How make borders automatically appear as you input data.

One of the best easiest ways to make a spreadsheet look nice, especially if it is going to be printed, is to add borders. But, if you are constantly adding data to your spreadsheet, that means you also have to be constantly updating those borders. Below is a way to make borders appear automatically as you add data to your spreadsheet.

1. First, select the area in which you want the borders to potentially appear. I used columns A:C below.

Select

 

2. Under "Conditional Formatting," select "New Rule..."

New Rule

 

3. Select the "Use a formula to determine which cells to format" option and type in the formula. The way conditional formatting works is by evaluating the formula following the equals sign to see if it is true. If so, it applies the formatting you select. You always use type the formula as if it were in the upper-left most cell, and use your dollar signs appropriately. Below, I have made it so that if anything in in column A, it will format A, B, and C in the corresponding row.

Type Formula

 

 

4. Click the "Format..." button. Go to the "Border" tab and choose "Outline". Hit OK twice.

Choose Format

 

Notice now that I have borders around the cells in row 1, whereas I did not before. That is because cell A1 is not blank, so the formatting is applied.

Borders Appear

 

As I enter data, the borders automatically appear.

Enter Data

 

As I keep entering data, borders keep appearing.

More Data

 

If I take out what is in column A, the entire row loses its borders due to the way the formula was set up.

Delete Data

 

 

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