Creating tables in Google Docs is easy, but sometimes the default table borders get in the way of your design or make the table look too busy. Fortunately, removing borders from tables in Google Docs is simple. Here are step-by-step instructions for removing table borders.
Why Remove Table Borders?
There are a few reasons you may want to remove borders from a Google Docs table:
- Clean look – No borders can give your table a cleaner, more modern look. This works well for formal reports, infographics, and other professional documents.
- Emphasize data – Removing borders draws more attention to the data and content inside the table cells rather than the structure of the table itself.
- Subtle separation – You still need borders to distinguish between table cells, but a 0pt border width makes the separation subtle without thick lines between cells.
- Infographics – Tables are sometimes used as infographics with images inside cells instead of data. No borders gives infographic tables a magazine-style layout.
Steps to Remove Table Borders in Google Docs
Removing borders only takes a few clicks:
- Select the table – Click inside the table to select it. The table will be highlighted with a blue border.
- Open table properties – Right click the table and choose Table Properties or go to Table > Table Properties in the menu.
- Edit border width – In the Table Properties dialog box, click the Border color dropdown and choose Custom. Set border width to 0pt.
- Update borders – Click OK to remove borders. The table will still have spacing between cells but no visible lines.
You can customize the look even further by adding borders to only specific sides of the table or applying borders to only rows, columns, or cells that need separation.
Tips for Formatting Borderless Tables
Removing all borders isn’t always the best solution. Here are some formatting tips:
- Leave minimal borders in place if you need separation between table cells. Change the color to match the background so borders seem invisible.
- Add thick borders every few rows or columns as a visual separator to help organize complex data tables.
- Use cell background colors strategically to differentiate cells instead of relying entirely on borders.
- Align text left, center, or right to keep content organized even without vertical borders between cells.
When to Add Borders Back to a Table
Occasionally you’ll need to add table borders back in after removing them:
- If the table looks cluttered or crowded without borders, thin line borders can help define cell edges.
- When printing a document, borders help distinguish between cells since background colors and shading don’t show up on paper.
- If people have trouble distinguishing one cell from another, especially in tables with lots of data.
Simply open up table properties again and add borders back as needed. Start with a narrow width like 0.5pt if you want subtle borders.
Other Table Customization Options
Removing borders is just one way to customize the look of Google Docs tables. You can also:
- Change text alignment and padding inside cells
- Add alternating row colors for easier reading
- Merge and split cells to arrange data
- Resize columns and rows to fit content
- Sort table data to organize information
Take advantage of all the powerful table formatting options to create tables that are visually appealing and easy to understand.
The ability to format tables by removing borders is just one advantage of using Google Docs. With the steps above, you can quickly delete table borders to help highlight the important table content instead of the table structure.
Removing borders takes just a few clicks, but it can instantly improve the aesthetics and readability of tables in Google Doc documentation.
