Clean Excel Sheet: Remove Gridlines and Borders

To clean up an Excel sheet with no cell lines, open the worksheet and choose View > Show > Gridlines to turn off the on-screen gridlines. If visible lines remain, they are probably cell borders: select the affected cells, then choose Home > Font > Borders > No Border. These are separate settings, so check both when you want a completely plain-looking sheet.

Gridlines and borders are different

Gridlines are the faint lines Excel draws to distinguish worksheet cells when they do not have a visible border. They are a viewing aid, not part of the cell’s formatting. Turning them off changes how the worksheet looks on screen, but it does not erase data, merge cells, or change formulas. The setting applies to the active worksheet, so another sheet in the same workbook can still show gridlines.

Borders, by contrast, are formatting applied to cells. They can be solid, dotted, colored, or thicker than ordinary gridlines, and they can be applied to one edge or all edges of a selected cell. Hiding gridlines does not hide borders. That is why a sheet may still look ruled after you switch gridlines off.

There is also a third visual effect to know about: cells with a fill color do not display the usual gridlines, even if the gridline setting is on. A white fill can therefore make a region look blank while neighboring unfilled cells still show their gridlines. If a sheet looks inconsistent, inspect its borders, fills, and gridline setting rather than assuming there is only one kind of line.

Hide gridlines on screen

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, use the View tab to hide the lines on the current worksheet:

Open the worksheet you want to change.
Select View on the ribbon.
In the Show group, clear the Gridlines checkbox.

The change takes effect immediately. To restore the lines, return to the same checkbox and select it again. The command is a display toggle; it does not change the workbook’s cell contents. If you are working with several sheets, repeat the step for each one you want to clean up.

In Excel for the web, the gridline control is also on the View tab, under the display options; the exact ribbon layout can vary with the available window width. On Excel for Mac, use View > Gridlines or the Gridlines option on the View ribbon, depending on the ribbon layout. The names and placement can differ slightly by platform, but the setting controls worksheet display rather than cell formatting.

Remove borders without damaging cell data

If lines remain after hiding gridlines, remove the borders from only the cells that need attention. Select the range, then choose Home > Font > Borders > No Border. The Borders button is in the Font group; its small arrow opens the menu. This clears border formatting from the selected cells while leaving their values and formulas in place.

To select the entire worksheet, click the small triangle at the intersection of the row numbers and column letters, above row 1 and left of column A. Then use the No Border command. This is broader than selecting a table or a small range, so use it only if you really want to remove borders throughout that sheet. A formatted table may have its appearance controlled by a table style, so check the table’s design options as well if its outlines persist.

Removing all formatting is a more drastic choice. Home > Editing > Clear > Clear Formats removes formatting from the selected cells, not just borders. That can also change fonts, fills, and number formats, so dates, percentages, or currency values may no longer look as intended. For a simple cleanup, use No Border instead of Clear Formats.

Make a clean sheet print without lines

Screen gridlines and printed gridlines have separate controls. Turning off View > Show > Gridlines does not, by itself, determine whether Excel prints gridlines. In Windows desktop Excel, open Page Layout and look for the Sheet Options group. Under Gridlines, clear Print to prevent gridlines from appearing on the printout. The View checkbox in that group controls the on-screen display and corresponds to the View-tab setting.

Before printing, check File > Print and review the preview. This helps catch lines that are actual borders, which can still print even when the Print gridlines option is off. It also reveals whether the print area, page orientation, scaling, or page breaks make the sheet difficult to read. Excel for Mac and Excel for the web may arrange page setup controls differently, so look for the worksheet’s page-layout or print settings on that platform.

Be deliberate about removing every border from a report. Gridlines can be turned off for a polished screen view, while a few intentional borders may still help printed totals or section headings stand out. Conversely, if you want a plain printout, remove unwanted borders as well as disabling printed gridlines.

Choose the right cleanup for the job

The best method depends on what you mean by “no cell lines.” Use this quick guide:

Lines appear faintly across empty cells: turn off gridlines on the View tab.
Lines remain in a particular range: select that range and choose No Border.
Lines show only on paper or in print preview: check the Print gridlines option and inspect borders.
Some cells look shaded or unusually blank: check fill colors; filled cells do not show ordinary gridlines.
A table retains outlines or banding: inspect its table style and border formatting.

A useful approach is to start with the least destructive setting. Hide gridlines first if you want a clean view without changing formatting. If the unwanted lines are still there, remove borders from the smallest relevant range. Only clear all formats when you are comfortable restoring any number, font, or fill formatting that the selected cells need.

Why lines may still appear

Only part of the sheet is clean. Gridline visibility is a worksheet display setting, while borders and fills belong to cells. A range with a white fill may conceal its gridlines while the rest of the sheet still shows them. A range with borders will keep those borders when gridlines are hidden. Identify which visual feature you are seeing before changing the whole sheet.

Lines return on another tab. Each worksheet has its own gridline display setting. Hiding lines on one tab does not necessarily hide them on every tab. Visit each sheet and check its View setting. If you select multiple sheet tabs together, Excel groups those worksheets and commands can affect them all; be careful to ungroup them afterward by selecting a single tab.

The sheet still looks like a grid even with gridlines off. Check for borders, including colored or very light borders that resemble the default lines. Select a suspicious cell and open the Borders menu, or use No Border on a small test range to see whether the appearance changes. If the lines belong to a formatted table, changing the worksheet gridline setting will not remove the table’s style.

Lines are visible only in a screenshot or exported file. Confirm which view or output is being captured. Print settings control printed gridlines, while screen display controls the worksheet view. Borders and fills can remain visible in both. A quick check in Print Preview can distinguish printed gridlines from cell borders before you share or print the workbook.

What changes—and what does not

Hiding gridlines is a cosmetic display choice for the worksheet; it does not conceal cell values or protect information. Anyone who opens the workbook can still select cells and view their contents, and the setting can be reversed. Do not use hidden gridlines as a privacy or security measure. Use appropriate workbook protection or access controls if you need to limit changes or access, while keeping in mind that worksheet protection is not a substitute for securing sensitive files.

Likewise, clearing borders does not delete the cells or their contents. It removes a visual formatting feature. That makes No Border a safer targeted fix than deleting rows or columns, but it can still remove meaningful outlines from the selected range. If a sheet contains a carefully formatted report, save a copy before making large-scale formatting changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I remove gridlines in Excel without deleting data?
Choose View > Show > Gridlines and clear the checkbox. This hides the worksheet gridlines without deleting values, formulas, or cell formatting.

Why are lines still visible after I turn off gridlines?
They are likely cell borders, table formatting, or another visual element. Select the affected cells and use Home > Font > Borders > No Border if you want to remove borders.

How do I hide gridlines when printing in Excel?
In Windows desktop Excel, go to Page Layout > Sheet Options > Gridlines and clear Print. Then check File > Print to confirm the preview, especially if borders are also present.

Can I hide gridlines on just one worksheet?
Yes. The display setting applies to the worksheet you are viewing. Turn it off on that sheet and leave the setting on for other worksheets if you prefer.

How do I show gridlines again?
Return to View > Show and select Gridlines. If some cells still do not show lines, check whether they have a fill color or whether the gridline setting is enabled on the correct worksheet.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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