Formatting Issues

How to Remove Light Blue Horizontal Lines in Excel Cells

Natalie Taylor Oct 19, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to remove light blue horizontal lines that are appearing across individual cells in an Excel worksheet.

How to Remove Light Blue Horizontal Lines in Excel Cells

Product: Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: macOS
Scenario: Viewing or formatting an Excel worksheet where unexpected lines interfere with the display.
Observed behavior: Light blue horizontal lines appear across cells, which are often mistaken for cell borders but are typically page break indicators.

Before you start

Before proceeding, check if these blue lines appear in just one specific worksheet, across the entire workbook, or in all new Excel files you create, as this helps pinpoint if it's a file-specific setting.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove Page Break Indicators

The most common cause of light blue horizontal lines is the page break indicator. Resetting the view or removing page breaks will clear these lines.

Excel uses solid or dashed blue lines to indicate where a page will break when printed. Exiting the Page Break Preview or manually removing the breaks will return your sheet to its normal appearance.

Switch to Normal View

Navigate to the View tab on the top Excel ribbon and click on Normal. This often hides the blue page break lines instantly.

Remove Manual Page Breaks

Go to the Page Layout tab, click on Breaks in the Page Setup group, and select Remove All Page Breaks from the dropdown menu.

Adjust Excel Preferences (Mac)

If you are on a Mac, open Excel > Preferences > View from the top menu bar, and disable the option to display page breaks.

Page Breaks Cleared: Once the page breaks are removed or hidden, your worksheet will resume its default view without the disruptive blue lines.

Solution 2

Clear Custom Cell Borders

If the lines are not related to page breaks, they may be manually applied cell borders colored in light blue.

Professional Spreadsheet Software

Easily Manage Page Breaks and Formatting in WPS Spreadsheet

WPS Spreadsheet provides an intuitive and highly compatible environment to manage page breaks, gridlines, and cell formatting seamlessly. It serves as an excellent, lightweight alternative to Microsoft Excel.

1. Open your file in WPS: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the workbook containing the unwanted blue lines.
2. Change Worksheet View: Navigate to the View tab on the top ribbon.
3. Select Normal View: Click the Normal icon to exit the Page Break Preview mode and hide the blue indicator lines.
4. Reset Breaks Manually: Alternatively, go to the Page Layout tab, click on Breaks, and select Reset All Page Breaks to clear manual formatting.

100% compatible with Microsoft Excel formats, including .xlsx, .xls, and .csv.Easily toggle page breaks and gridline visibility with a single click.Free, lightweight, and fast-loading spreadsheet software.Familiar user interface requiring zero learning curve for Excel users.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the blue lines only appear in one specific Excel file?

This usually indicates that the 'Page Break Preview' mode or custom manual page breaks were saved specifically within that workbook's view settings. Resetting the view to Normal or clearing the page breaks in that specific file will resolve the issue.

Can conditional formatting cause light blue horizontal lines?

Yes, if a conditional formatting rule applies a blue top or bottom border to cells meeting specific criteria, it will look like a horizontal line. You can clear this by selecting the cells and navigating to Home > Conditional Formatting > Clear Rules.

How do I hide the default gray gridlines in my worksheet?

To hide standard cell gridlines and make the worksheet background completely white, navigate to the View tab and uncheck the 'Gridlines' box.

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