How to Add or Remove Dotted Border in Excel

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A dotted border in Excel is a formatting style that uses dotted lines to outline a cell or a range of cells. The dotted border is not a permanent feature of Excel.

In this Excel tutorial, you will learn to add and remove dotted borders.

In the image, the left side of the data has no border, while the right side is outlined with a dotted border, showing names and ages.

Overview Image of Dotted Border in Excel


2 Ways to Add Dotted Border

You can add dotted border to a cell or a range of cells using the Format Cells dialog box or Line Style from Border drop-down.

Using Format Cells Dialog Box

The Format Cells option helps you to enhance the appearance of your data, making it more visually appealing and improving the overall presentation of your worksheet.

To apply dotted border using Format Cells dialog box, follow the steps below:

  1. Select the data range.
  2. Go to the Home tab > Font group > click Border drop-down.Selecting Border Dropdown
  3. Select More Borders option.Opening Format Cells Dialog Box
    Format Cells dialog box will pop-up.
  4. In the Format Cells dialog box:
    • Go to Border tab.
    • Select the first border style from Style group.
    • Select Outline and Inside from Presets group.
    • Press OK.

    Formatting Border in Format Cells Box

The selected data range will contain dotted border like the following image.

Output of Applying Dotted Border Using Format Cells

Read More: How to Insert Border in Excel


Using Line Style From Border Dropdown

The Format Cells method is not efficient when applying dotted borders to multiple cell ranges. The entire process needs to be repeated multiple times. To avoid this repetition, you can utilize the Line Style command.

Follow the steps below to apply dotted border using the Line Style command:

  1. Go to Home tab > Font group > Borders drop-down.
  2. Click on the Line Style arrow.
  3. Select the dotted border style.Choosing Dotted Border in Line StyleExcel switches to the Draw Border mode automatically, and the cursor becomes a pen.
  4. Take the mouse pointer to the range of cells where you want to apply the border.
  5. Click on the mouse, hold it, and drag it to the range of cells.Applying Dotted Border Using Line Style

You will get the following output in your worksheet.

Output of Applying Dotted Border Using Line Style

From the gif below, you will understand the process of applying dotted border using Line Style in Excel.

Line Style to Apply Dotted Border


Remove Dotted Border in Excel

To remove the dotted border, apply the No Border command in the Border drop-down. Follow the steps below:

  1. Select the data range of data with dotted border.
  2. Go to Home tab > Font group > Border drop-down > No Border.Applying No Border to Remove Border

The dotted border from the selected range will be removed, like in the following image.

Output of Removing Dotted Border

Note: To replace the dotted border, utilize the Borders drop-down menu. Choose the cell range that has the dotted border and then select a border style from the available border options.

Read More: How to Remove Borders in Excel


Download Practice Workbook

You can download the free Excel workbook here and practice on your own.


Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the process of adding and removing dotted border in Excel. We have used the Format Cells dialog box and Line Style command to add dotted border. We have removed the dotted border using the No Border command. Please let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries or recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to customize the color of the dotted border in Excel?

To customize the color of dotted border, select the range. Press Ctrl+1 to open Format cells dialog box. Go to Border tab > click Color drop-down. Select any color. The selected color will be applied to the dotted border instead of the default black color.

Does the dotted border affect the print layout in Excel?

Yes, the dotted border will be visible in the print layout if the print settings include cell borders.


Related Articles


<< Go Back to Cell Borders in Excel | Excel Cell Format | Learn Excel

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