How to Make Cell Borders White in Microsoft Excel 365

To make cell borders white in Excel, select the cells, open Home > Borders > More Borders, choose white under Color on the Border tab, then click the edges you want in the preview and select OK. White borders are useful for separating colored cells without adding dark lines. They may be hard to see on a white worksheet, so check the cell fill and the printed or exported result too.

What You’ll Need

A workbook open in Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows. The steps below use the desktop app.
The cell or range whose borders you want to change. If you are not sure which cells are affected, select a small test range first.
A white fill or another background color if you want the white lines to stand out. White borders on a white background are usually invisible.

You do not need a special font, add-in, or formula. The border is cell formatting, so changing it does not alter the values in the cells. If you use Excel for Mac or Excel for the web, see the version notes in the steps and FAQs; some controls are arranged differently.

Step-by-Step

Select the cells. Click a cell to format just that cell, or drag across the worksheet to select a range. To select a whole column or row, click its letter or number header. You can also hold Ctrl while selecting separate ranges on Windows, though applying borders to several separate selections can be less predictable. For a first attempt, use one continuous range.
Open the full border controls. On the ribbon, choose Home, then click the small arrow beside the Borders button in the Font group. Choose More Borders at the bottom of the menu. This opens the Format Cells dialog on its Border tab. Do not select a border preset from the menu before opening More Borders if you need to set a custom color; the preset may apply the current border formatting immediately.
Choose a line style if needed. In the Border tab, look at the Style choices and click the solid line you want. A thin solid line is a good general-purpose choice. You can select a heavier line if the cells have a dark fill or the border needs to be visible in a printout. Line style and line color are separate settings, so check both before applying.
Set the border color to white. Open the Color dropdown in the Border tab and choose white from the theme or standard color palette. If the palette shows several whites or near-whites, choose the plain white swatch rather than a pale gray. The chosen color is used for the border lines you add in this dialog; it does not change the cell fill or text color.
Apply white to the intended edges. Use the diagram in the Border tab to set the edges. Click the outline buttons for the outside edges, the inside button for lines between cells, or click individual sides in the preview. For a white grid inside a block, select the inside borders and the outline. For only a white bottom edge, click only the bottom edge. The preview updates as you make choices, so inspect it before confirming. If the preview does not show the expected edges, click the relevant buttons again to toggle them.
Confirm and inspect the worksheet. Click OK. Look at the selected cells at normal zoom and at a larger zoom. If the cells have a white background, the border can be present but visually indistinguishable; temporarily apply a colored fill to check it, then restore the intended fill. Click another cell to remove the selection highlight, since selection shading can make it harder to judge the result.
Repeat only where necessary. If you need the same white border on another range, select that range and repeat the border settings. Excel may remember the most recently used border color, but verify it in the dialog rather than assuming it did. If you want to format many similar ranges consistently, consider using Format Painter after you have created one correctly formatted example.

For Excel for Mac: Select the cells and use the Borders controls on the Home tab to open the additional border options; in many current versions, Format > Cells also opens the Format Cells dialog. Choose the Border tab, set Color to white, select the edges, and confirm. Ribbon labels and dialog placement can vary slightly by Mac release, but the key settings are the Border tab and its Color control.

For Excel for the web: Select the cells and look for the Borders menu on the Home tab. The web app has fewer formatting controls in some releases. If you cannot find a line-color option or cannot set the edges precisely, open the workbook in the desktop version of Excel and use the Format Cells dialog instead.

Common Mistakes

Confusing borders with gridlines. Borders are formatting that you apply to cells; gridlines are worksheet guides controlled separately. If the faint lines you see are gridlines, changing the border color will not change them. Gridlines are managed from View > Show > Gridlines, and their print behavior is controlled separately on the Page Layout tab.

Expecting white to show on white. A white border on a white cell has almost no contrast. The format may be correct even though you cannot see the line. Use a colored cell fill when white lines need to be visible, or choose a contrasting border color for a white worksheet.

Applying only an outline when you need internal lines. The outline puts a border around the edge of the selection. It does not necessarily add dividers between every cell. Use the inside border option as well when you want a white grid within a block.

