To add borders in Google Sheets, select the cells, click the Borders button in the toolbar, and choose where the lines go, such as all borders or outer borders. To remove borders, select the cells and press Alt + Shift + 6 on Windows or a Chromebook (Option + Shift + 6 on a Mac), or open the same Borders menu and choose the clear borders option.
The steps below cover Google Sheets in a web browser on a computer, plus the Google Sheets app for Android, iPhone and iPad. They follow Google’s Edit & format a spreadsheet and Keyboard shortcuts for Google Sheets help pages. You need edit access to the spreadsheet. If you can only view or comment, the formatting tools are not available to you.
What a Border Is (and How It Differs From Gridlines)
A border is a line you add to the edge of a cell or a group of cells. It is formatting, so it stays with the cells until you remove it. Gridlines are the faint gray lines Sheets shows between every cell by default. They are a view setting for the whole sheet, not cell formatting, and the border tools do not change them. If the lines you want to get rid of are the gray ones, see our guide to showing or hiding gridlines in Google Sheets instead. In the iPhone app the switch is in the sheet tab menu, as covered in our guide to hiding gridlines in the Google Sheets iPhone app.
How to Add Borders in Google Sheets on a Computer
- Open your spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
- Select the cells. Click one cell and drag across the others, or hold Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and click cells that are not next to each other. Press Ctrl + A (Command + A) to select the whole sheet.
- Click the Borders button in the toolbar above the sheet. Google lists it as Change cell borders, and its icon is a small square divided into four panes.
- Click the border position you want in the menu that opens.
The lines appear right away on the cells you selected. Point at each icon in the menu to see its name. The positions usually shown are:
- All borders: a line on every side of every selected cell, which makes a full grid.
- Inner borders: lines between the selected cells only.
- Horizontal borders and Vertical borders: lines between rows only, or between columns only.
- Outer borders: one box around the outside of the selection.
- Left, Top, Right and Bottom border: a single line on one side of the selection.
- Clear borders: removes the borders from the selection.
Google’s help page names the Borders tool but does not list every position, so the exact wording in your menu may differ slightly.
How to Change Border Color and Style
The Borders menu has two extra controls. Google calls them Change border color and Change border style. Point at the icons in the menu to find them by name.
- Select the cells.
- Click the Borders button.
- Click Border color and pick a color.
- Click Border style and pick a line. The choices typically include thin, medium and thick solid lines, plus dashed, dotted and double lines.
- Click a border position, such as All borders or Bottom border.
The order matters. The color and style are settings for the next border you draw. They do not recolor lines that are already there. If you pick a color and nothing happens, click the border position again to redraw the line with the new settings.
A common use is a header row. Select the row of headings, choose a thicker style, and click Bottom border to put one heavy line between the headings and the data. For more on that setup, see how to make a header row in Google Sheets. To keep that row on screen while you scroll, you can also freeze rows or columns in Google Sheets.
Border Keyboard Shortcuts
Google’s shortcut list includes these border shortcuts. Select the cells first, then press the keys.
| Action | Windows and Chromebook | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Top border | Alt + Shift + 1 | Option + Shift + 1 |
| Right border | Alt + Shift + 2 | Option + Shift + 2 |
| Bottom border | Alt + Shift + 3 | Option + Shift + 3 |
| Left border | Alt + Shift + 4 | Option + Shift + 4 |
| Outer border | Alt + Shift + 7 or Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Option + Shift + 7 or Command + Shift + 7 |
| Remove borders | Alt + Shift + 6 | Option + Shift + 6 |
Google does not list a shortcut for all borders or inner borders, so use the toolbar menu for those. To see the full list inside Sheets, press Ctrl + / (Command + / on a Mac).
How to Remove Borders in Google Sheets
Removing borders does not delete any data. It only takes the lines away.
- Select the cells that have borders. To clear borders from the whole sheet, press Ctrl + A (Command + A on a Mac).
- Click the Borders button in the toolbar.
- Click Clear borders. Its icon is usually a grid with no solid lines.
