How to add outside borders in Excel

You can watch a video tutorial here.

Excel provides many options for formatting worksheets. One of the options is to create or remove a border for cells or a table. Borders help define the outline of a table and are a good option when formatting your sheet to make it look neater.

Option 1 – Use the preset option 

Step 1 – Choose the button on the ribbon

• Select the area for which the outside border is to be created
• On the Home menu, click the Borders button on the Font section
• On the drop-down menu, select the Outside Borders option

Step 2 – Check the result

• A border is drawn around the selected area

Option 2 – Use the Format Cells option

Step 1 – Open the Format Cells window 

• Select the area for which the border has to be removed
• Right-click and select Format Cells  from the context menu

OR

Go to Home > Number  and click on the arrow to expand the menu

OR

Go to Home > Cells > Format > Format Cells

OR

Press Ctrl+1

Step 2 – Choose the border to be created

• Go to the Border tab
• Select the Outline preset or click the outline border buttons or create the outline by clicking on the preview diagram
• Click OK

Step 3 – Check the result

• A border outlines the selected area

Option 3 – Draw the border

Step 1 – Choose the button on the ribbon

• Go to Home > Font 
• Click on the Borders button to expand the drop-down menu
• Select the Draw Outside Border  tool

Step 2 – Draw the border

• The pointer changes to a pen tool
• Starting from the upper left corner of the area to be outlined, drag the pen to the lower right corner
• A border is drawn around the selected area
• Press Escape to change the pen tool back to the pointer