Changing border color of a table in PowerPoint 2007

Published Wed, Jul 30 2008 2:09

Well hidden feature here, which you may not came across unless you chanced upon it. If you have inserted a table in PowerPoint 2007, then gave it a border, you will realize that there's no direct way to change the border color of your preference as compared to previous versions of PowerPoint. It can be done though. Here's what you should do:

  1. Double click on the table to bring up the Table Tools > Design tab.
  2. Under 'Table Styles', set the table to 'No Borders'.
  3. Now, under 'Draw Borders', set it to a different 'Pen Color'.
  4. Set the table to 'All Borders' again.

To give each cell different colors, you can also select 'Pen Color' of your preference. Next, hover over the table border, click and hold. Ensure that the border is highlighted, then drag it to apply the color to the rest of the cells. If it doesn't work, increase the zoom level and try again.

 

by tohlz
Filed under:

Comments

# Somdatta said on Thursday, April 15, 2010 4:34 AM

Hey Thanks! It's a great help! I am going mad with this 2007 :(

# CJ said on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 6:55 PM

Thanks for this

# JA said on Thursday, May 06, 2010 11:00 PM

very helpful.thank you:)

# devans00 said on Sunday, May 16, 2010 1:47 PM

Thanks.  Very helpful, solved my problem

# F said on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 7:17 AM

thanks ! MS apparently are hiding functions and not elaborating them in the help sections. BAH °!

BR; F

# ARH said on Friday, June 11, 2010 2:33 PM

Unbelievable that this is so difficult.  Thanks.

# Rob said on Friday, June 18, 2010 9:06 AM

Now why didn't I think of that? It seems obvious now, but I really struggled to work out how to control table formatting compared to PP2003. Thank you!!

# AndyO said on Thursday, December 16, 2010 1:47 PM

Thank you, that was doing my head in

# David said on Friday, January 14, 2011 6:04 PM

Thank you. Board Committee is in a couple of mins and i really needed this. great contribution.

# Sam said on Friday, January 21, 2011 5:27 AM

Thanks a lot. Came in very handy..!! :)

# M/A/H said on Monday, January 31, 2011 8:50 AM

Thank You! I was going insane!

# SME said on Wednesday, March 09, 2011 8:30 PM

Wow!  Thanks a ton, bailed me out this evening

# Ed said on Sunday, April 10, 2011 12:21 PM

Thanx alot, almost gave up on making this presentation!

# diego said on Thursday, June 23, 2011 12:20 AM

Redmond please default. So you get rid of allthe assholes that devised the Ribbon

# Shireen said on Wednesday, September 07, 2011 6:20 AM

THANK YOU!!!!!

# Paul said on Tuesday, January 03, 2012 7:12 PM

Thank you - after much frustration, you saved the day!!

# vandermook said on Wednesday, March 07, 2012 9:22 AM

Many thanks, dude!

# Stephen said on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 11:58 AM

Thank you. Like others I was at my wits' end!  Why on earth did MS make it so flipping difficult to intuitively figure out?

# Swapnil said on Thursday, June 28, 2012 3:34 AM

OMG, thanks a lot. You made my day and saved me from this Microsoft Powerpoint 2007 hell. :) :) :)

# Martha said on Friday, July 06, 2012 10:06 AM

And I would add, why did they bother to change it as formatting tables worked perfectly fine in 2003?  I know, I know, they were "making it intuitive."  Not!

# Anne said on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 9:46 PM

Thanks so much.  A brilliant solution to something that's been problematic for ages!

# Kumar said on Thursday, November 22, 2012 5:27 AM

Can't help echoing all the plaudits for the help! Wish someone from MS reads this and understands how painful some of these "cool" changes they made. Would be interesting to hear their side of the store :-)

Leave a Comment

(required) 
(required) 
(optional)
(required) 
If you can't read this number refresh your screen
Enter the numbers above: