Dotted line on word

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Microsoft Word makes it easy to add a dotted line as a separator in your documents, and there are multiple ways to do it. We’ll show you how in this guide.

How to Create a Dotted Line with a Shortcut

An easy way to create a dotted line in a Word document is to use a shortcut that you can type into your document, which Word will then automatically convert into various types of dotted lines.

To use a line shortcut, first, open your document with Microsoft Word. Next, place your cursor where you want to add a dotted line in your document.

Type the asterisk sign (“*”) three times in your document.

Now, press Enter, and Word will convert your asterisks into a dotted line automatically.

Besides asterisks, you can also use the following characters for other dotted-line styles:

• three dashes (“—“)
• three equal signs (“===”)
• three underscores (“___”)
• three hashes (“###”)
• three tildes (“~~~”)

Feel free to experiment with these and see which one you like best. You can also undo each line that you make by pressing Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac.

And if these automatic horizontal lines ever get on your nerves, you can turn them off completely in Word’s AutoCorrect options.

RELATED: How to Remove Automatic Horizontal Lines in Word

How to Add a Dotted Line from a Shape Preset

Microsoft Word offers presets for many shapes, including dotted lines, in many styles. To access these presets, first, open your document in Microsoft Word.

Click “Insert” in the top menu and then click “Shapes.” In the pop-up menu that appears, choose the first line style in the “Lines” section.

Use your mouse to draw a line in your document. It can be whatever length you want. Then, make sure that your new line is selected (by clicking it once) and select “Shape Format” from the menu at the top of the Word window.

In the Shape Format tab, under the “Shape Styles” section, click the More icon, which looks like a carat pointing downward with a horizontal line above it.

Under the More menu, choose a dotted line style from the “Presets” list. Once you click it, the style will be applied to the line that you just drew and selected in the document.

And that’s it! If you change your mind, don’t be afraid to undo your changes with Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac). Happy drawing!

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Sometimes, you need to place a dotted line in MS Word. It may be for dividing the page into two parts. Or, you may want to show where the reader can cut the page after printing the contents. You may also want to draw angular dotted lines for diagrams. It is also possible to place short dotted lines for showing blanks that the reader can fill-in.

• Using Auto-Correct Options
• Using a Shape Preset
• Using Shape Outlines
• Using the Tab key

We will show you step-wise instructions for all the methods of inserting dotted lines in MS Word.

Let us begin.

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Method #1: Using Auto-Correct Options

Step #1: Open the MS Word document

Open the Word document and place the cursor where you want the dotted line to appear.

Step #2: Type in three asterisks

Using your keyboard, type in three asterisks (Shift+8, three times).

Step #3: Convert to a dotted line

Hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

Word auto-corrects the three asterisks to a dotted line covering the entire width of the page.

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Method #2: Using a Shape Preset

Step #1: Open the MS Word document

Open the Word document and place the cursor where you want the dotted line to appear.

Step #2: Insert a line

Click on the Insert tab in the top main menu bar to change the icon.

In the section Illustrations, click on the Shapes icon.

This opens the Shapes menu.

In the Lines section, click on the Line icon.

The cursor changes to a cross.

Place the cursor where you want to start the line.

Press the left mouse button and hold it.

Drag the cursor to the end point of the line before releasing the mouse button.

You should have a line in the document.

Also, the ribbon changes to the Format tab.

Step #3: Change the line to a preset shape.

In the section Shape Styles, click on the down triangle on the right side of the Subtle Line icons.

This opens the Preset Shapes menu.

Under the section Presets, click on the Dash-Dark 1 icon (you can select any other icon instead).

Word changes the line to a dotted line.

Advantages: This method allows drawing dotted lines at any angle and any length.

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Method #3: Using Shape Outlines

Step #1: Open the MS Word document

Open the Word document and place the cursor where you want the dotted line to appear.

Step #2: Insert a line

Click on the Insert tab in the top main menu bar to change the icon.

In the section Illustrations, click on the Shapes icon.

This opens the Shapes menu.

In the Lines section, click on the Line icon.

The cursor changes to a cross.

Place the cursor where you want to start the line.

Press the left mouse button and hold it.

Drag the cursor to the end point of the line before releasing the mouse button.

You should have a line in the document.

Also, the ribbon changes to the Format tab.

Step #3: Change the color, weight, and outline of the line

Under Shape Styles, click on Shape Outline.

This opens the Theme Colors menu.

Click on the color you want.

Click on the Weight icon.

This opens a menu showing different weights.

Click on the weight you prefer for the line.

Click on the Dashes icon.

This opens a menu showing different dots and dashes.

Click on the most suitable one for your line.

Word replaces the line with the color, weight, and outline you have selected.

Advantages: This method allows drawing different types of dotted and dashed lines.

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Method #4: Using the Tab key

Step #1: Open the MS Word document

Open the Word document and select the text where you want the dotted line to appear.

Step #2: Define the Tab stop

Click on the Home tab on the top menu bar to change the ribbon.

In the section Paragraphs, click the dialog box launcher in the bottom right corner.

This launches the Paragraph dialog box.

Click on Tabs tab at the bottom

This launches the Tabs dialog box.

Under Tab stop position, enter 6 (length of tab in inches, you can change this number).

Under Alignment, click on Left.

Under Leader, click on 2….

Click on Set.

Click on Ok to exit the dialog box.

Step #3: Insert dotted line

Within the text you selected earlier, place the cursor on the left side of the tab stop position you defined earlier (6 inches, refer Step #2). 

The top ruler has a mark for the tab stop.

Press the Tab key on your keyboard.

Word places a dotted line from the cursor to the 6-inch mark on the ruler.

Note: 

• The dotted lines will appear only within the selected text.
• You must redefine the tab stop for other selections.
• The dotted line will appear only when the cursor is initially placed on the left of the tab stop.

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Conclusion

We have shown you four methods of adding a dotted line in an MS Word document. Using our method, you can add a dotted line across a page. You can also add a dotted line at any angle, any color, and any weight. Add a dotted line where you can fill in as in a form. Use our step-by-step instructions for adding the type of dotted line you need.

Right-click the line, then click “Format Shape,” or as an alternative, with the line selected, click the “Drawing Tools Format” tab on the Ribbon. To change the line to dashed or dotted line in Word, click the “Shape Outline” command in the Shape Styles group, then click “Dashes.” Select the desired line dash type.

How do you make a dotted line in Word?

To use a line shortcut, first, open your document with Microsoft Word. Next, place your cursor where you want to add a dotted line in your document. Type the asterisk sign (“*”) three times in your document. Now, press Enter, and Word will convert your asterisks into a dotted line automatically.

On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes. Under Lines, click any line style you like. Click one location in the document, hold and drag your pointer to a different location, and then release the mouse button.

How do you put a dotted bottom border in word?

Select a word, line, or paragraph. On the Home tab, click the arrow next to the Borders button. In the Borders gallery, click the border style that you want to apply.

How do you draw dotted lines in paint?

Make a line dotted or dashed

1. Select the line that you want to change.
2. Under Drawing Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the arrow next to Shape Outline.
3. Point to Dashes, and then click the line style that you want.

What is dotted line in art?

A dot marks the beginning and the end of a line. Artists have also used the dot in their painting techniques, such as Pointillism, a painting method developed by the French artist Seurat. Line. A line is a series of dots.

How do you put a dot under a letter in Word?

2 Answers

1. Type 0323 , then press Alt + X for the dot symbol to appear below the character placeholder.
2. Press Space , to show the character placeholder, type your character.

How do you make a dotted line in a table of contents in Word?

Change the layout of your table of contents

1. To add a dot leader, or dotted line, between each entry and its page number, click the Tab leader list and then click the dotted line.
2. To change the overall appearance of your table of contents, click the Formats list, and then click the format that you want.

How do you draw a line in Word 2020?

How to draw in Word

1. Click the ‘Shapes’ button and select ‘Scribble’ Open up your Microsoft Word document.
2. Hold down your mouse to draw. Click and hold down your mouse to draw.
3. Release the mouse. As soon as you release your mouse, the drawing will be finished.
4. Edit your drawing. Double-click your drawing.

How do you make a horizontal dotted line in Word?

Right-click the line, then click “Format Shape,” or as an alternative, with the line selected, click the “Drawing Tools Format” tab on the Ribbon. To change the line to dashed or dotted line in Word, click the “Shape Outline” command in the Shape Styles group, then click “Dashes.” Select the desired line dash type.

How do you make a double lined border in Word?

You apply a double border to a paragraph in a Microsoft Word document.

1. Select the paragraph for which you want to change the border width.
2. On the Page Layout tab, click Page Border in the Page Background group.
3. Click the Borders tab.
4. On the Borders tab, select the border width that you want in the Width list.
5. Click OK.

How do you draw dotted lines in Photoshop?

Make a Dotted Line in Photoshop

1. Open your Brushes Palette. Yep, you are going to be using a brush for this quick trick.
2. Uncheck Shape Dynamics and Smoothing.
3. Adjust the “Spacing” to create the dots.
4. Choose your brush color.
5. Hold Shift and Drag.

How do you make a dotted line with a pen tool in Photoshop?

