Borders that can be used in word

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Sometimes, putting a border around text will work better in your document than inserting a text box or a one-cell table, to achieve a similar look.

Example of three paragraphs, the second paragraph being enclosed by a thin line.

  1. Select a word, line, or paragraph.

  2. Go to Home > Borders, and then open the menu of border choices.

    Add a border to some text

  3. Choose the type of border you want:

    Table border location

Customize the border

  1. After you’ve selected your text and found the basic type of border you’d like, open the Borders menu again, and choose Borders and Shading.

  2. Make your choices for style, color, and width, and then apply the choice with the buttons in the Preview section of the dialog box. When the preview is the way you want it, click OK.

    The Apply to drop-down menu in the Borders and Shading dialog box

    Note: Make sure that the Apply to box has the correct setting: Text or Paragraph.

See Also

Add, change, or delete borders from documents or pictures

You can add a border to an individual word, a line of text, or an entire paragraph. You can make borders as plain or fancy as you want.

You can also add a border to a picture, put a border around a table, add a border to an individual page. 

Add a border to selected text

  1. Select a word, line, or paragraph.

  2. On the Home tab, click the arrow next to the Borders button.

    On the Home tab, click Borders to add or change borders on selected text.

  3. In the Borders gallery, click the border style that you want to apply.

Customize the text border

  1. After you’ve selected your text and found the basic type of border you’d like, click the arrow next to the Borders button again, and then click Borders and Shading.

  2. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, change Setting, Style, Color, and Width to create the border style that you want.

    Customize borders in the Borders and Shading dialog box.

    Note: To make sure the border style is correctly applied, set Apply to to Text or Paragraph. If you haven’t selected any text, you can only set Apply to to Paragraph.

  3. Click OK to apply your selected border styles.

Tip: You can also fill the area of your selected text with color. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, click Shading to select a color and patterns. The color you pick in the Fill list fills the rectangular area; the color you select from the Color menu is applied to the rectangular area in a pattern you select from the Style list.

See Also

Add, change, or delete borders from documents or pictures

Add a border to a table

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Learn how to insert a lined or art border in Microsoft Word documents on desktop


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  • Adding a Page Border (Windows)
  • |

  • Adding a Page Border (Mac)
  • |

  • Adding a Text Border
  • |

  • Q&A

Do you want to make an outside border in your Microsoft Word documents? You can easily add a solid or dotted border to an entire page or selected content. You can also use Microsoft Word’s included designs to create an artistic border for themed event flyers. This wikiHow will show you how to create a border around text, images, or pages in Microsoft Word using your Windows or Mac computer.

Things You Should Know

  • To add a page border, click «Design» → «Page Borders». Select a border setting, style, and page application. Click «OK».
  • To add a border around text or images, select the content. Click the «Home» tab and click the arrow next to the border icon. Click «Borders and Shading…»
  • Select a border setting, style, and page application. Click «OK».
  1. 1

    Open a project in Microsoft Word. This looks like a W on top of a blue square. Microsoft Word is available to install for Windows.[1]

    • You must have a subscription to use Office 365.
    • Use this method to add a lined border around a Microsoft Word document. This is different from changing the margins.
  2. 2

    Click Design. This will be in the top toolbar, between Draw and Layout.

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  3. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 14

    3

    Click Page Borders. You can find this at the left side of the Design section, next to Page Color. It will have an icon of a page with a yellow border.

    • A new window will open.
  4. 4

    Click Page Border. This is the middle tab on the Borders and Shading window. You may already be on this tab.

  5. 5

    Select a border setting. In the left-most column, click the border option that you want to use. Select from: None, Box, Shadow, 3-D, and Custom.

    • If you want a simple border to go all the way around your page, select Box.
    • To add a border with fun images, click the Art drop-down menu and select from Word’s art gallery. This border can be used for themed flyers for holidays and events.
  6. 6

    Select a border style. In the «Style» column, scroll down until you find the border style you want to use, then click the style. Select from the various solid and dotted line styles.

    • If needed, you can also change the border’s color and width from the Color and Width drop-down menus, respectively.
  7. 7

    Select pages to use. If you created a new section earlier in this method, click the «Apply to» drop-down box, then click the section to which you want to apply the border in the resulting drop-down menu.

    • To apply the border to the first page of your section, click This section — first page only in the drop-down menu.
  8. 8

    Click OK. It’s at the bottom of the page. This will apply the border to your document’s specified page(s).

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  1. 1

    Open a project in Microsoft Word. This looks like a W on top of a blue square. Microsoft Word is available to install for Mac.[2]

    • You must have a subscription to use Office 365.
  2. 2

    Click Design. This will be in the top toolbar, between Draw and Layout.

  3. 3

    Click Page Borders. You can find this at the left side of the Design section, next to Page Color. It will have an icon of a page with a yellow border.

    • The Borders and Shading window will open, set to the Page Border tab. If it isn’t already on the Page Border tab, click it now.
  4. 4

    Select a border setting. In the left-most column, click the border option that you want to use. Select from: None, Box, Shadow, 3-D, and Custom.

    • If you want a simple border to go all the way around your page, select Box.
    • To add a border with fun images, click the Art drop-down menu and select from Word’s art gallery. This border can be used for themed flyers for holidays and events.
  5. 5

    Select a border style. In the «Style» column, scroll down until you find the border style you want to use, then click the style. Select from the various solid and dotted line styles.

    • If needed, you can also change the border’s color and width from the Color and Width drop-down menus, respectively.
  6. 6

    Select pages to use. If you created a new section earlier in this method, click the «Apply to» drop-down box, then click the section to which you want to apply the border in the resulting drop-down menu.

    • To apply the border to the first page of your section, click This section — first page only in the drop-down menu.
  7. 7

    Click OK. This is the blue button. This will apply the border to your document’s specified page(s).

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  1. 1

    Open a project in Microsoft Word. This looks like a W on top of a blue square.

  2. 2

    Click Home. This is in the top toolbar, between File and Insert.

  3. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 3

    3

    Select content. Click and drag your mouse across the text or image(s) around which you want to place a border.

    • This method will place a border around an entire selection of images and text together.
    • If you want to place a border around a single image, double-click the image. Select a preset style from the Picture Styles section, or click Picture Border to set the color, weight, and design of the border.[3]
  4. 4

    Click

    Android 7 Dropdown

    next to the «Borders» button. The Borders button resembles a square divided into four smaller squares; you’ll find it in the «Paragraph» section of options in the toolbar, just right of the paint bucket icon. A drop-down menu will open.

    • On a Mac, click the Format menu item at the top of the screen instead.
  5. 5

    Click Borders and Shading…. It’s at the bottom of the drop-down menu. A new window will open.

    • On a Mac, you’ll find this option in the middle of the Format drop-down menu.
  6. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 15

    6

    Select a border setting. In the left-most column, click the border option that you want to use. Select from: None, Box, Shadow, 3-D, and Custom.

    • If you want a simple border to go all the way around your text, select Box.
  7. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 16

    7

    Select a border style. In the «Style» column, scroll down until you find the border style you want to use, then click the style. Select from the various solid and dotted line styles.

    • If needed, you can also change the border’s color and width from the Color and Width drop-down menus, respectively.
    • To add a border with images, click the Art drop-down menu and select a design.
  8. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 17

    8

    Select pages to use. If you created a new section earlier in this method, click the «Apply to» drop-down box, then click the section to which you want to apply the border in the resulting drop-down menu.

    • To apply the border to the first page of your section, click This section — first page only in the drop-down menu.
  9. Image titled Add a Border to Word Step 18

    9

    Click OK. This will apply the border to your document’s specified page(s).

    • Be sure to save your document when you’re finished.
    • You can also use Microsoft Word to create a booklet or another handout flyer.
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Add New Question

  • Question

    How can I place a border around a picture I’ve inserted into a document?

    Community Answer

    You do what is shown above, but instead, you click on the picture before you go through the steps.

  • Question

    How do I put a border around a table in Microsoft Word?

    Community Answer

    Go into Format —> Borders and Shading. There you’ll find options for borders you can apply to the table.

  • Question

    What three options can I set regarding a picture border?

    Community Answer

    The three option you can set are: small, medium and large.

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About This Article

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This lesson will go over how to apply with borders and shades in Word. In Microsoft Word, you can add a border to any or all of the four sides of selected text, paragraphs, and pages. 

Furthermore, you can also change the color of the space taken up by the selected text, paragraphs, and pages. This chapter will show you how to add borders—left, right, top, or bottom, around text, paragraphs, or pages, as well as how to add different shades to them.

Table of contents

  • What is Border and Shading in MS word
  • Difference Between Border and Shading in MS Word
  • How To Apply Border And Shading In MS Word
  • How to Add Borders in Pages
  • Summary

The borders and shading are options that can be used when we want some text or a paragraph to stand out in a Word document. This is also called the “First Impression.” 

Moreover, in MS Word, we use borders and shading to make written text, paragraphs, etc. look good and attractive, as if they were jumping off the page.

Difference Between Border and Shading in MS Word

The difference between border and shading as the name suggests, the border gives the selected text or paragraph an outer or inner edge. Also it is a good alternative to font styles like bold, italic, and underline.

In addition, it draws a lot of attention quickly and doesn’t require any hard-core techniques. Moreover, borders are lines that you can put on any or all of a paragraph’s four sides.

There are different kinds of borders in MS Word, which are:

  • Bottom Border– At the bottom of the paragraph, there is a border.
  • Top Border–The top of the paragraph has a border.
  • Left Border–Left paragraph border.
  • Right Border– Right side of the paragraph has a border.
  • No Border– Gets rid of all the edges.
  • All Borders– Paragraphs all have borders..
  • Outside Borders– Outside the paragraph’s border.
  • Inside Borders– Border within the paragraph
  • Inside Horizontal Border– Paragraph has two horizontal borders.
  • Inside Vertical Border– Paragraph has two vertical boundaries.

On the other hand, shading is the background color or design you use for a paragraph. When you shade words or paragraphs, the background color changes when you change the theme of the document. It’s not like highlighting text, which only lets you choose from a few colors and doesn’t change when you switch themes.

Finally, borders and shading are ways to improve the appearance of text, paragraphs, table cells, and frames.

How To Apply Border And Shading In MS Word

Here are the steps on how to apply border and shading in MS word document.

  • Applying Border in Text/Paragraph
  • Step 1. Select the text or paragraph to which you want to add a border.

    SELECTED TEXT TO APPLY BORDER

  • Step 2: Now, in the Paragraph menu on the Home bar, navigate to the Borders tab.

    Dropdown Menu of Border Style

  • Step 3: Choose your preferred border.

    All Border Apply

  • Applying Shades in MS Word Document
  • Step 1: Select the text to apply the Shading.

    SELECTED TEXT TO APPLY BORDER

  • Step 2: Now, go to the Shading tab in the Paragraph menu under the Home bar.

    Shading Dropdown Menu

  • Step 3: Select the Shading Color of your choice.

    However, we can apply both at the same time (Border and Shading), thus making our paragraph more appealing.

How to Add Borders in Pages

By following the steps outlined below, you can add borders of your choice to documents pages.

Step 1 − Click the Border Button to see a list of border options. As shown in the image below, select the Border and Shading option at the bottom of the list of options.Select Border Button and Border and Shading

This will open the Border and Shading dialog box. This dialog box allows you to add borders and shading to selected text or page borders.

Border And Shading Dialog Box

Border And Shading Dialog Box

Step 2 − When you click the Page Border tab, a list of border settings, styles, and options will appear. You can choose whether this border should be applied to the whole document, just one page, or the first page.Page Border Dialog Box

Step 3 − You can use the Preview section to disable or enable left, right, top or bottom borders of the page. Follow the instruction given in the preview section itself.

Preview of Page Border

Preview of Page Border

Step 4 − You can customize your border by setting its color, width by using different art available under the style section. You can have similar or even better borders as given below.

Page Border Apply

Page Border Apply

Summary

In summary, we’ve talked about how to apply border and shading in MS Word, as well as the different styles of border and shades in a document and what those terms mean. In addition, we know the available border and shades in Microsoft Word that makes our document presentable and creative.

We hope this tutorial helps you as you format your documents in MS Word.


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Word page borders

Microsoft Word gives you hundreds of page border options, allowing you to surround a page with a clean or fancy border, like a frame for a picture. You can also set a border to provide a shadow or 3D effect.

Add a border

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click the Page Layout tab. In Word 2013 and 2016, click the Design tab instead.
  3. In the Page Background group, click the Page Borders option.
  4. In the Borders and Shading window (shown below), if not already selected, click the Page Border tab.
  5. Select Box if you want a square border around your page.
  6. Select the Style of border you want on the page, which can be solid, dotted, or dashed. Select the Color and Width of the border. If you want to select artwork to use as the border, click the down arrow for the Art drop-down menu. In the example below, we’re using the hearts art as a border.

Microsoft Word page border

Tip

By default, the borders are applied to the whole document, which means every page has the same border. Clicking the down arrow on Apply to gives you the option to select the first page only, selected page, all pages but the first page, and other options.

  1. Once you’ve selected all the border options you want to use in your document, click the OK button to apply the border.

Modify a border

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click the Page Layout tab. In Word 2013 and 2016, click the Design tab instead.
  3. In the Page Background group, click the Page Borders option.
  4. In the Borders and Shading window (shown below), if not already selected, click the Page Border tab.
  5. Make the desired changes to the border that is currently set for the document or page. You can change the type of border in the Settings section, choosing from Box, Shadow, 3-D, or Custom. You can also change the style, color, and width of the order, and add or change art used in the border.

