Editing lines in word

Select the line that you want to change. If you want to change multiple lines, select the first line, and then press and hold Ctrl while you select the other lines. On the Format tab, click the arrow next to Shape Outline. Note: If you don’t see the Format tab, make sure you’ve selected the line.

How do you edit a line in a Word template?

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

How do I edit border lines in Word?

Modify a border

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click the Page Layout tab.
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.

How do I make an editable line in Word?

Creating Fillable Forms Using Microsoft Word

1. Enable Developer Tab. Open Microsoft Word, then go to the File Tab > Options > Customize Ribbon > check the Developer Tab in the right column > Click OK.
2. Insert a Control.
3. Edit Filler Text.
4. Design Mode button again to exit the mode.
5. Customize Content Controls.

How do I erase a line in Word?

Delete lines or connectors
Click the line, connector, or shape that you want to delete, and then press Delete. Tip: If you want to delete multiple lines or connectors, select the first line, press and hold Ctrl while you select the other lines, and then press Delete.

How do I remove table lines in Word?

Remove all borders

1. Click in any cell to show the table move handle. in the upper left corner of the table.
2. Click the table move handle. to select the table and show the Table Design tab.
3. On the Table Design tab, click the arrow next to Borders and then click No Border . Tip: Be sure to click Borders not Border Styles.

How do you put a line above and below text in Word?

To insert a line in Word above and / or below a paragraph using the Borders button:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add a line.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Borders in the Paragraph group. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Select the line you want to use.

How do I create a fillable form?

How to create fillable PDF files:

1. Open Acrobat: Click on the “Tools” tab and select “Prepare Form.”
2. Select a file or scan a document: Acrobat will automatically analyze your document and add form fields.
3. Add new form fields: Use the top toolbar and adjust the layout using tools in the right pane.
4. Save your fillable PDF:

How do you put a line above text in Word?

Type the text you want to overline into your Word document and make sure the “Home” tab is active on the ribbon bar. Click the down arrow on the “Borders” button in the “Paragraph” section of the “Home” tab. Select “Top Border” from the drop-down menu.

How do I write underline in Word?

Change the underline style and color

1. Select the text that you want to underline.
2. Go to Home and select Font dialog box launcher . Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D.
3. Use the Underline style drop-down list to select an underline style.

How do you put a line through text?

When you have your text selected, look on the “Home” tab of Word’s Ribbon. In the “Font” group, click the Strikethrough button (it’s the three letters with a line drawn through them). Now, any text you had selected should be struck through. You can also apply strikethrough formatting using the Font window.

How do I delete a line in word that won’t delete?

The easiest way to get rid of it is to use the Ctrl+Q combination on your keyboard. Simply move your cursor anywhere in the paragraph above the line that you want to delete, and then use Ctrl+Q.

How do I remove a line between columns in Word?

Click on the Eraser tool on the toolbar. This is the one just to the right of the tool that looks like a pencil. Click and drag to select the table lines you want to erase. Click on the Eraser tool again (on the toolbar) or press the Esc key.

How do I get rid of corner marks in Word for Mac?

In Mac Word, from the Menu Bar choose Word > Preferences > View and in the first group of options “Show in Document”, remove the checkmark on Crop Marks. They are called “Crop Marks” and on a Windows computer, you can turn them on or off via File>Options>Advanced>Show document content.

How do I make a Word document fillable and not editable?

Head on to the “Protect” section on the ribbon and click the button labeled “Protect Document.” You should then click the button named “Restrict Formatting and Editing.” On the options that appear, select the one that says “Allow only this type of editing in the document” and pick “Filling in forms.” Once you’re done,

Is fillable a word?

Able to be filled.

How do I save a Word document as a fillable template?

Saving and Using a Form

1. Press F12. Word displays the Save As dialog box.
2. Using the Save As Type drop-down list, select Word Template.
3. If necessary, change to the directory where the template is to be stored.
4. In the File Name field, enter the name under which you want this template saved.
5. Click on Save.

Word has a set of AutoFormat shortcuts that make horizontal lines, here’s how they work, how to change them, color the lines and how to stop lines when they get out of control.

Line shortcuts

There are six horizontal line shortcuts.  For each one type the same character three times at the start of a new line then press Enter.

For example, press the dash key three times on a new line, then enter.

Dashes give you a horizontal line

Underscores give you a bold horizontal line

Equals gives you a double horizontal line

And there’s more …

The three above are the best known but there are others.

Asterisk makes a dotted line

Tilde makes a wavy line

Pound/Hash makes a triple line

Tooltip controls

Whenever you automatically make a line, a small tooltip appears with some options.

Undo Border Line – changes back to the characters you typed.  The usual undo shortcut, Ctrl + Z, will do the same thing.

Stop Automatically Creating Border Lines – will turn off the AutoFormat |  Border Lines option entirely.

Control AutoFormat Options … goes to the settings for AutoFormat as you type.

Autoformat Options

The automatic lines and all other AutoFormat options are controlled from Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect options | AutoFormat As You Type:

Border lines can be turned on/off from there.  There are no options to select just some character/line combinations – it’s all or nothing.

Under the hood

Word isn’t making the lines by adding a lot more characters across the page.  That’s where confusion can begin if you’re trying to stop the lines appearing.

It’s converting your dash/underscore/equals etc. into a paragraph border. Specifically, a bottom border line on the paragraph.

