Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Drawing Lines.

Drawing Lines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 21, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

Excel provides tools that allow you to create a number of shapes that were previously only available through the use of a drawing program. One of these shapes is a line. (Yes, the simple line!) Here's how you add one to your worksheet:

  1. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Shapes tool in the Illustrations group. Excel displays a drop-down cornucopia of drawing objects.
  3. Click the line that most closely resembles the type of line you want to draw.
  4. Position the mouse pointer where one end of the line is to be located.
  5. Click and hold the mouse button.
  6. Drag the mouse until the line is the desired length.
  7. Release the mouse button.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10086) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Drawing Lines.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Templates and Page Setup

Templates are a great way to share styles, macros, and other settings among various documents. One thing that isn't ...

Discover More

Specifying a Number of Matches

The wild card searching capabilities of Word are amazing. One thing you can do with wild cards is to specify not only a ...

Discover More

Formatting Labels

Need your labels to look a certain way? You can save time by formatting them before Word actually creates the sheet of ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Creating a Drawing Object

Creating simple drawing objects is easy in Excel. All you need to do is use the large number of drawing tools available ...

Discover More

Pictures inside Shapes

Filling one of Excel's drawing shapes with a picture of your choosing is a neat trick. Here's how to do it.

Discover More

Understanding Fill Effects

Want to fill a drawing object with different types of effects? Excel provides several effects that can make your drawing ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 3 + 2?

2021-08-07 21:20:30

Ronmio

If you want the line to be perfectly horizontal or vertical (or inbetween in 45° steps), just position the end of the line at approximately the desired angle and hold down the shift key while letting up on the mouse button. The line will snap to precisely the angle you want.


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.