Microsoft Word 2003/2004

Borders and Shading Options

Borders and shading help you emphasize information and guide a reader's eye through a document. When adding borders and shading, remember that they are both applied to entire paragraphs. This document covers the following options for adding borders and shading to paragraphs.

Borders and Shading Options: Toolbar Option
Borders and Shading Options: Dialog Box Option

Borders and Shading Options: Toolbar Option

The Tables and Borders toolbar may be used to quickly add borders and shading to paragraphs. The following instructions will guide you in using the toolbar options to add borders and shading to paragraphs. Both borders and shading can be applied to the same paragraph.

To display the Tables and Borders toolbar:

From the View menu, select Toolbars » Tables and Borders
The Tables and Borders toolbar appears.
Windows:

Macintosh:

Adding Borders and Shading

Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add shading and/or border(s)
To add a border, click thenext to OUTSIDE BORDER» select the desired border option
To add shading, click thenext to SHADING COLOR» select the desired shading option

Removing Borders

Select the paragraph containing the border you want to remove
Click thenext to OUTSIDE BORDER» click NO BORDER

Modifying Borders

Select the paragraph containing the border you want to modify
Click thenext to OUTSIDE BORDER» click NO BORDER
OPTIONAL: On the Tables and Borders toolbar, select a different line weight and line style
Click the next to OUTSIDE BORDER» select the desired border option

Removing Shading

Select the paragraph containing the shading you want to remove
Click thenext to SHADING COLOR» click NO FILL

Modifying Shading

Select the paragraph containing the shading you want to modify
Click thenext to SHADING COLOR» select the desired shading option

Borders and Shading Options: Dialog Box Option

The Borders and Shading dialog box is another option for adding borders and shading to paragraphs. This option gives you more control of your border placement than with the Tables and Borders toolbar.

Adding Borders

Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add a border
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Borders tab
From the Setting section, select the desired option
OR
In the Preview section, click where you want borders to appear
NOTE: The sample graphic will be updated to reflect your changes.
OPTIONAL: Using the scroll list and pull-down lists, adjust the Style, Color, and Width
Click OK

Removing Borders

Select the paragraph containing the border you want to remove
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Borders tab
In the Setting section, click NONE
OR
In the Preview section, click each border you want to remove
Click OK

Modifying Borders

Select the paragraph(s) containing the border you want to modify
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Borders tab
In the Preview section, click the border you want to modify
The existing border is removed.
OPTIONAL: Using the scroll list and pull-down lists, adjust the Style, Color, and Width
In the Preview area, click where you want the border to appear
The new border appears, replacing the old.
Click OK

Adding Shading

Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add shading
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Shading tab
From the Fill and Patterns areas, select the desired options
The Preview section automatically adjusts based on your selections.
Click OK

Modifying Shading

Select the paragraph(s) containing the shading you want to modify
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Shading tab
In the Fill and Patterns areas, make the desired changes
The Preview section automatically adjusts based on your selections.
Click OK

Removing Shading

Select the paragraph containing the shading you want to remove
From the Format menu, select Borders and Shading...
The Borders and Shading dialog box appears.
Select the Shading tab
In the Fill section, click NO FILL
In the Patterns section, from the Style pull-down list, select Clear
Click OK