Sometimes, simple formatting techniques can make your data a lot more easy to read and consume.
While there are many types of formatting options available (such as indenting, coloring the cell or the text, strikethrough, making the text bold or italics, changing the font style or size), one that is often used is underlining the text in Google Sheets.
You can underline the entire cell or can choose to underline a part of the text in a cell.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to underline in Google Sheets.
So let’s get started!
Table of Contents
How to Underline in Google Sheets
- Select the cell that you want to underline (or a range of cells)
- Click the Format option in the menu.
- Click on the ‘Underline’ option.
When to Underline in Google Sheets
Underline is usually used to emphasize a word or a phrase in Google Sheets. A couple of tips for when to underline in Google Sheets are:
- Underline can be used to highlight the main points in your data.
- You can use Google Sheets underline to make it easier to read if you have a large volume of data.
- You can also use an underline to differentiate between parts of your data by using both single underline and double underline.
- You can also literally underline the underline data.
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How to Underline in Google Sheets with the Formatting Menu
If you want to underline the entire text in a cell, you can do that using the below steps:
Step 1: Select the cell that you want to underline (or a range of cells)
Step 2: Click the Format menu option.
Step 3: Click on the ‘Underline’ option
The above steps would automatically underline the entire text in the cell (or the range of cells) that you have selected.
How to Remove Underline in Google Sheets
If you want to remove an underline in Google Sheets, either repeat the same steps, or use the keyboard shortcuts Control + Z or Control + U. Another method how to get rid of underlining in Google Sheets is by using clear formatting.
Using a Keyboard Shortcut to Underline a Cell
The keyboard shortcut to underline in Google Sheets is Control + U (hold the Control key and press the U key), or Command + U if using a Mac
Underline Specific Text in a Cell
If you don’t want to underline the whole cell but only a part of the text, you can do that as well.
Suppose you have the text “Hello World” in a cell and you only want to underline the word “Hello”
Below are the steps to do this:
Step 1: Select the cell that has the text that you want to underline
Step 2: Double-click on the cell (or press F2) to get into the edit mode
Step 3: Select the text that you want to underline in the cell
Step 4: Click the Format option and then click on Underline (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + U)
The above steps would underline the selected text in the cell.
How to Underline Part of the Text Within a Cell in Google Sheets
You may also want to only underline a part of the test in your cell in Google Sheets. In this case, you can follow the following steps:
Step 1:Â Click on the cell with the text you want to underline.
Step 2: Go to the formula bar and select only the word or phrase you want underlined.
Step 3: Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+U.
Step 4:Â Click Enter.
The text you highlighted will become underlined. You can use the same method for how to underline in Google Sheets mac but with the keyboard shortcut Cmd+U.
Add a Bottom Border to a Cell or Range of Cells as an Underline
In some cases, you may not want to underline the text but the entire cell.
This is often the case when presenting the sum of a column (or any other such calculation) and show some difference between the data and the cell that has the calculation.
Below are the steps to Google Sheets underline a single cell
Step 1: Select the cell that you want to underline (in case you select a range of cells, only the bottom ones would be underlined)
Step 2: Click the cell borders icon in the toolbar
Step 3: Click on the bottom border option
This would give a bottom border to the cell, which looks as if you have underlined the cell. You can follow the same steps as a method of how to get rid of an underline in Google Sheets.
How to Double Underline in Google Sheets
There’s also the option to double underline in Google Sheets. However, this only works with the entire cell. In case you want a double-underline, you can:
Step 1:Â Select the cell you want to double underline.
Step 2:Â Click on the ‘Border style’ option
Step 3:Â Click the drop down for more border options
Step 4:Â Click on the double border option.
If you want to select a range of cells in a column and give all the cells a bottom-border, choose the ‘Horizontal border’ option in the Border options in the toolbar.
Pro tip: In case you want to underline those cells that contain a specific text, you can do that using conditional formatting.
Related Reading: How to Remove Hyperlinks in Google Sheets
How to Add Underline Format With the iOS or Android Mobile App
You can underline in the Google Sheets mobile app in three steps:
- Highlight the text you wish to underline
- Tap the Text formatting shortcut
- Tap the Google Sheet underline icon
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Is Underline in Google Sheets? / How Do You Underline in Google Sheets?
You can underline in Google Sheet by:
- Navigating to Format > Text
- Using the Google Sheet Underline text keyboard shortcut of Ctrl + U
- Clicking the shortcut in the toolbar
How Do You Bold Underline in Google Sheets?
Instead of using the underline text format, you can add a bottom line to the cell and make it thicker in the options.
How Do You Underline an Entire Cell?
Double click the cell, then select all the text in the cell and apply underline formatting. Or you can add a bottom border to the cell instead.
Where to Next?
So these are some ways you can use to underline text in a cell or the cell itself.
I hope you found this tutorial useful!
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1 thought on “How to Underline in Google Sheets – Easy 2024 Guide”
Hi, I like to use double underline to circle important tables in my reports, it makes it look pretty.
However, I have a small problem with it, and I’ve been unable to find a pattern on how to re-produce and also how to solve it.
Usually when I use the double underline on a cell or a group of cells, the outer line is just the outer line, no issue there. The inner line though, should make the same shape, just like 1 px margin, so to speak. This usually works smoothly, but sometimes the inner line do not stop at the inner line margin place when it comes to the end of the last cell, it goes to outer line and thus creating a break in the pattern.
It is quite disruptive to me and causing me a headache to merge more cells where it acts correctly, and just. ugh. it’s a small nightmare, because I can not just add more cells and columns and rows everytime I encounter this.
I have tried to add the lines in different order, to remove all nearby lines, to add or remove formatting, content, color. Just about anything.
If anyone has any solid advice or article on this, please help.
I tried to adjust to just using thick lines instead, but it doesn’t “do it for me”, please help me with my nitpicking. *crying in corporate*