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: Removing Borders.

Removing Borders

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 21, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Adding borders to cells is a very common thing in Excel. You may add them to help draw attention to numbers, or to divide numbers from column headings in a table.

Here is a quick way you can remove any borders applied to a cell or group of cells: simply press Ctrl+_. (That is the underscore, which means you must hold down the Shift key as well.) Excel leaves the other formatting of the cell set, but removes any borders.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12596) 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: Removing Borders.

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

Selective Formatting in Searches

Need to search for text that has different formatting within the search term? Word can't handle something this complex, ...

Discover More

Managing the AutoCorrect List

If you need to delete all the entries in your AutoCorrect list, the easiest way to do so is with a macro. This tip ...

Discover More

Permanently Turning Off the Tracking of Formatting Changes

The Track Changes tool can be a great asset when you are working on a document with others. It can also be a hassle if ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Understanding Cell Indenting

Formatting a cell could, if you desire, also include the indentation of information within the cell. This tip examines ...

Discover More

Drawing Borders

Adding borders around cells is a common formatting task. You can make the task more intuitive by actually drawing the ...

Discover More

Enforcing a Desired Font

If your workbooks are shared and used by a number of different people, you may end up with some formatting in those ...

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 two minus 1?

2023-10-23 11:30:31

J. Woolley

The complimentary shortcut to add borders is Ctrl+Shift+&.


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.