For example, here’s how an automatic double horizontal line appears in Paragraph | Borders and Shading

It’s just the double line style applied to the bottom line of the paragraph.  Strictly, at the bottom of group of paragraphs with the same formatting. Knowing that detail is useful when you’re fixing the extra lines that start appearing.

Color

The automatic lines are always black (actually ‘Automatic’).  Word doesn’t pick up the color of the three characters nor the paragraph as you might expect.

To change the line color, select the line then go to Home | Paragraph | Borders | Borders and Shading.  Select the color you want from the pull-down list and then click on the borders you want the color change to apply.

Other lines

You’re not limited to the lines that Microsoft provides via AutoCorrect.  You can add your own or change the look of a line added with AutoCorrect.

Select the line then go to Home | Paragraph | Borders | Borders and Shading.  That opens up the many options you have:

Styles:  there are over 20 line styles to choose from.

Color:  as mentioned above, the full Word color range is available.

Width:  thin, medium or thick – take your pick from ¼ point to 6pt.

Top, bottom, left, right – click in the preview box to choose which lines to show and the style of each one.

Whatever you choose, remember to click on the line/s in the preview box to apply the look you want.

For consistency, you can have a horizontal line as part of a paragraph style.  For example, a line above or below a heading.

Unwanted horizontal lines

A common problem with the automatic lines is extra lines appearing where you don’t want them.

It happens when you add paragraphs immediately above the horizontal line.  Each of those paragraphs inherits the same (bottom border) formatting that Word made for the horizontal line.

You won’t see a line under each paragraph because Word groups together paras with the same formatting.  Only the last paragraph of a group will have a bottom border line.

The problem usually rises because people try to fix the extra lines by selecting just the paragraphs showing horizontal line and change the formatting.

That doesn’t change the ‘bottom border’ formatting for other lines that have the setting.  So it seems like extra lines keep popping up without reason!

The solution is to make sure you select all the affected paragraphs – not just the ones with horizontal lines.

Choose a paragraph and look carefully at the Home | Paragraph | Borders icon.  That icon changes according to the current border settings.  In this, enlarged, example you can see the bottom line is solid.

To change the border setting, pull-down the borders list and choose ‘No Border’.

To stop the creeping lines in the first place, get into the habit of not adding extra paragraphs from the horizontal line itself.  Instead, go to the paragraph ABOVE the horizontal line and add new paras from there.

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Insert Lines in Microsoft Word Documents

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated October 9, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can insert a line in Word using the Ribbon or by using keyboard shortcuts. It’s best to avoid drawing lines and instead insert border lines in Microsoft Word (normally paragraph borders) so the line or lines will move as you edit the document.

In this article, we’ll focus on inserting lines using borders attached to paragraphs. In Microsoft Word, anything with a hard return after it is a paragraph. If you use border lines, you can customize the type of border, line thickness and color. You can also include paragraph border lines in styles so they will appear throughout your document. If you draw lines using Insert Shapes, you’ll have to worry about the line being inline or floating.

You can insert a line in Word in 3 ways using borders:

1. Use the Borders command on the Home tab in the Ribbon
2. Select and apply different types of lines using the Borders and Shading dialog box
3. Insert different types of lines using keyboard shortcuts (which add lines using AutoCorrect)

Recommended article: How to Keep Text Together in Microsoft Word

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Word courses >

Inserting a line using the Borders button

To insert a line in Word above and / or below a paragraph using the Borders button:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add a line.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Borders in the Paragraph group. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Select the line you want to use.

Below is the Borders command in the Ribbon in Word:

Removing lines using the Borders command

To remove a border line or lines from one or more paragraphs:

1. Select the paragraph(s) with the border lines you want to remove.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and then click Borders. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Choose No Border from the drop-down menu.

Inserting a line using the Borders and Shading dialog box

You can apply a line or custom border lines to one or more paragraphs using the Borders and Shading dialog box.

To insert a line in Word above and / or below a paragraph using the Borders and Shading dialog box:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add a line.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Borders in the Paragraph group. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Select Borders and Shading. A dialog box appears.
5. Select a border style, color and width.
6. Click between the guides in the sample area on the right (above or below the sample).
7. Click Options (if required), enter any offset amounts to control the distance between the line and the paragraph and click OK.
8. In Apply to, ensure Paragraph is selected.
9. Click OK.

Below is the Borders and Shading dialog box where you can add a line or lines to paragraphs:

Removing lines using the Borders and Shading dialog box

To remove lines from one or more paragraphs using the Borders and Shading dialog box:

1. Select the paragraph(s) with the lines you want to remove.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and click Borders. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Select Borders and Shading. A dialog box appears.
4. Click None in the Setting area.
5. In Apply to, ensure Paragraph is selected.
6. Click OK.

Inserting a line using keyboard shortcuts

You can also insert a horizontal line using keyboard shortcuts (which insert border lines as AutoCorrect entries).

Type the following characters and then press Enter or Return to insert lines:

• To insert a plain single line, type three hyphens (—).
• To insert a plain double line, type three equal signs (===).
• To insert a dotted line, type three asterisks (***).
• To insert a bold single line, type three underlines (___).
• To insert a wavy line, type three tildes (~~~).
• To insert a triple line, type three number signs or hash tags (###).

To remove these lines, select the paragraph with the line, click the Borders button on the Home tab and select No Border.

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