{"id":497540,"date":"2022-10-01T21:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/"},"modified":"2022-10-01T21:00:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-01T18:00:14","slug":"how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Remove Dotted Lines in Microsoft Excel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29023275d40\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29023275d40\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_Remove_Dotted_Lines_in_Microsoft_Excel%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to Remove Dotted Lines in Microsoft Excel&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/#Remove_Dotted_Lines_After_a_Printer_Preview\" >Remove Dotted Lines After a Printer Preview<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/#Remove_Dotted_Lines_After_a_Page_Break_Preview\" >Remove Dotted Lines After a Page Break Preview<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-remove-dotted-lines-in-microsoft-excel\/#Changed_Dotted_Lines_to_Solid_Lines_for_Borders\" >Changed Dotted Lines to Solid Lines for Borders<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_Remove_Dotted_Lines_in_Microsoft_Excel%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to Remove Dotted Lines in Microsoft Excel&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-757715\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/microsoft_excel_hero_1200x675.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel logo on a green background\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Have you ever been working on an Excel spreadsheet when dotted lines suddenly <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared? While fine to some, those dotted lines may be distracting to others. We\u2019ll show you when and why these dotted lines appear and how to remove them.<\/p>\n<p>There are a few instances where you may see dotted lines in Excel. If you set up your sheet to print or use the Page Break Preview, you\u2019ll see dotted lines for page breaks when you return to the Normal view. Additionally, if you share a spreadsheet with editing privileges, a collaborator may add a border with a dotted line style.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to remove dotted lines in Excel for these situations.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Remove_Dotted_Lines_After_a_Printer_Preview\"><\/span>Remove Dotted Lines After a Printer Preview<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you print your sheet or simply <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/447593\/how-to-print-a-specific-selection-of-cells-in-excel\/\">look at a print preview of it, you\u2019ll notice those dotted lines appear when you return to the sheet. These are indicators of page breaks for your spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830619\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PrinterLines-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Dotted lines after seeing the print preview\" width=\"650\" height=\"285\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Print a Specific Selection of Cells in Excel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To remove the dotted lines, go to File &gt; Options.<\/p>\n<p>When the Excel Options window opens, select \u201cAdvanced\u201d on the left. On the right, scroll down to the Display Options for This Worksheet section. Uncheck the box for Show Page Breaks and click \u201cOK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830617\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/UncheckShowBreaks-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Show Page Breaks unchecked\" width=\"650\" height=\"322\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>When the Options window closes, you should see the dotted lines removed from your spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830618\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PrinterNoLines-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Dotted lines removed after seeing the print preview\" width=\"650\" height=\"284\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Follow the same steps for additional sheets in your workbook.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Remove_Dotted_Lines_After_a_Page_Break_Preview\"><\/span>Remove Dotted Lines After a Page Break Preview<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Another time when dotted lines appear in an Excel sheet is when <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/763379\/how-to-insert-edit-or-remove-page-breaks-in-microsoft-excel\/\">using Page Break Preview and returning to Normal view from it. As with printer previews, you\u2019ll see lines for the page breaks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Insert, Edit, or Remove Page Breaks in Microsoft Excel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you enter Page Break Preview on the View tab, you\u2019ll see solid and dotted blue lines indicating the page breaks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830620\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PageBreakLines-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Page Break Preview dotted and solid lines\" width=\"650\" height=\"176\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To return to Normal view, select \u201cNormal\u201d on the View tab.\u00a0You\u2019ll then see that the blue dotted lines are now black dotted lines and the solid blue lines are solid black lines.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830621\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/NormalLines-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Normal view dotted and solid lines\" width=\"650\" height=\"174\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To remove these lines, follow the same steps as above for after a printer setup. Go to File &gt; Options, select \u201cAdvanced,\u201d and uncheck the box for Show Page Breaks in the Display Options for This Worksheet section.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-830617 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/UncheckShowBreaks-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Show Page Breaks unchecked\" width=\"650\" height=\"322\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>When the Options window closes, your dotted and solid page break indicators should be gone.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changed_Dotted_Lines_to_Solid_Lines_for_Borders\"><\/span>Changed Dotted Lines to Solid Lines for Borders<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/435380\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-co-authoring-in-excel\/\">share an Excel workbook with others and everyone has editing privileges, you may see changes when you reopen your workbook. One of these changes may include borders where there were none before or dotted cell borders.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How To Add and Change Cell Borders In Excel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Excel offers different lines styles for borders including dotted and solid. You can either remove the border completely or choose a solid line style rather than dotted.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830622\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DottedBorder-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Dotted line border in Excel\" width=\"600\" height=\"385\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Select the cells containing the borders. Then, head to the Home tab and Font section of the ribbon. Click the Borders drop-down box.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830623\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/HomeBorders-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Borders button on the Home tab\" width=\"484\" height=\"500\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To remove the borders altogether, choose \u201cNo Border.\u201d This deletes the borders from all selected cells.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830624\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/NoBorder-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"No Border in the Borders menu\" width=\"482\" height=\"500\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>To change the line style, move down to Line Style in the Draw Borders section of the drop-down menu. In the pop-out menu, pick one of the solid line options.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830625\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/LineStyle-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Line Styles in the Borders menu\" width=\"409\" height=\"500\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can then either select the borders you want to change using your cursor which now displays as a pencil or choose the border style you want from the Borders drop-down menu.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830626\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/RemoveDottedBorder-ExcelRemoveDottedLines.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Clicking to change a dotted to solid line border\" width=\"600\" height=\"385\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You should see any borders with dotted lines updated to solid lines.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it\u2019s those little things that pop up that can be the most annoying, especially if you don\u2019t know where they came from. Now that you know how to get rid of dotted lines in Excel, check out how to remove the gridlines as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Remove Gridlines in Microsoft Excel<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/830614\/remove-dotted-lines-in-excel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to Remove Dotted Lines in Microsoft Excel&#8221; Have you ever been working on an Excel spreadsheet when dotted lines suddenly appeared? While fine to some, those dotted lines may be distracting to others. We\u2019ll show you when and why these dotted lines appear and how to remove them. There are a few instances where&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/microsoft_excel_hero_1200x675.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}