Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 6: Worksheet Formatting

129

Another way to apply borders is to use the Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box, which is

shown in Figure 6.10. One way to display this dialog box is to select More Borders from the

Borders drop-down list.

FIGURE 6.10

Use the Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box for more control over cell borders.

Before you display the Format Cells dialog box, select the cell or range to which you want to add

borders. First, choose a line style and then choose the border position for the line style by clicking

one of the Border icons (these icons are toggles).

Notice that the Border tab has three preset icons, which can save you some clicking. If you want to

remove all borders from the selection, click None. To put an outline around the selection, click

Outline. To put borders inside the selection, click Inside.

Excel displays the selected border style in the dialog box; there is no live preview. You can choose

different styles for different border positions; you can also choose a color for the border. Using this

dialog box may require some experimentation, but you’ll get the hang of it.

When you apply diagonal lines to a cell or range, the selection looks like it has been crossed out.

Tip
If you use border formatting in your worksheet, you may want to turn off the grid display to make the borders
more pronounced. Choose View ➪ Show ➪ Gridlines to toggle the gridline display. n