You can skip the menu and press Alt + Shift + 6 (Option + Shift + 6 on a Mac), which Google lists as Remove borders. The borders disappear and the gray gridlines show again, if gridlines are turned on.
To remove just one line, such as the right edge of a table, select the cells on both sides of that line before you clear. A line between two cells may belong to either cell, so clearing only one of them can leave it behind.
Remove Borders Along With All Other Formatting
Warning: this option resets more than borders. Format > Clear formatting also removes fill colors, bold, font changes and number formats from the selected cells. Your data stays. Use it only when you want a clean slate. The shortcut is Ctrl + \ (Command + \ on a Mac). Our guide to clearing formatting in Google Sheets explains what it keeps and removes.
How to Add or Remove Borders in the Google Sheets App
The keyboard shortcuts above are for computers. On a phone or tablet, Google documents the same path for Android, iPhone and iPad:
- Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
- Tap a cell, then drag the blue markers across the other cells you want to select.
- Tap Format at the top of the screen.
- Tap the Cell tab.
- Tap Borders.
- Choose a Cell border position. Use Border style and Border color to change the line.
- Tap the sheet to save your changes.
To remove borders in the app, select the cells, go back to Format > Cell > Borders, and choose the option with no borders. Google’s page does not name that option, so look for the icon without any solid lines.
How to Check the Result or Undo It
Click an empty cell away from your selection so the blue selection outline is not hiding the edges. Borders are darker than gridlines and stay visible when gridlines are off. If the result is wrong, press Ctrl + Z (Command + Z on a Mac) right away to undo the last change. For a mistake you notice much later, see how to restore an older version of a Google Sheets file. In the app, tap Undo at the top of the screen.
Troubleshooting Border Problems
- The Borders button is missing. On a narrow window, Sheets may tuck some toolbar buttons into an overflow menu at the right end of the toolbar, so widen the window or look there. If the whole toolbar or menu bar is gone, see how to unhide the menu in Google Sheets.
- The Borders button is grayed out. You probably have view-only or comment access, or the cells are protected. Ask the owner for edit access. Our guide to sheet protection in Google Sheets explains how protection works.
- The border did not change color. Set the color first, then click the border position again.
- Lines remain after clearing borders. Faint gray lines are gridlines, not borders. A darker line that remains usually belongs to a neighboring cell. Select a wider range and clear again.
- A shortcut does nothing. Make sure cells are selected and you are not typing inside a cell. A browser extension or your operating system may also use the same key combination. The Borders menu always works as a fallback.
- A border will not follow a rule. Google’s conditional formatting help page describes changing text or background color when a condition is met. It does not list borders, so plan to add borders by hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add a border to just the outside of a range?
Yes. Select the range, click the Borders button, and choose Outer borders. The shortcut is Alt + Shift + 7 on Windows and Chromebooks, or Option + Shift + 7 on a Mac. Only the outside edge of the selection gets a line.
How do I make a border thicker in Google Sheets?
Select the cells, click the Borders button, open Border style, and pick one of the heavier solid lines. Then click the border position again, such as All borders, so the lines are redrawn in the thicker style.
Does removing borders delete my data?
No. Clear borders and the Remove borders shortcut only take away the lines. The values and formulas in the cells stay as they are. Clear formatting also keeps your data, but it resets other formatting too.
Is there a shortcut for all borders in Google Sheets?
Google’s shortcut list does not include one. It lists shortcuts for the top, right, bottom, left and outer borders, plus Remove borders. For a full grid, select the cells and click All borders in the Borders menu.
Are borders and gridlines the same thing?
No. Gridlines are the default gray guides for the whole sheet. Borders are formatting you add to specific cells, with a color and style you choose. Hiding gridlines does not remove borders, and clearing borders does not hide gridlines.
Do borders stay when cells are merged?
A merged cell is formatted as one cell, so add or adjust the border after merging to be sure the outline is where you want it. See how to merge cells in Google Sheets for the merge steps.
Next Step
Borders pair well with shading. Once your table is outlined, learn how to add or remove fill color in Google Sheets to highlight the header or total rows. If you plan to print the sheet, check the Google Sheets print settings before you send it to the printer.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.