MS Excel - Gridlines in Excel

1. Understanding Gridlines in Excel

By default, Excel displays gridlines to separate cells. These are not actual borders; they’re just visual guides.

How to Show/Hide Gridlines

1. Go to View → Show → Gridlines (checkbox).

2. Or, in Page Layout → Sheet Options → Gridlines.

Shortcut:
Alt + W + VG → Toggles gridlines on/off.

2. Changing Gridline Colors

Excel lets you customize gridline colors, but not thickness.

Steps:

1. Go to File → Options → Advanced.

2. Scroll to Display options for this worksheet.

3. Choose a new Gridline color.

4. Click OK.

Tip: This changes only the appearance, not the printed version.

3. Making Custom Borders (Thicker “Grids”)

If you want bold, colored, or styled grids, you need to use Borders.

Steps:

1. Select your range.

2. Go to Home → Font → Borders dropdown.

3. Choose:

   • All Borders → Full grid inside selection.

   • Outside Borders → Only outer box.

   • Thick Borders → Emphasized outlines.

   • More Borders → Open Format Cells → Border tab.

4. Pick:

   • Line style → solid, dashed, dotted.

   • Line color → any color.

   • Apply → Inside, Outside, or Both.

Shortcut:
Ctrl + 1 → Border tab → Customize style & color.

4. Using “Format as Table” for Auto-Grids

Tables in Excel automatically create a well-styled grid with alternating row colors.

Steps:

1. Select data range.

2. Go to Home → Format as Table.

3. Pick a style — Excel applies:

   • Borders around data.

   • Shaded headers.

   • Alternate row coloring.

Bonus: You get built-in filtering and sorting.

5. Printing Gridlines

By default, Excel gridlines don’t print. To make them appear on paper:

Steps:

1. Go to Page Layout tab.

2. In Sheet Options, under Gridlines, check:

   • View → For on-screen.

   • Print → For hard copies.

Alternatively, apply borders if you want stronger, customizable printed grids.

6. Custom Conditional Formatting for Grids

You can make dynamic grids that change based on values.

Example: Highlight cells with a bold border if value > 100

1. Select range → Home → Conditional Formatting → New Rule.

2. Choose Use a formula:

   =A1>100
   

3. Go to Format → Border → Choose bold border + color.

7. Tips for Professional-Looking Grids

• Use light gray gridlines (#D9D9D9) for clean dashboards.

• Use thicker outside borders + thin inside borders for reports.

• Combine Format as Table with custom border colors for stylish data sheets.