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How to Underline in Excel (4 Quickest Methods) – 2024

Excel is the top choice for organizing and analyzing datasets. It allows you to manage data in tabular form and easily create professional-looking presentations and reports.

It boasts a multitude of formatting tools to make your document attractive and readable.

You can change the font style and size, format the cell background, insert charts or graphs, and more.

The text can be formatted using various styles,

  • Bold
  • Italic
  • Underline
  • Strikethrough 

This is a quick guide about how to underline in Excel. We will discuss various tricks, so make sure to read the article to the end.

It is an easy way of highlighting important information.

Whether you wish to underline a single cell or multiple cells, Excel offers straightforward methods to achieve this.

Benefits of using the Text Style feature in Excel

The Text style tools in Excel allow users to quickly and easily apply formatting to text within cells.

Here are a few of the benefits:

  • Consistency: By applying the same text style to multiple cells, users can maintain consistency, which makes it easy to read.
  • Emphasis: Using this, users can help draw the attention of the readers to the important points, such as headings, totals, or any important stuff.
  • Presentation: It enhances the spreadsheet’s overall appearance, ensuring that the most important information stands out during presentations.
  • Clarity: The text styles in Excel provide a quick visual clue, making it easier to identify the critical portion of the spreadsheet.
  • Professionalism: Using this feature can help your workbook look more polished and professional. This can be important while sharing your file with your colleagues or clients.

Overall, the Text style feature in Excel is a valuable tool that can help you create clear, consistent, and efficient spreadsheets.

How to Underline Text in Excel

Now, here are the steps to underline text in Excel.

There are several methods to leverage this feature. Let us discuss each one of them in detail.

You don’t need to be an expert to follow the methods discussed in the following section.

METHOD #1 – Using the Main Menu

This is the most common method to underline text in Excel.

We call it the main menu method because we will access the tool from that section of Excel. It gets the job done quickly without any effort.

Let’s begin,

  • Select the desired cell where you want to underline the text
    (You can also select the cell range by dragging your mouse pointer from the first cell to the last cell of the range)
  • Go to the “Home” tab in the main menu
  • You will observe an Underline Text button represented by a “U” with an underline beneath it in the “Font” group
  • Click on it to apply the highlight to your selected cells

That’s it! Your selected cells will now be underlined.

Here’s how the results will look.

How To Underline Text In Excel - 4 Quickest Methods

METHOD #2 – Using the Keyboard Shortcut

This is the quickest of all methods on the list. You only need to select the cell and use the following keyboard shortcut.

  • For Windows – “CTRL + U
  • For Mac – “CMD + U

Keyboard shortcuts make it easy to highlight text within a cell. Simply select the text and use the above keyboard shortcut.

This shortcut works for both text and numbers. As shown in the following image, you can underline the entire content of the selected cell or a portion of the text within the cell.

METHOD #3 – Using the Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting in Excel allows you to apply various types of formatting to the selected cell or table range based on specific conditions.

It is ideal to underline cells dynamically, depending on the cell value.

Here are the steps to underline the given text using Conditional Formatting:

  • Select the desired cell or cell range
  • Hover to the main menu and go to the “Home” tab
  • Click on the “Conditional Formatting” dropdown in the “Styles” group. Refer to the following image,
  • Choose “New Rule” from the popup
  • In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, select “Format only cells that contain
    (You can choose from any of the available options, but note that each of them lets you specify a condition to format the given cells)
  • Set your condition (For example, cells with values greater than 100)
  • Click “Format
    (This will open a Format Cells dialog box as shown below)
  • In the “Font” tab, click on the Underline dropdown and select the type of underline (Single or Double) depending upon your requirement
  • Click on “OK” to apply the rule
  • You can also see the preview of the rule at the bottom of the New Formatting Rule tab, as shown below
  • Click on “OK” again to apply the rule 

Now, the selected cells will automatically be underlined when the condition is met. This method applies a permanent highlighting that won’t be erased, even when the cell’s text is changed.

To remove the underline, you must clear the rule you defined by following the steps shown in the following image.

METHOD #4 – Using Borders

In this section, we will use the Borders tool in Excel to underline cells. This method allows you to underline the entire cell rather than just its contents. 

Here are the steps to use the Borders tool to underline the cell:

  • Select the cell or range of cells where you want to apply the underline
  • Go to the “Home” tab
  • Click on the “Borders” icon dropdown in the “Font” group
  • Select “Bottom Border” from the dropdown menu

Excel will instantly add a border below the selected cells, which serves as an underline.

How to Double Underline in Excel

Besides a single underline, Excel offers a Double Underline option.

It is often used to highlight the final values or totals. Here are the steps to obtain a double underline to the entire cell:

  • Select a single cell or range of cells you want to double underline
  • Hover to the main menu and go to the “Home” tab
  • Click on the Underline dropdown represented by a “U” with an underline beneath it in the “Font” group
  • Choose the “Double Underline” option from the list

Excel will instantly apply the double underline under the selected text or numbers.

How to Insert Underscore in Excel using the CHAR function

You can insert an underscore directly into a cell using the CHAR function in Excel. This creative and quick method combines an underscore with other text in a cell.

The CHAR function in Excel returns the character corresponding to a specified Unicode number. This function helps insert special characters that may not be available on your keyboard.

The General Syntax of the CHAR function is as follows, 

=CHAR(number)

The “number” argument must be replaced with a Unicode number of the desired character. The Unicode number range for characters is 0 to 65535. 

Here are the steps to insert an Underscore in Excel,

  • Click on the desired cell
  • Start typing “=CHAR
  • Select the first option from the popup or press “Tab” key
  • Replace the “number” argument with the “95
    (Make sure to use the correct Unicode for the specified special character)
  • End the formula with a closed parenthesis “)
  • Now, type “&” and put your desired text in double-quotations
  • Press the “Enter” key on your keyboard

The formula should look as follows,

=CHAR(95)&”Your Text Here”

If you wish to add a text followed by an underscore, enter ampersand (&) followed by your text in double quotations, as shown in the image below.

While this does not provide the traditional underline formatting, it’s a handy trick for adding underscores within formulas.

How to Remove Underline in Excel

One can easily underline the given text using the methods discussed in this article.

But what if you need to remove the underline from the given cell or range? The steps are similar, so don’t worry.

Here are the steps,

  • Select the underlined cell or range of cells
  • Go to the “Home” tab
  • Click on the “Underline” button in the “Font” group

It will instantly remove the underline. You can use the same keyboard shortcut used to underline a particular cell.

Here are the keyboard shortcuts:

  • For Windows – “CTRL + U
  • For Mac – “CMD + U

To Summarize: How To Underline in Excel

We have discussed various methods of underlining the given text in Excel. You can highlight the entire or given portion of the cell.

Excel offers multiple methods to underline text, from quick shortcuts to conditional formatting. Mastering these techniques will enhance the readability and visual appeal of your data, whether you’re working on simple spreadsheets or complex reports.

If you have any particular error or are stuck somewhere while underlining the Excel text, comment below. Our team will answer all of your questions as soon as possible.

Also, make sure to explore our blog section to learn more tips and tricks for becoming a pro at Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.