Why cant i put borders around cells in excel

Adding cell borders and filling cells with colors and patterns is an easy way to make your data stand out, appear more organized, and make the spreadsheet easier to read.

1. Select the cell(s) where you want to add the border.
2. Click the Border list arrow from the Home tab.

   A list of borders you can add to the selected cell(s) appears. Use the examples shown next to each border option to decide which border type will work best for you.

3. Select a border type.
   

   To remove a border, click the Border list arrow in the Font group and select No Border.

To have more control over the look and style of the cell borders, use the advanced border options.

1. Select the cell(s) where you want to add the border.
2. Click the Font dialog box launcher.
   

3. Click the Border tab.
4. Select the line style and color you want.

   You now need to specify where you want the new border style to appear.

5. Select a preset option or apply borders individually in the Borders section.
6. Click OK.
   

The border is applied to the cell range.

1. Select the cell(s) where you want to add the shading.
2. Click the Fill Color list arrow.

   A palate of theme colors is displayed in the menu. If you want to use a different color, select More Colors.

3. Select the color you want to apply.
   

A background color is applied to the cell(s). Make sure the background provides enough contrast with the text to be legible.

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated January 30, 2021)

Excel allows you to quickly and easily add different types of borders to your individual cells and ranges of cells in your spreadsheet. You can use a number of different line types for your border. To add borders to cells, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want bordered.
2. Select the Cells option from the Format menu. You will see the Format Cells dialog box.
3. Click on the Border tab. (See Figure 1.)


Figure 1. The Border tab of the Format Cells dialog box.

4. In the Border section of the dialog box, select where you want the border applied. (Outline will surround the entire cell or cell range.)
5. Select a line type from the Style area.
6. Click on OK.

1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want bordered.
2. If the type of border you want applied appears on the Borders tool, click on it and you are finished. (If not, proceed with the remaining steps.)
3. Click on the downward-pointing triangle at the right side of the Borders tool. A drop-down palette of border types is displayed.
4. Select the border you want applied to each cell in the range. You can outline the range by selecting the outline border, which is at the bottom-right position on the border palette.

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If your spreadsheet is in the protect mode the borders will not work.... unprotect the worksheet and the borders should work.

That only applies if you don't allow users to format cells when you set the protection... Btw the way you realise that the last post before you posted was from May 2016 and the original thread is from July 2002? but it is nice to see the old threads are still read and it is always good to receive contributions.

and also welcome to the forum