Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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.
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.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6610) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Underlining Text in Cells.
Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!
Excel allows you to adjust spacing between cell walls and the contents of those cells. It does not, however, allow you to ...
Discover MoreExcel is continually trying to figure out what type of data is being stored in a cell. If it can interpret a value as a ...
Discover MoreWhen you use the sorting tool, Excel tries to automatically figure out if your data includes a header row or not. Here ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-10-24 09:17:22
Rusty Chiles
Note, a much quicker shortcut to opening the Format Cells box is to push 'Ctrl+1'
2017-10-23 09:34:49
Bryan Marks
You may want to add that you can also underline just part of the text--for example, a single word--in a cell. This is also true if you want to bold, italicize, and/or change the color of specific text in a cell.
For a cell that already has text in it, this can be accomplished by hitting F2 or double-clicking on the cell to edit it. Select the word or words you wish to modify, then either select the appropriate function from the toolbar (e.g., underline, bold, italics, color) or the short cuts such as Ctrl+U, Ctrl+B, or Ctrl+I to modify the text, then exit the cell.
If the cell is blank, simply start typing and use the above options to modify the text as desired, then exit the cell.
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: 
Comments