Changing the fill instead of the line color. The Format Cells dialog has separate Fill and Border tabs. Choose Color on the Border tab. A white fill changes the cell background; it does not make the border white.

Forgetting that a selection can hide the result. The active-cell outline and selection shading are not the border formatting you just applied. Click outside the range before deciding whether the new lines are visible.

Tips

Use a contrasting fill, such as a dark blue or green, behind white borders. A subtle fill change can make the borders clear without making the worksheet look busy.
For a simple block, apply the outside border and inside borders together in the Border tab, then review the preview before clicking OK. This is more reliable than repeatedly choosing menu presets.
Try the result at the zoom level people will use. Very thin white lines can look faint on screen, and a line that looks clear at high zoom may be less obvious when the sheet is reduced to fit on a page.
Use Print Preview before distributing a workbook. Choose File > Print and review the page preview. White borders on colored fills should generally remain visible, but page scaling and printer settings can affect how fine lines appear.
If the cells already have elaborate formatting, take a screenshot or note the original settings before changing them. That makes it easier to restore a prior appearance if the result is not what you intended.
To copy the finished appearance, select the formatted cell or range, choose Home > Format Painter, then drag over the destination cells. Format Painter can copy more than borders, including fill and font formatting, so use it only when those other formats should match too.

Troubleshooting

The border still looks gray or black. Reopen Home > Borders > More Borders and check the Color setting on the Border tab. Then click the edge in the preview to reapply it with white selected. A nearby border may belong to an adjacent cell, so select the cells on both sides of the line if you are unsure which cell owns it. Click OK and inspect again with the range deselected.

Nothing appears after applying white. Check the cell fill. On an unfilled white worksheet, white lines blend into the background. Apply a temporary contrasting fill to test the border. If the line then appears, the border color is working; decide whether to keep the fill or choose a darker border instead.

Only the outside edge changed. Open the Border tab again and inspect the preview. Add the inside vertical or horizontal lines, or both, depending on the layout. If the desired line is only on one side, select that specific side rather than applying all borders.

The line appears on screen but not in a printout. Check File > Print and confirm the cells have a fill that contrasts with white. Very thin lines may be difficult for a printer to reproduce. Try a thicker line style and print a test page. Do not rely on worksheet gridlines as a substitute: gridlines have separate print controls, while cell borders are part of the cell formatting.

The border seems to change back. Check whether you are editing a table or a range with other formatting applied. A table style can contribute its own visual design, and another action such as pasting formats can replace your manual border. Reapply the border after the other formatting, or test the setting in a plain worksheet range. If the workbook is shared, make sure another edit has not overwritten the formatting.

You cannot find More Borders. Confirm that you are using the desktop app and that the Home tab is selected. The Borders control is in the Font group and may appear as a small square icon; its dropdown arrow can be easy to miss. In Excel for the web or Mac, the menu layout may differ, so use the version-specific route above or open the workbook in desktop Excel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make only one side of a cell white?
Yes. Select the cell or range, open the Border tab in Format Cells, choose white, and click only the side you want in the preview. This is useful for a white underline or a single divider.

Why can’t I see my white border?
It may be on a white or very pale fill. White has little contrast against that background. Temporarily change the fill to a darker color to verify the border, or use a contrasting border color if the cells must remain white.

Will a white border print?
It can print, but it needs a contrasting background to be visible. Check File > Print and use a thicker line if a fine white edge disappears on the printer. Printer and scaling settings can affect thin lines.

Does making a border white hide worksheet gridlines?
No. Gridlines are a separate worksheet display feature. To hide them on screen, use View > Show > Gridlines. To control whether gridlines print, use the Gridlines option under Page Layout > Sheet Options; those settings do not recolor cell borders.

Can I use white borders in Excel for the web?
Often you can apply basic borders from the Home tab, but the available color and edge controls depend on the current web interface. If the needed color option is missing, open the workbook in Excel for Microsoft 365 desktop and use Home > Borders > More Borders.

Can I undo a white border?
Use Ctrl+Z on Windows immediately after applying it, or Command+Z on Mac. You can also reopen the Border tab and apply the desired alternative color or remove the affected edges. If later edits make undo impractical, reapply the original formatting manually.

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

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