About borders in Office Word

In Microsoft Office Word, borders can add interest and emphasis to various parts of your document. You can add borders to pages, text, tables and table cells, graphic objects, and pictures.

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.

page with graphical border

You can set apart text from the rest of a document by adding borders.

text with borders and shading

You can add borders to a table or individual table cell.

table with automatic formatting

You can add borders to drawing objects and pictures. You can change or format the border of an object in the same way that you change or format a line.

Add a border

Do one of the following:

Add a border to a picture, a table, or text

  1. Select the picture, table, or text that you want to apply a border to.

    To apply a border to specific table cells, select the cells, including the end-of-cell marks.

    select cells and end-of-cell marks

    Note Press CTRL+* to turn on Show/Hide paragraph marks and view the end-of-cell marks.

  2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

  3. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, click the Borders tab, and then click one of the border options under Settings.
  4. Select the style, color, and width of the border.
  5. Do any of the following:
    • To place borders only on particular sides of the selected area, click Custom under Setting. Under Preview, click the diagram's sides, or click the buttons to apply and remove borders.
    • To specify the exact position of a paragraph border relative to the text, click Paragraph under Apply to, click Options, and then select the options that you want.
    • To specify a cell or table that you want the border to appear in, click the option that you want under Apply to.

Add a border to a page

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

    Make sure you are on the Page Border tab in the Borders and Shading dialog box.

  2. Click one of the border options under Settings.

    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.

  3. Select the style, color, and width of the border.

    To specify an artistic border, such as trees, select an option in the Art box.

  4. Do any of the following:
    • To specify a particular page or section for the border to appear in, click the option that you want under Apply to.
    • To specify the exact position of the border on the page, click Options, and then select the options that you want.

Note You can see the page borders on your screen by viewing your document in Print Layout view.

Add a border to a drawing object

Note To add a border to a drawing object, you must place the drawing object in a drawing canvas.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes, and then click New Drawing Canvas.

    word ribbon image

    Office Word adds a drawing canvas.

  2. Right-click the drawing canvas, and then click Format Drawing Canvas on the shortcut menu.
  3. On the Colors and Lines tab, under Line, choose a color, line style, and line weight.
  4. Add any drawing objects that you want to the drawing canvas.

Change a border

Do one of the following:

Change the border of a picture, a table, or text

  1. Select the text, picture, or table whose border you want to change.

    If you want to change a border on specific table cells, select the cells, including the end-of-cell marks.

    select cells and end-of-cell marks

    Note Press CTRL+* to turn on Show/Hide paragraph marks and view the end-of-cell marks.

  2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

  3. Click the Borders tab, and change any options that you want.

Change a page border

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

    Make sure you are on the Page Border tab in the Borders and Shading dialog box.

  2. Change any options that you want.

Note You can see the page borders on your screen by viewing your document in Print Layout view.

Change a border for a drawing object

  1. Right-click the drawing canvas with the border that you want to change, and then click Format Drawing Canvas on the shortcut menu.
  2. On the Colors and Lines tab, under Line, change the color, line style, and line weight.

Remove a border

Do one of the following:

Remove a border from a picture, a table, or text

  1. Select the text, picture, or table whose border you want to remove.

    If you want to remove a border from specific table cells, select the cells, including the end-of-cell marks.

    select cells and end-of-cell marks

    Note Press CTRL+* to turn on Show/Hide paragraph marks and view the end-of-cell marks.

  2. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

  3. Click the Borders tab.
  4. Under Setting, click None.

Remove a border from a page

  1. On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, click Page Borders.

    word ribbon image

    Make sure you are on the Page Border tab in the Borders and Shading dialog box.

  2. Under Setting, click None.

Note To remove the border from only one edge of the document - for example, to remove all but the top border - click the borders that you want to remove in the diagram under Preview.

Remove a border from a drawing object

  1. Select the drawing canvas that surrounds the drawing object whose border you want to remove.
  2. Right-click the drawing canvas, and then click Format Drawing Canvas on the shortcut menu.
  3. On the Colors and Lines tab, under Line, click No Color.