How to Create a Dotted Line in Photoshop

1. select the brush tool.
2. Brush Settings.
3. Go back to your document and select the pen tool.
4. Selecting the pen tool, click on the path option.
5. Draw a straight path.
6. Right-click on the path you’ve created and select stroke path.
7. Select brush and hit ok.

Can you do a dashed line in paint?

You can paint a shape with a dashed outline. Click the Paint button on the toolbar.Click and drag the Width slider to change the width of the line for the shape. Click the Dashed Line button.

How do I insert a dotted line in Word for Mac?

Make a line dashed

1. Select the line you want to change.
2. Click the Shape Format tab, click the arrow next to Shape Outline, point to Dashes, and then click the style you want.
3. To create a custom style, click More Lines, and then choose the options that you want.

How do I get rid of the dotted line in Word?

To get rid of it:

1. Place your cursor into the paragraph immediately preceding the line.
2. Go to Format, Borders and Shading (Word 2002-2003) or click the Border drop-down in the Paragraph section of the Home tab of the Ribbon (Word 2007 and up)
3. Click None (or No Borders) to turn off all the borders.

What is Dot in graphic design?

1. Dot – is the smallest element of graphic design. Depending on a distance points of various sizes can be perceived. Designing with dots or points can create a wide variety of visual effects.Line – the arrangement of dots with a constant distance between them.

What is dot and line in design?

Points and dots lead us to talking about points of entry and focal points and the principle of dominance. They lead to discussions of contrast and visual hierarchy, composition and balance. Lines lead us into discussions of movement and direction and to creating design flow.

What does a dotted line mean?

British Dictionary definitions for dotted line
dotted line. noun. a line of dots or dashes on a form or document. sign on the dotted line to agree formally, esp by signing one’s name on a document.

How do I type the dots above a letter?

Hold down the “Ctrl” and “Shift” keys, and then press the colon key. Release the keys, and then type a vowel in upper or lower case. Use Office’s Unicode shortcut combination to put an umlaut over a non-vowel character.

How do you get the dots under letters on a keyboard?

On an iOS or Android device, access umlaut marks by tapping and holding a particular key. For example, tap and hold the uppercase or lowercase O key, then slide your finger over to ö or Ö to use it in texts, emails, and other documents.

This wikiHow teaches you how to add a dashed or dashed line anywhere in a Microsoft Word document. You can use a simple keyboard shortcut to add a dotted line on the page in all desktop and mobile versions of Word. If you want a line that you can further resize, format and position, you can use the ‘Insert’ menu to add a line shape to your document and format it in different styles.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Using a keyboard shortcut

Step 1. Open the Word document you want to edit

Find and double-click the document on your computer, or open the Word app and select the document you want to edit.

• You can also open a new blank document.
• You can use this keyboard shortcut in all desktop and mobile versions of Word.

Step 2. Click where you want to add the dotted line

You can create a dotted horizontal line anywhere on the page.

Step 3. Type *** on your keyboard

This shortcut allows you to create a dashed line on the page.

You can also use —, ===, ___, ###, or ~~~ to create different line styles

Step 4. Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard.

This creates a horizontal dotted line on the page.

Method 2 of 3: Using the add-in feature on the desktop

Step 1. Open the Word document you want to edit

Find and double-click the document on your computer, or open the Word app and select the document you want to edit.

You can also open a new blank document

Step #2. Select the Insert tab on the toolbar

You’ll find this button above the toolbar panel at the top.

Step 3. Select Shapes on the ‘Insert’ toolbar

This button looks like a triangle, square and circle on the toolbar panel. This will open a pop-up menu of shapes.

Step 4. Select the type of line you want to add

You can create a random dotted line later.

Step 5. Click and draw a line on the document

After selecting a line shape, use the mouse to draw a line wherever you want in the document.

• After drawing, you can click and drag the corners of the line shape and change its size, angle or position.
• You can click and drag the line anywhere in the document.

Step 6. Right click on the line

This opens the right-click options in a drop-down menu.

Step 7. Click Format Shape on the right-clicking menu

This will open the format panel on the right.

Step 8. Click on the Dash Type selector in the format panel

This shows the dot and dash options.

• If you don’t see this option initially, click the paint bucket icon in the upper-left corner of the Shape Format panel, then click Line in this menu to expand the options.

Step 9. Select a dot or dash

This immediately changes the line to the selected dot or dash style.

• You can de Width, Transparency and further adjust other properties of the line here.

Method 3 of 3: Using the insert function on your mobile

Step 1. Open the Word app on your phone or tablet

The Word icon looks like a blue and white document page. You can find it on the home screen or in the Apps drawer.

Step 2. Select the document you want to edit

This will open the document.

You can also open a new blank document

Step #3. Tap on the ‘Edit’ icon at the top

It’s at the top of the blue toolbar. This will open the edit menu in the lower half of the screen.

• on iPhone and iPad does this button look like a white ‘ A’ and a pencil icon on the blue toolbar.
• on android you may find the same icon or just a white pencil.

Step #4. Tap on the Start button

It’s in the top-left corner of the toolbar menu at the bottom. This will open the toolbar tabs.

Step 5. Select the Insert tab on the toolbar

This opens the available options.

Step 6. Select Shapes

This will open a menu with all the available shapes you can add.

Step 7. Select the type of line you want to add

This will add the selected line to the document.

You can add points to the line later

Step 8. Drag the blue end points of the line to adjust the line (optional)

You can adjust the size and position of the line using the blue dots at both ends of the shape.

You can also do this after adding points to the line

Step 9. Tap Shape Styles on the Shape menu

This opens all available styles for the line.

Step 10. Select a dotted style

This will make the selected line a dotted line. You can determine the size and position as you wish.

Microsoft Word makes it easy to add a dotted line as a separator in your documents, and there are several ways to do this. We’ll show you how in this guide.

How to create a dotted line with a shortcut

An easy way to create a dotted line in a Word document is to use a shortcut that you can type in your document, which Word will then automatically convert to different types of dotted lines.

To use a line shortcut, first open your document with Microsoft Word. Next, place your cursor where you want to add a dotted line in your document.

Type the asterisk sign («*») three times in your document.

Now press enter and Word will automatically convert your asterisks to dotted line.

In addition to the asterisks, you can also use the following characters for other dashed line styles:

• three dashes («-«)
• three equal signs («===»)
• three underscores («___»)
• three hashes («###»)
• three tildes («~~~»)

Feel free to experiment with them and see which one you like best. You can also undo each line you create by pressing Ctrl + Z on Windows or Command + Z on Mac.

And if those automatic horizontal lines irritate you, you can turn them off completely in Word’s AutoCorrect options.

How to add a dotted line from a shape preset

Microsoft Word offers presets for many shapes, including dashed lines, in many styles. To access these presets, first open your document in Microsoft Word.

Click on «Insert» in the top menu, then on «Shapes». In the context menu that appears, choose the first line style in the «Lines» section.

Use your mouse to draw a line in your document. It can be any length you want. Next, make sure your new line is selected (by clicking it once) and select «Format Shape» from the menu at the top of the Word window.

On the Format Shape tab, under the «Shape Styles» section, click the plus icon, which looks like a carat pointing down with a horizontal line above it.

From the More menu, choose a dotted line style from the «Presets» list. Once you click on it, the style will be applied to the line you just drawn and selected in the document.

And that’s all! If you change your mind, don’t be afraid to undo your changes with Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Command + Z (Mac). Good drawing!

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Microsoft Word makes it easy to add a dotted line as a separator in your documents, and there are multiple ways to do it. We’ll show you how in this guide.

How to Create a Dotted Line with a Shortcut

An easy way to create a dotted line in a Word document is to use a shortcut that you can type into your document, which Word will then automatically convert into various types of dotted lines.

To use a line shortcut, first, open your document with Microsoft Word. Next, place your cursor where you want to add a dotted line in your document.

Type the asterisk sign (“*”) three times in your document.

Now, press Enter, and Word will convert your asterisks into a dotted line automatically.

Besides asterisks, you can also use the following characters for other dotted-line styles:

• three dashes (“—“)
• three equal signs (“===”)
• three underscores (“___”)
• three hashes (“###”)
• three tildes (“~~~”)

Feel free to experiment with these and see which one you like best. You can also undo each line that you make by pressing Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac.

And if these automatic horizontal lines ever get on your nerves, you can

turn them off completely

in Word’s AutoCorrect options.

RELATED:




How to Remove Automatic Horizontal Lines in Word

How to Add a Dotted Line from a Shape Preset

Microsoft Word offers presets for many shapes, including dotted lines, in many styles. To access these presets, first, open your document in Microsoft Word.

Click “Insert” in the top menu and then click “Shapes.” In the pop-up menu that appears, choose the first line style in the “Lines” section.

Use your mouse to draw a line in your document. It can be whatever length you want. Then, make sure that your new line is selected (by clicking it once) and select “Shape Format” from the menu at the top of the Word window.

In the Shape Format tab, under the “Shape Styles” section, click the More icon, which looks like a carat pointing downward with a horizontal line above it.

Under the More menu, choose a dotted line style from the “Presets” list. Once you click it, the style will be applied to the line that you just drew and selected in the document.

And that’s it! If you change your mind, don’t be afraid to undo your changes with Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac). Happy drawing!