Formatting Issues

How to Restore Missing Bottom Borders in Word Table Cells

Phi Hung Vo Oct 8, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to restore bottom borders in document tables that have disappeared due to style formatting errors.

How to Restore Missing Bottom Borders in Word Table Cells

Product: Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Formatting a document table where specific cell borders fail to display despite correct individual border settings.
Observed behavior: Bottom borders of table cells are missing or not rendering correctly because of a glitch in the applied table style.

Before you start

Ensure your document is fully loaded and select the specific table experiencing the missing border issue before making changes to the table styles.

Solution 1Recommended

Reapply the Table Style from the Gallery

Refreshing the applied table style forces the word processor to re-render the formatting, which often restores the missing borders.

In many cases, individual border settings are actually correct, but the overarching table style has failed to render visually. By reapplying the exact same style, you trigger a visual refresh that typically resolves this glitch without requiring manual border adjustments.

Select the Affected Table

Click anywhere inside the table with the missing bottom borders to reveal the Table Design or Table Tools tab on the top ribbon.

Open the Table Styles Gallery

Navigate to the Table Design tab and locate the Table Styles group. Click the 'More' arrow to expand the gallery.

Reapply the Current Style

Find the style that is currently highlighted as active, and click it again. Check your table to see if the missing bottom borders have been restored.

Reapply the Table Style from the Gallery

Rendering Fixed: This method effectively resets visual glitches and ensures your table inherits all properties correctly from the style template.

Solution 2

Manually Force the Bottom Border

If reapplying the table style does not work, you can manually override the style by applying a specific bottom border to the affected cells.

Seamless Document Formatting

Create and Format Tables Flawlessly with WPS Writer

WPS Writer provides a highly stable and intuitive environment for creating professional tables. If you frequently encounter rendering glitches in other software, WPS Office ensures your table borders and styles are displayed accurately and reliably.

1. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document containing your tables.
2. Activate Table Tools: Click anywhere inside your table to bring up the specialized Table Tools tab.
3. Apply a Stable Style: Choose from the Table Style gallery to instantly apply a clean, fully-rendered design with reliable borders.
4. Save with Perfect Compatibility: Save your file. WPS Writer retains perfect .docx formatting, ensuring borders look correct no matter where the file is opened next.

Accurate and glitch-free table style renderingFully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsLightweight and fast performance on all devicesFree built-in professional table templates

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my table borders disappear when I convert the document to PDF?

This usually happens if the border thickness is set too thin (such as 1/4 pt) or if there is a visual rendering glitch in the original document. Try increasing the border width in the Table Properties before exporting to PDF.

Can page breaks cause missing bottom borders in tables?

Yes, if a table breaks across two pages, the bottom border may not display on the first page. You can adjust this by opening Table Properties, going to the Row tab, and managing how rows break across pages.

How do I make sure all borders are completely visible in my table?

Select the entire table by clicking the crosshair icon in the top-left corner. Then, go to the Table Design tab, click the Borders dropdown menu, and select 'All Borders' to ensure every cell boundary is drawn.

Document & File Issues