gives you more options for adding borders than the Borders button on the Formatting toolbar does.
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Select the thickest line style in the Style list (the second to the last option in the second column). Click the Color list arrow and select a dark blue color, then click the Outline button to apply the specified border style to the outside of the selected cell range.This will add a thick, dark blue border around the outside of the selected cell range.
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Click OK.The Format Cells dialog box closes and the borders you specified are added to the selected cell range. Let’s add a different border style inside the cell range.
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With the cell range A5:G17 still selected, select Format → Cells from the menu.The Format Cells dialog box appears.
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Select the thinnest solid line style (the last option in the first column). Click the Color list arrow and select Automatic, then click the Inside button to apply the specified border style to the inside of the selected cell range.Notice a preview of how your borders will look appears in the Border section of the dialog box.
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Click OK.The Format Cells dialog box closes and the borders you specified are added to the selected cell range, as shown in Figure 3-15.
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Select the cell range E19:G21 (the merged notes cell), click the Border list arrow, and select the Thick Box Border option (located in the last column and last row) and click OK.Excel adds a thick border around the outside of the selected cells. You decide you want to remove the border. It is just as easy to remove a border as it is to add it.
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With the cell range E19:G21selected, click the Border list arrow and select the No Border option (located in the first column, first row).The border is removed from the selected cell range. Before we finish this lesson we must once again display the worksheet gridlines.
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Select Tools → Options from the menu, click the View tab, check the Gridlines check box and click OK.Selecting a Thick Border Line