Print cell borders- Numbers

Hi alpicci,

The instructions above were written in 2012, and apply to the then current version of Numbers—Numbers '09, aka Numbers 2.x

The additional button suggested—one that selects both the outside and inner cell borders of the selected group of cells—was added to Numbers 3, allowing setting colour and weight of all borders of a rectangular group of cells simultaneously.

Here's the process using all body cells of the empty table shown below:

• Select the group of cells to be formatted (here: B2-E10)
• Click the format brush to open the Format Inspector, then choose Cell.
• In the Border section, select the third button in the top row.

• Note that the blue Selection lines now enclose all of the outside and inside borders of the selected group of cells.
• In the Inspector panel, Use the Border Style pop-up menu, the line popup menu, and the color picker to your desired attributes for the borders.

The attributes will be applied as you choose them, allowing for instant corrections should you make a choice you want to change.

Here's the result of the choices I made. Note that this is not presented as a 'superb design choice,' just as an example of one possible result.

Regards,

Barry

These really *****. I miss the years when Apple software was "very user friendly" and "Very common sense". I have tried all suggestions that I read here and still not being able to print the lines in my tables. I have to print these tables for a meeting in a couple of hours and here I am, sweating it and wasting my time. Seriously thinking switching back to Windows.

What steps did you follow to apply borders to the selected cells?

Have you read and followed the directions in the article Formatting Table Cell Borders, in Chapter 4, Working with Table Cells, of the Numbers '09 User Guide?

The guide may be downloaded via the Help menu in Numbers.

Do the borders appear when you Hide Print View, and do NOT have the table selected?

Regards,

Barry

I have this problem too. It is extremely annoying! I want to be able to have a completely blank sheet with no margin/grids and cannot. The best I can do is make the grid lines white; I cannot get rid of the side and top bars or change the colors! I use Numbers for more than spreadsheets and in my opinion, it should be an on/off feature, not jumping through hoops to click on every item to change it ... still not able to get what I want. The help feature doesn't help you if you can't use words like "grid lines", etc. ... it just says searching and never has answer. I have been trying to use this program vs. Excel but it hasn't won me over. 😟

Hi Daylene,

Is this the effect you're looking for? The image is of the top left quarter of the screen. The Numbers document has a single Sheet, containing a single 4 column by 10 row Table. The visible data are cell addresses of cells in the table. Cells whose address is not shown are empty.

The view below is of the same document, but with one of the table cells (B7) selected, making the table Active. Active tables show their cell grid, and show the column and row Reference tabs.

The example started with a Plain style table no Header rows or columns). Cell borders were set in a few steps:

1. Select the whole table
2. Open the Table Inspector
   
3. Click the 'outside borders' button (highlighted) in the Cell Borders section.
4. Set the stroke thickness to None.
5. Click the 'inside borders' button (immediately left of the highlighted one above)
6. Set the stroke thickness to None.

Apple delivers a couple of excellent resources with the iWork applications—download links for each application's User Guide and for the iWork Formulas and Functions User Guide.

You'll find the link for the Numbers '09 User Guide in the Help menu in Numbers.

A search on 'cell border' should take you to an appropriate page, containing the article referenced in my reply above.

Reading the first few chapters of the Numbers '09 User Guide will also introduce you to Header Rows, Header Columns and Footer columns, the first two of which are likely what you're referring to as "the side and top bars." Cells in these rows have useful properties not shared with the 'regular' cells in the body of a table. You can have a 'plain' table without these rows (eg. the one in my example above).

Regards,

Barry

I have read the User Manual about cell borders but it doesn't help. Excel has a very easy way to just click on an icon to get done what I want done.

All I want to do is to format regular cells (not header rows or columns) with both an inside and outside border. However, it seems with Numbers you can only do one or the other. There are no icons for enclosing a group of cells with inside and outside borders. Why does Numbers make this so difficult? Isn't it very common?

Inside Border & Outside border on the tool bar..?

Select cell group first.

Select cells, Select icons in border options dropdown : Outside, Inside, whatever.

Set line > set point size in drop down > Set colour

Hi 'mom,

The usual case when anyone says, "I have tried everything," is that (s)he hasn't. 😝

Here's a sampling of ways to set border colours (and thicknesses):

Table 1: The inside borders on this table are darker than those set by default in Numbers. I've used the darker grey in the template i use for posts here, as it makes distinguishing the columns and rows easier.

