Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Apply Borders in Word


You can add a border to any or all sides of each page in a document, to pages in a section, to the first page only, or to all pages except the first. You can add page borders in many line styles and colors, as well as a variety of graphical borders. Word also has a feature to insert a horizontal line between paragraphs.



Page Borders

You can add a border to any or all sides of each page in a document, to pages in a section, to the first page only, or to all pages except the first. You can add page borders in many line styles and colors, as well as a variety of graphical borders.

  1. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Page Border tab.
  2. Select the options you want.
    1. For Help on an option, click the question mark and then click the option.
  3. To specify that the border appears on a particular side of a page, such as only at the top, click Custom under Setting. Under Preview, click where you want the border to appear.
  4. To specify a particular page or section for the border to appear in, click the option you want under Apply to.
  5. To specify the exact position of the border on the page, click Options, and then select the options you want.

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Text Borders and Shading

You can set apart paragraphs or selected text from the rest of a document by adding borders. You can also highlight text by applying shading.

  1. Do one of the following:
    1. To add a border to a paragraph, click anywhere in the paragraph.
    2. To add a border only to specific text, select the text.
  2. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Borders tab.
    1. Select the options you want, and make sure the correct option — Paragraph or Text — is selected under Apply to.
      • To specify that only particular sides get borders, click Custom under Setting. Under Preview, click the diagram's sides, or use the buttons to apply and remove borders.
    2. To specify the exact position of the border relative to the text, click Paragraph under Apply to, click Options, and then select the options you want.

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Add shading to a table, a paragraph, or selected text

  1. To add shading to a table, click anywhere in the table.
    1. From the Format menu, choose Borders & Shading.
    2. Click on the Shading tab.
    3. Select the shade you want. Remember that your text needs to be legible
    4. Under Apply to, click the part of the document you want to apply shading to.
      • For example, if you clicked a cell without selecting it in step 1, click Cell. Otherwise, Word applies the shading to the entire table.
  2. To add shading to specific cells, select the cells, including the end-of-cell marks.
    1. From the Format menu, choose Borders & Shading.
    2. Click on the Shading tab.
    3. Select the shade you want. Remember that your text needs to be legible
    4. Under Apply to, click the part of the document you want to apply shading to.
      • For example, if you clicked a cell without selecting it in step 1, click Cell. Otherwise, Word applies the shading to the entire table.
  3. To add shading to a paragraph, click anywhere in the paragraph.
    1. From the Format menu, choose Borders & Shading.
    2. Click on the Shading tab.
    3. Select the shade you want. Remember that your text needs to be legible
    4. Under Apply to, click the part of the document you want to apply shading to.
      • For example, if you clicked a cell without selecting it in step 1, click Cell. Otherwise, Word applies the shading to the entire table.
  4. To add shading to specific text, such as a word, select the text.
    1. From the Format menu, choose Borders & Shading.
    2. Click on the Shading tab.
    3. Select the shade you want. Remember that your text needs to be legible
    4. Under Apply to, click the part of the document you want to apply shading to.
      • For example, if you clicked a cell without selecting it in step 1, click Cell. Otherwise, Word applies the shading to the entire table

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Change a Border on a Page

  1. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Page Border tab.
  2. Select the options you want.
    1. For Help on an option, click the question mark and then click the option.
  3. To change only a particular border, such as only the top one, click Custom under Setting. Under Preview, click the border icon you want to change.
  4. To specify a particular page or section for the border to appear in, click the option you want under Apply to.
  5. To specify the exact position of the border on the page, click Options, and then select the options you want.

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Change the Border around Text

  1. Do one of the following:
    1. To change the border that surrounds a paragraph, click anywhere in the paragraph.
    2. To change the border that surrounds specific text, such as a word, select the text.
  2. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Borders tab.
  3. Select the options you want, and make sure the correct option is selected under Apply to.

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Add Horizontal Line

A horizontal line can be inserted between paragraphs of text.

  1. Click in a space where you want to insert the horizontal line.
  2. On the format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Borders tab.
  3. Click the Horizontal Line button at bottom of window.
  4. Select the line.

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Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences