How to Apply an Outside Border in Excel
By C. Taylor
Borders in Excel 2013 help emphasize spreadsheet data and create aesthetic appeal. By separating data from adjacent cells, you improve readability and draw attention to important sections of your Excel spreadsheet. Although any cell can have its own border, it's often more helpful to apply a border to a contiguous block of cells. This outside border creates a box around data groups without adding borders around individual cells. Excel offers a quick option for adding outside borders through it tabbed interface, but for greater control you’ll need to access the Format Cells dialog.
Step 1
Click and drag your mouse cursor around a section of data.
Step 2
Click the "Home" tab, select the "Borders" drop-down menu from the Font group and select "More Borders." Alternatively, to apply a simple outside border, click "Outside Borders" or "Thick Box Borders."
Step 3
Click the type of border line you want in the Style section and select your preferred color from the "Color" drop-down menu.
Step 4
Click "Outline" and select "OK" to apply an outside border.
References
Writer Bio
C. Taylor embarked on a professional writing career in 2009 and frequently writes about technology, science, business, finance, martial arts and the great outdoors. He writes for both online and offline publications, including the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Samsung, Radio Shack, Motley Fool, Chron, Synonym and more. He received a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences at College of Charleston. He also holds minors in statistics, physics and visual arts.