Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines.

Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 10, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365

3

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. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Scroll through the options until you see the Display Options for this Worksheet section. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.

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

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6210) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel 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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What is 3 + 4?

2025-06-05 19:23:35

Kevin H

On Mac, this is under Excel > Preferences > View

2025-05-12 05:02:35

DaveS

@Ray

Two ways of doing that are:
(i) Under the Borders dropdown (Home tab of the ribbon), select Draw Border Grid, then select the range of cells you want and it infills the borders. Default is black but if you select Line color first to set another colour.
(ii) Select the range of cells and then under the Format dropdown (Home tab of the ribbon) select Format Cells to open the Format Cells dialog, and then select the Border tab on the dialog. This approach enables whole rows or columns to be selected whereas I think (i) only works on blocks of cells.

2025-05-10 06:36:20

Ray McAllister

Can I change the color of grid lines in different parts. Of a worksheet? That is, can I make grid lines red for some rows (or columns) and blue for others?

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