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I've just upgraded from Excel 2007 to Excel 2010. I'm looking for the way to change the global default 2010 cell gridline color/style to match what I had in 2007.
I don't mean the default just for newly created workbooks, nor how to manually change an individual workbook or sheet.
I want all sheets in new workbooks as well as all existing workbooks from whatever source to open defaulting to displaying the gridlines in the same color/style I choose, just as 2007 does now.
I don't remember now whether it was the default in 2007 at the time or not, but 2007 uses an unobtrusive faint grey/blue solid line as a global default cell gridline color -- 2010 is defaulting to a very distracting dark black dotted line when I open existing workbooks.
While it's possible to redefine the "Automatic" color for a worksheet under File > Options > Advanced, this appears to redefine the auto color for ALL colored objects... borders included, which is not helpful. And it still apparently only applies to that particular worksheet.
Where is the setting to accomplish a custom cell gridline color/style that is remembered and displayed as the default when all existing and new workbooks are opened? And without affecting the "automatic" color of borders or other objects. This should be made more obvious, not the kind of thing I feel I should have to search the web for.
Thanks!
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Answer accepted by question author
Existing workbooks will have to be modified manually. For all new workbooks you can change the default workbook/sheet.
Once created a workbook/ worksheet template go to File>Save As Type: scroll down to Excel Template (*.XLT) and save the workbook.
Existing workbooks will have to be modified manually. For all new workbooks you can change the default workbook/sheet.
Once created a workbook/ worksheet template go to File>Save As Type: scroll down to Excel Template (*.XLT) and save the workbook.
This is useless and doesn't work. I'm relived that I'm not alone, however it's sad that there are so many people out there with the same problem and Microsoft is totally ignoring it.
When you say existing workbooks (e.g., Excel 2003) need to be modified manually when opening them in Excel 2010, do you mean each workbook needs to have its gridlines modified manually via the File > Options > Advanced menu? If so, I have tried this and gotten the following bad results: a) All of the gridlines become the color that I have selected (good), but instead of a smooth line of that color, they are now a dotted line of that color (bad ... the dots hurt my eyes ... I want smooth lines); and b) All of my cell borders (borders, not gridlines) that were black are also then automatically changed to the new grid color that I just selected (bad ... why is a global gridline change via the Advanced menu having an affect on the thick cell borders that were in my pre-existing Excel 2003 file?); note that all of my cell borders that were a different color other than black (e.g., red) remain the different color (e.g., red) and are unaffected by the global gridline change (good).
So, for NEW files, I want to able to save a default template that has a gridline color of my choosing and have it be smooth lines -- not dotted lines. How do I get the gridlines smooth like they are before I attempt to make any gridline color change? Is Microsoft reserving smooth lines just for those cases when nobody attempts to alter the gridline color?? I know how to save a default book and sheet template to the XLSTART folder ... I just need to get those gridlines SMOOTH please. Like the Original question and other posts have said, the black dotted lines are annoying.
For OLD files, how do I change the gridline color without also automatically changing all of my existing cell borders that are black?
Thanks for any help you can offer.
this was NOT helpful. Answer thje question MS. How do you get the smooth lines. When I follow your instructions it doesnt make it a default... what a pile of ****
I am looking for this option myself. The default grid lines are a lot lighter than I would like. Would be nice to darken them by 25% or so and keep that setting on the master template. I tried changing some brightness settings, but it is still not easy to see the default lines.