This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Skip Navigation skip menu and banner
University of Wyoming

Word
Horizontal Lines

[pdf version]

Use Borders of Clip Art to add horizontal lines to documents and newsletters.  Several varieties of horizontal lines are available in the Borders section, and the Clip Art Gallery has an extensive set of horizontal lines to choose from.  This tip sheet uses a newsletter to demonstrate lines.

Borders and Shading

When using the Borders and Shading feature to add a horizontal line, it helps to think of a paragraph as a box.  A line can be added to the top, bottom, or sides of a paragraph box.  For example, lines can be added in between the articles in a newsletter.

  1. Click the last line of the first article.  Thank of this as the bottom of the paragraph box.
  2. Click Format > Borders and Shading.  The Borders and Shading window displays.  See Figure 1.

Figure 1. Borders and Shading

Figure 1.  Borders and Shading
  1. Click Box in the Setting area.
  2. Highlight the desired line style.
  3. Click the Colors down arrow.
  4. Select a color.
  5. Click the Width down arrow.
  6. Select a width.
  7. Review the Preview section.  Lines are added around the entire paragraph by default.
    Since the line is to be added to the bottom of the paragraph, click the top border icon and the two bottom border icons.  The Preview changes accordingly.
  8. The line is one point below the paragraph by default.  Take the following steps to change this.
    1. Click Options.
    2. Click the up arrow in the Bottom field until the number of desired points is displayed.  The example in Figure 2 is 10 points.
    3. Click OK.

Figure 2. Horizontal Line

Figure 2.  Horizontal Line
  1. Click OK to close the Borders and Shading window.  The line is added.

Clip Art Horizontal Lines

The horizontal lines available in the Clip Art Gallery provide more variety than are available in Borders and Shading.  This example shows how to add a horizontal line using Clip Art.

  1. Press Enter to add a blank line after the last paragraph in the first article of the newsletter.
  2. Click Format > Borders and Shading.  The Borders and Shading dialog box displays.
  3. Click the Horizontal Line button.  The Horizontal Line dialog box displays with a representation of the available lines.  See Figure 3.

Figure 3. Horizontal Lines

Figure 3.  Horizontal Lines
  1. Scroll down to review the lines.
  2. Click on the desired line.
  3. Click OK.

Format the Line

  1. Right-click the horizontal line.
  2. Click Format Horizontal Line.  The Format Horizontal Line dialog box displays.
  3. Change the width or height by clicking the up or down arrows.  Figure 4 shows the line with the height changed to 15 points.  Click the image to enlarge it.
  4. Click OK.

Figure 4. Change Horizontal Lind Width Click the image to enlarge it.

Figure 4. Change Horizontal Line Width Click the image to enlarge it.
Figure 4.  Change Horizontal Line Width

[top]  • Back • Home • Up • Next •

Updated 09/15/2006