Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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 Gridline Color.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 11, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
The gridlines help you track information on the screen easier and to locate cells quickly. Normally the gridlines are shown in black, but you may want to make them some other stylish color. If you want to change the gridline color, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.
You can specify different gridline colors for each worksheet in a workbook.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8728) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing Gridline Color.
Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!
Excel, by default, periodically writes information to AutoRecover files that can help protect your data in case Excel is ...
Discover MoreEnter a value into a cell and "poof!" it is automatically divided by 100. What's going on, and how can you fix it so that ...
Discover MoreYou can configure Excel to specify what happens when you press Enter in a cell. This is normally done on a global basis, ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-05-28 16:54:48
Peter Atherton
With regards to John Mann's post: it works on grouped sheets in 2016
2020-05-27 14:01:15
Allen
It really is there Katherine -- Click File and then, at the left side of the screen look all the way near the bottom and you'll see "Options." Click that.
-Allen
2020-05-27 13:21:31
Katherine
There is no "options" in the back menu of excel in office 365 so this doesn't work for 365.
2019-10-19 18:28:06
John Mann
I hadn't paid much attention to this option - so much so that I had forgoten it exists. I've just been experimenting a bit with this option and note that it doesn't work on grouped worksheets (at least not in my copy of Excel 2010).
It does occur to me that it would be usefull to use the same colour for the grid and the tabs. This could help with keeping track of which sheet we are working on when we have several sheets with similar (or identical) layout. I have often missed the thin but obvious line across the screen matching the tab colour used by Lotus 1-2-3. While it would not be a terible hardship to manually make that combination, it would be nice to automate it.
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 © 2023 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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:
Comments