Microsoft Word page border

  1. When you have finished making the desired changes to the border, click the OK button to apply the changes.

Remove a border

  1. Open Microsoft Word.
  2. Click the Page Layout tab. In Word 2013 and 2016, click the Design tab instead.
  3. In the Page Background group, click the Page Borders option.
  4. In the Borders and Shading window (shown below), if not already selected, click the Page Border tab.
  5. Select None to remove any border on the page.

Remove page border in Microsoft Word

  1. Click the OK button to remove the border.

What is a border in Word?

A border in MS Word is a line, a set of lines, or designed shapes that appear around the boundaries of pages/images/shapes/textboxes.

Page borders are mostly used to design flyers and brochures, and sometimes book covers. Borders can be lines of different styles and weights or colorful graphics as illustrated in the picture below.

Illustration of a page border in Word

To add a page border in Word:

  • Launch Microsoft Word.
  • Click on the Design tab for Word 2013, 2016 and 2019.
  • Click on the Page Layout tab for Word 2010 and older.
  • In the Page Background group, click on Page Borders.
Click on the Design tab

The Borders and Shading dialog box will appear. This
dialog box offers options for you to choose the style or size of border for
your page or pages.

  • Select the Box option. This will give you a square border around your pages.
  • In the Style section, select the type of line you want if you want to use a line or group of lines as your border.
  • You can also change the color and width of the line.
Set all your border settings
  • Instead of using a line, you can also use some
    designed shapes or art as borders in your Word document.
Use Art shapes for borders in Word

NOTE: By default, Word adds the borders to all the pages in the document. If you don’t want this behavior, in the Apply to drop-down, select the first page only to add borders to only the first page. You can also break your pages into sections so that you can add borders to those sections alone.

Adding page border to one page only

How to make a custom border in word

It is very simple to make a custom border in Word.

  • First, click to activate the Design tab.
  • In the Page Background group, click the Page Border command to display the Borders and Shading dialog.
  • Under the Settings group, select the Custom option from the list of choices. Now set the border styles and widths.
Select Custom from the Settings at the left
  • Also, go to the Apply to box to decide whether you want the border to be applied to the entire document. Word will apply borders to every page in the document by default.

How to remove border in word

To remove border in Word:

  • Click on the Design tab.
  • In the Page Background group, click on Page
    Borders
    . The Borders and Shading window will appear.
  • Click on None under Setting at the
    left.
How to remove borders in Word

The none option will remove all the borders on all the pages
in your Word document.

How to add a Christmas border in word

To add a Christmas border in Word:

  • Click on the Design tab.
  • In the Page Background group, click on Page Borders. The Borders and Shading window will appear.
  • Click on Box option under Settings at the left.
  • Click on the Art dropdown, scroll up and down until you see the Christmas tree, click on it.
  • Now click OK to add a Christmas border into Your Word document.
how to add a christmas border in word

How to add a paragraph border in word

Aside from adding page borders in Word, you can also add
paragraph borders.

As a page border surrounds the entire page, a paragraph border surrounds only the selected paragraph.

Thus, to add a paragraph border in Word:

  • Click anywhere inside the paragraph to which the
    border will be added.
  • Click on the Home tab.
  • In the Paragraph group, click on the Borders
    command
  • A list of border options appears, click on Outside
    Borders
    .
  • A line border will now surround the entire
    paragraph.
add a border to a paragraph in Word

How to add border to picture in word

Pictures in your document look fancier when framed.  

There are different preset styles of borders you can add to
a picture to make it look nicer in your document. This feature is called Picture
Styles
in MS Word.

The quickest way to add a border to a picture is to choose a preset style from the Styles gallery.

Obey the instructions below:

  • Click to select the picture to add the border.
add border to picture in word
  • Upon selecting the picture, a Picture Tool Format will appear on the ribbon. Click on this tab.
  • In the Picture Style group, select the picture style that you like.
  • The selected border will be added to the picture.
add picture border in word

how to remove text box border in word

To remove text box border in Word:

  • Click to select the text box.
Click to select the text box
  • The Format tab will appear. If you don’t
    see the Format tab, make sure the text box is selected.
  • Click on the Format tab.
  • Click Shape Outline in the Shape Styles
    category.
  • Then click on No Outline.
Go to Shape Outline>No Outline

The No Outline command will remove the text box border from your Word document.

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