[0:01]Hello, my name is Erin. This tutorial shows how to add paragraph borders in Microsoft Word. We'll also look at how to delete paragraph borders. You can use paragraph borders to emphasize important text, or add visual interest to your document. I think this technique is particularly effective when paired with newspaper style columns. Today I'll be using Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word for Mac and the one-time purchase versions of the software back to Word 2013.
[0:43]To begin adding paragraph borders, select the paragraph or paragraphs to which you want to add the border. Next, select the Home tab in the ribbon.
[0:57]And then select the borders menu arrow in the paragraph group. Avoid selecting the borders button itself because it will automatically apply the last used border to your selected paragraph.
[1:15]Hover over the basic options in the dropdown menu for a live preview. You may notice that not all the options can be applied to paragraphs. In addition, the results will differ according to the number of paragraphs you've selected. For more advanced options, select borders and shading instead. When the Borders and Shading dialog box appears, select Box, Shadow, 3D or custom. It's important to note that Word's application of these options will depend on the other border options you choose in this dialog box. Therefore, you may need to experiment with a variety of options to achieve the desired results. Next, select a border style, color, and width. You can also select or deselect the top, bottom, left, or right buttons in the preview section to toggle the border on or off specific sides of the paragraph. If you select the Options button, the Border and Shading Options dialog box will appear where you can adjust the distance between the border and the text. I'm going to leave my border with the default distances today. When you're finished, select the OK button in the Borders and Shading dialog box. Your new border should now be applied to your paragraph.
[2:55]To delete a paragraph border, insert your cursor in the paragraph with the border. And then select the Home tab in the ribbon. Next, select the Borders menu arrow in the paragraph group, followed by No Border from the drop-down menu. The border should be removed from your paragraph. And as always, remember to save your file to save your changes. For more Microsoft Word training, please see my playlists, How to Use Microsoft Word and How to Use Word for Mac, where you'll find many related tutorials such as how to create newspaper-style columns in Microsoft Word, and how to insert and remove page borders in Microsoft Word, PC and Mac. All these resources are linked in the description box below, along with my website, erinrightwriting.com, which shows all the steps we just performed with images. Feel free to leave me a comment if there's a specific topic that you'd like me to talk about in the future. And please subscribe to my channel so you don't miss upcoming tutorials, and give this video a thumbs up if you found it helpful. Thank you so much for watching!
