Create 3-D Effects in Tables or Cells

Whenever you see a nifty 3-D effect in a program or application such as Excel, you are actually seeing an illusion created by specific formatting. It is easy to create this illusion yourself by applying formatting to a cell or range of cells. The release of Excel 2007 introduces cell styles, so you can create a 3-D effect and save it to use anytime you like.

To start off with a simple example, we'll give a cell a 3-D effect so that it appears raised, like a button. On a clean worksheet, select cell D5. (You're selecting D5 because it's not on an edge.) Under the Cells options on the Home tab, select Format → Format Cellst → Border (pre-2007, Format → Cells → Border). From the Line box, choose the second thickest line style. Ensure that the color selected is black (or Automatic, if you haven't changed the default for this option). Nowclick the right-hand border and then click the bottom border. Return to the color option and select white. The second thickest border still should be selected, so this time click the two remaining borders of the cell, the top border and the left border. Click the Fill tab (pre- 2007, the Patterns tab) in the Format Cells dialog and make the cell shading gray. Click OK and deselect cell D5. Cell D5 will have a raised effect that gives the appearance of a button. You did it all with borders and shading.

If, for fun or diversity, you want to make a cell look indented or pushed in, select cell E5 (because it's next to D5 and it makes the next exercise work). Select Home → Cells → Format → Format Cells → Border (pre-2007, Format → Cells → Border) and choose the second thickest border from the line styles, and ensure that the color is black.

Apply the formatting to the top and left border of the cell. Select white for the color option and apply a white line to the right and bottom borders. Click the Patterns tab and change the cell's format to gray. Click OK. Cell E5 should appear indented. This works even better in contrast with cell D5, which has the raised effect.

If you are happy with the cell style you have created, select Home → Styles → Cell Style → NewCell Style, give your Cell Style a name and click OK. Note that Cell Styles are saved to the current workbook, although you can merge Styles from other workbooks. This option is not available in versions before Excel 2007. If you want to save a cell style in prior versions, go to Format → Style.