How to Apply Top and Bottom Border in Excel (3 Efficient Ways)

In Excel, the Top and Bottom Border lets you add borders to the top and bottom of cells or selected ranges. This formatting option is useful for visually separating and highlighting specific data sections.

In this Excel tutorial, you will learn to apply Top and Bottom border.

Here, on the left of the image, cells don’t have borders, but on the right, borders are added using the Top and Bottom Border option.

What Is Cell Border?

Usually, a cell border is a line that surrounds a cell or a group of cells. To make your border more attractive and highlightable, you can also thicken or thin it. However, Excel provides us with features to make several changes to cell borders and it can draw attention to the users for a particular segment in the worksheet.

3 Ways to Apply Top and Bottom Border in Excel

You will learn to apply Top and Bottom Border in 3 ways using the built-in Border option, Format Cells dialog box, and the Draw Border option.

Using Top and Bottom Border Option from Borders Command

In the Border drop-down, you will get 3 types of Top and Bottom borders: Top and Bottom Border, Top and Thick Bottom Border, and Top and Double Bottom Border. To insert the Top and Bottom Border using the built-in Borders option, follow the steps below:

1. Select the cells where you want to insert borders.
2. Go to Home tab > Font group > Border drop-down > Top and Bottom Border.

The cell range now contains Top and Bottom Border like the image below:

You can also use the Top and Thick Bottom Border and Top and Double Bottom Border from the Border drop-down. The following gif will give you idea about this:

Note: You can apply the Top and Thick Bottom Border using the shortcut Alt+H+B+C and Top and Bottom Double Border using the shortcut Alt+H+ B+U.

Read More: How to Insert Border in Excel

Using Format Cells Dialog Box

When you use the built-in Border option to add Top and Bottom Border, it only applies borders to the top side of the first cell and the bottom side of the last cell in a range. You can apply Top and Bottom border to all the cells in the range using the Format Cells dialog box.

Follow the steps below to apply Top and Bottom border using the Format Cells dialog box:

1. Select the cells.
2. Press Ctrl+1 together to open the Format Cells dialog box.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box:
   • Go to Border
   • Select top, middle and bottom border in the Border group.
   • Click OK.

   

It will apply the top and bottom border to all the cells in the range.

To add Top and Bottom border quickly, you can apply some shortcuts in the Format Cells dialog box:

• For the Bottom Border, type: Alt + B
• For Top Border, type: Alt + T

Read More: How to Apply All Borders in Excel

Using Draw Border Option

You can draw Top and Bottom borders directly on the worksheet instead of selecting cells first and then choosing from a set of built-in options. To draw the Top and Bottom border in Excel, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Home tab > Font group > Border drop-down > Draw Border.
   Excel switches to the Draw Border mode automatically, and the cursor becomes a pen.
2. Take the pen to the upper side of the cell where you want to apply the border.
3. Click on the mouse to apply borders.
4. If done, press Esc to disable the border pen.

From the gif below, you will understand how to apply the Draw Border option to add Top and Bottom borders in Excel.

Read More: How to Add Thick Box Border in Excel

How to Apply Customized Top and Bottom Border in Excel

If you want to apply a unique Top and Bottom border in Excel, modify the Style and Color in the Format Cells dialog box. To apply customized Top and Bottom border, follow the steps below:

1. Choose the cells where you want to add borders.
2. Hit the Ctrl+1 keys to open the Format Cells dialog box.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box:
   • Go to the Border tab.
   • Select your desired Style and Color.
   • Select the Top and Bottom Border and press OK.

   

The final output looks like the following picture.

Read More: How to Change Border Color in Excel

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the workbook used for the demonstration from the download link below.

Conclusion

In this article, we have applied Top and Bottom border using Top and Bottom Border command, Format Cells dialog box and Draw Border option. In addition to that, you will find how to apply customized Top and Bottom border in Excel. Please let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries or recommendations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to apply the Top and Bottom border with a single command?

To apply both the Top and Bottom border simultaneously, you can utilize the shortcut Alt+H+B+D.

How to remove borders from cells in Excel?

To remove borders from cells in Excel, select the cells, open the Format Cells dialog, go to the Border tab, and choose the No Border option.

How to apply top and bottom borders to multiple sheets at once?

To apply top and bottom borders to multiple sheets at once, hold down Ctrl (or Shift for adjacent sheets) and click on the sheet tabs. Then, apply the borders from the Format Cells dialog box.Detailed steps are described above. The changes will be reflected on all selected sheets.

Is it possible to save my custom border settings?

Excel does not provide the option to save custom border settings directly within the border menu. However, you can create a New Cell Style in the Styles group in the Home tab containing your desired settings. This style can be utilized for any future documents you create.

Related Articles

• How to Add or Remove Dotted Border in Excel
• How to Add Cell Borders Inside and Outside in Excel
• How to Apply Bottom Double Border in Excel
• How to Remove Borders in Excel

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