Formatting Issues

Fix Unwanted Borders When Pasting Excel Tables into Outlook

Tauseeq Magsi Oct 10, 2026 873 views

Question details

Users experience unwanted or invisible borders appearing around their Excel tables when pasting them into Outlook emails.

How to Fix Unwanted Borders When Pasting Excel Tables into Outlook

Product: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Pasting a copied table from an Excel spreadsheet into an Outlook email message body.
Observed behavior: Tables acquire unexpected border lines in the Outlook email composer, even when the Keep Source Formatting option is actively selected.

Before you start

Ensure you have saved your current Excel workbook and backed up your Windows Registry before attempting to modify any Office application settings.

Solution 1Recommended

Adjust Outlook Paste Options and Table Gridlines

Changing the default paste formatting and verifying Outlook's internal gridline settings can resolve most unexpected border issues.

Copy the Excel Table

Highlight your desired table data in Excel, right-click the selection, and click 'Copy'.

Test Different Paste Options

In your Outlook email body, right-click where you want to place the table. Under 'Paste Options', click 'Keep Text Only' or the 'Picture' icon to see if the unwanted borders disappear.

Toggle View Gridlines in Outlook

If you pasted the table using 'Keep Source Formatting', click anywhere inside the pasted table. Navigate to the 'Layout' tab at the top of the Outlook ribbon (under Table Tools) and click 'View Gridlines' to toggle it off.

Remove Table Borders

Alternatively, select the entire table in Outlook, go to the 'Table Design' tab, click the 'Borders' dropdown menu, and select 'No Border'.

Adjust Outlook Paste Options and Table Gridlines

Non-printing Gridlines: Often, what appears as an unwanted border in the Outlook editor is just a visual gridline guide designed to help you align text. These gridlines will not be visible to the email recipient.

Solution 2

Reset Excel Registry Settings

If formatting issues persist across all pasted tables, resetting Excel's registry settings to default can clear corrupted formatting configurations.

Solution 3

Repair or Reinstall Microsoft Office

As a last resort, a complete repair or reinstallation of Microsoft Office will resolve deep-seated clipboard or application rendering bugs.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Try WPS Office for Seamless Table Copying and Formatting

If you frequently encounter formatting errors like unwanted borders between Microsoft Excel and Outlook, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible spreadsheet editor that seamlessly copies tables to email clients without unexpectedly altering your intended design.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free WPS Office suite.
2. Open Your Spreadsheets: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open your existing .xlsx files without losing any previously saved formatting.
3. Copy and Paste Seamlessly: Highlight your table, copy it, and paste it directly into your email client or document with exact visual fidelity.

Highly compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) and Word (.docx) formats.Precise formatting retention when copying and pasting tables.Lightweight software with a familiar, easy-to-use tabbed interface.Completely free alternative to Microsoft Office for your daily tasks.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my Excel tables look different when pasted into an Outlook email?

Outlook uses Microsoft Word's rendering engine for emails, which handles HTML and table structures differently than Excel. This often results in automatically added gridlines, altered column widths, or unexpected border styles during the clipboard transfer.

How do I remove table borders in Outlook after pasting?

Select the entire pasted table in your Outlook email body. Go to the 'Table Design' tab on the ribbon, click the 'Borders' dropdown icon, and select 'No Border'. Ensure you also have 'View Gridlines' turned off in the Layout tab if you still see dashed lines.

Does the 'Keep Source Formatting' option guarantee identical tables?

Not always. While 'Keep Source Formatting' attempts to retain your exact fonts, colors, and cell dimensions, underlying differences in margin handling and default border rendering between Excel and Outlook's composer can still cause noticeable visual changes.

Can I paste an Excel table as an image to avoid formatting issues?

Yes, pasting as a picture is a great workaround. Copy the table in Excel, right-click in your Outlook email body, and under Paste Options, select the 'Picture' icon. This embeds a static, uneditable image of the table exactly as it looked in your spreadsheet.

Document & File Issues