To set the red outer border:

1. Click a cell to make the table active. Press command-A to select all (cells).
2. In the Table Inspector, click the Outside borders button to select the Outside borders of the selected block of cells.
3. Click the pop-up and choose the solid line.
4. Use the stepper beside the pop-up to set the thickness to 2 (points).
5. Click on the Color well, then use one of the choices in the Color window to choose a colour for the Outside borders.
   Table 2: Continue from the steps above to set the thickness and colour for the Inside borders.
   
6. Click the Inside borders button to select the Inside borders of the selected block of cells.
7. Click the pop-up and choose the solid line.
8. Use the stepper beside the pop-up to set the thickness to 1 (point).
9. Click on the Color well, then choose a colour for the Inside borders.

Table 3: This table is simpler, as all borders have been left at the default "Thin" thickness, and all are set to the same colour. The setting can be done using tools in the Inspector, or in the Format bar.

Inspector:

1. Select cells as above.
2. Click the Inside borders button twice.
3. Set colour as above.

Format bar:

1. Click the table's icon in the Sheets list to select the whole table.
2. Click the Color well in the Stroke/Borders section (circled) of the Format bar.
3. Click your colour choice in the Color palette that appears.

Regards,

Barry

Hi Craig,

craigst2 wrote:

All I want to do is to format regular cells (not header rows or columns) with both an inside and outside border… Why does Numbers make this so difficult?

The last technique described in my message above also works for any rectangular block of selected cells:

• Select the cells.
• Click the (Stroke) Color well.
• Pick a colour.

If your group of cells isn't a rectangular block, as in the example below, two (or more) rounds of the procedure will be necessary:

First round:

• Select the cells
  (Click B3, press and hold the command key while dragging to select D4-D6, keep the command key pressed as you click E3, C7 and B8. Order doesn't matter).
• Click the (Stroke) Color well.
• Pick a colour.

This will colour the outside borders, but not the inside ones between D4 and D4, and D5 and D6. Round 2:

• Select D4-D6
• Click the (Stroke) Color well.
• Pick a colour.

Result will be as shown.

Regards,

Barry

I was using a rectangular block but your explanation of how to do other shapes is helpful.

I finally got it to work but it's certainly not intuitive. If you don't know to select a color, you think that the Outside/Inside border icons are toggle switches because they do in fact toggle on and off when you select one or the other. And the User Manual doesn't help with this either.

My humble recommendation to Apple: put a third icon there, for both Inside and Outside borders.

Thanks, Barry, for all your work here!

craigst2 wrote:

I was using a rectangular block but your explanation of how to do other shapes is helpful.

I finally got it to work but it's certainly not intuitive. If you don't know to select a color, you think that the Outside/Inside border icons are toggle switches because they do in fact toggle on and off when you select one or the other. And the User Manual doesn't help with this either.

My humble recommendation to Apple: put a third icon there, for both Inside and Outside borders.

Thanks, Barry, for all your work here!

Craig,

To do all the borders at once, click on the table name in the Sheets Pane to select the entire table and then go to the Graphic Inspector, Stroke section, and set the line type and color. Everything will change.

Jerry

Mosts of the time I just want a certain set of cells to have the borders, not the whole table.

And why do you have to choose the stroke and color each time. Why can't there be a default setting, like 1 pt black, then one icon to click for both inside and outside borders?

Craig,

You are asking me to speculate. I don't know what the designers were thinking, except that they seem to have wanted to produce a useful, satisfying, simple product. It doesn't please everyone. You can make Table Styles, and you can apply them, so in that sense you can set a number of defaults. That's best, though, for repetitive work and it doesn't cover the case where the patterns of borders are scattered about the table. You may come to be of the opinion in time, as I have, that such table layouts smack of the realm you thought you were leaving. Well, maybe you didn't want to leave Excel, but I did. Small, purposeful (as opposed to multi-purpose) tables with simple designs have a nicer look, I think.

I find the Format Bar border controls easier to use than the ones in the Table Inspector. You have this progression, left to right:

With your cell range selection made, Choose: 1. Pattern, 2. Line Type, 3. Line Weight, 4. Color. Your previous choices will already be recognized, so you only have to make changes.

Jerry