Double Underline in Excel

When dealing with large datasets it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. Application of formatting such as double underlining can make it easier to read and make sense of the data. Excel provides for both single and double underlining. This tutorial looks at how to double underline in Excel.

The double underline is a good way to make certain areas of the dataset stand out by highlighting them.

5 Methods of Double Underlining in Excel

We will use the following example accounting dataset to explain the 5 methods we can use to double underline in Excel:

Method 1: Use the Double Underline command in the Font’s group

The Double Underline command is in the Font group on the Home tab.

To apply the double underline to the Net income value in the dataset so that it stands out, we use the following steps:

1. Select cell B10 which contains the Net income figure.
2. Click Home >> Font >> Underline Arrow >> Double Underline.

Double underline is immediately applied to the value in cell B10 as displayed below.

Method 2: Use the Double Underline command in the Format Cells dialog box

We can also access and use the Double Underline command via the Format Cells dialog box.

In this method we use the steps below:

1. Select cell B10 of the dataset.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Format Cells dialog box. Alternatively, click the Format Cells dialog box launcher in the Fonts group.

We can also open the Format Cells dialog box by right-clicking cell B10 and selecting Format Cells on the shortcut menu.

3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select Double in the Underline drop-down list and click OK.

The Net income value is double underlined as displayed below:

Method 3: Use the Double Accounting command in the Format Cells dialog box

We can access and use the Double Accounting command in the Format cells dialog box.

To apply this method, we use the following steps:

1. Select cell B10 in the dataset.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Format Cells dialog box. We can also use any of the other alternative ways explained in Method 2 to open the Format Cells dialog box.
3. In the Format Cells dialog box, select Double Accounting in the Underline drop-down list and click OK.

The Double Accounting underline is applied to cell B10 as displayed below.

Note: When we look keenly at cell B10, unlike the Double Underline command we have used so far, the Double Accounting option has slightly increased the row height and provided more space between the underline and the value in the cell.

Method 4: Apply Bottom Double Border to the bottom of the cell

We can use the Bottom Double Border to double underline in Excel.

In this method, we apply a border to the bottom of the cell using the steps below:

1. Select cell B10 in our dataset.
2. To apply a bottom double border to the cell, click Home >> Font >> Borders Arrow >> Bottom Double Border.

Another way to apply the bottom double border: open the Format Cells dialog box using any of the ways explained previously in this tutorial, select the border tab, select the double border in the Style box, and select the bottom border in the Border area then click OK.

The double border is applied to the bottom of cell B10 as displayed below.

Unlike the other double underlining options, the Bottom Double Border runs edge to edge across the entire cell.

Method 5: Use the keyboard shortcuts

We can use keyboard shortcuts to double underline if we prefer not to use the mouse as we have done in the previous methods.

To use the first keyboard shortcut in this method, we use the following steps:

1. Select cell B10.
2. Press Alt, H, 3, and D keys one after another.

The Net income value is double underlined.

To apply the second keyboard shortcut, we use the steps below:

1. Select cell B10.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to open the Format Cells dialog box.
3. Press Alt + U to open the Underline drop-down list.
4. Use the down arrow on the keyboard to select Double and press OK.

The double underline is applied to cell B10.

We can use the same process to apply the Double Accounting underline.

We can use another keyboard shortcut to apply the Double Bottom Border, by using the following steps:

1. Select cell B10.
2. Press Alt, H, B, and B keys one after another.

The Double Bottom Border is applied to cell B10 as displayed below:

Additional Information

The underline command in the Fonts group remembers your previous selection. For instance, if you apply Double Underline, the button keeps that selection until you select Single Underline.

If the cell contains only text, the Double Underline runs edge to edge across the entire cell. If it has a numeric value, it only extends to the length of the numeric value.

Another difference between the Double Underline and the Double Accounting underline variant is that when text in a cell extends or spills over to adjacent cells, Double Underline extends to cover the entire text, but the Double Accounting line does not. It only applies to the first cell.

In this case, we may have to merge all the cells that contain the text so that the Double Accounting underline can extend to all the text.

Conclusion

We apply a double underlining format to areas of a dataset to make the areas stand out and thus make the dataset easier to comprehend. In accounting, the double underline is mainly used to highlight grand totals.

In this tutorial. We have looked at different ways to apply the standard double underline and the double accounting underline to parts of a dataset. These ways include using the Double Underline command in the Font group, using the Double Underline and the Double Accounting commands in the Format Cells dialog box, and applying a Bottom Double Border to the bottom of cells.

We also looked at the main differences between the standard double line and the double accounting line. The differences include the fact that when accounting double line is applied to a cell, it slightly increases the row height of the cell and the space between the underline and the text.