Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Underlining Text in Cells.

Underlining Text in Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 20, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Everyone knows that you can underline text by simply selecting what you want underlined and then clicking on the Underline tool on the ribbon or toolbar. This adds a single underline. If you want a double underline, you must display the Home tab of the ribbon and use the down-arrow at the right of the Underline tool.

If you want any fancier underlines, it really helps to display the Font tab of the Format Cells dialog box. You do this by displaying the Home tab of the ribbon and clicking the small icon at the bottom-right of the Font group.. (You can also display the Format Cells dialog box by pressing CTRL+1.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6610) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Underlining Text in Cells.

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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