Adding Borders and Shading

You don't have to know anything about graphics to set off paragraphs with attractive borders. You can also use the shading feature to add a background color to the paragraph. Figure 7.27 shows a little two-column list formatted with borders and shading.

Figure 7.27. This list is enhanced by borders and shading.

You can apply borders and shading by using the Borders and Shading dialog box (Format, Borders and Shading) or the Tables and Borders toolbar. Here, you learn how to use the toolbar. You will work with this same toolbar extensively in Hour 15 when you learn how to create tables.

Follow these steps to add borders and shading to your text:

1. Click in the paragraph to which you want to add the borders and shading (or select multiple adjacent paragraphs to format all of them).

2. Click the Tables and Borders button on the Standard toolbar to display the Tables and Borders toolbar (see Figure 7.28).

   Figure 7.28. Clicking the Tables and Borders toolbar button displays the Tables and Borders toolbar.

   

3. Click the down arrow to the right of the Line Weight button, and select a thickness for your border in the list that appears.

4. If you want to create a color border, click the down arrow to the right of the Border Color button and select a color in the palette that appears.

5. Click the down arrow to the right of the Border button, and click the desired border in the palette that appears. (For example, to create a bottom border under the paragraph containing the insertion point, click the Bottom Border option. To create a border around several selected paragraphs, click the Outside Border option.)

6. Finally, if you want to apply shading, click the down arrow to the right of the Shading Color button, and click a color in the palette that appears.

To remove borders from your text, select the paragraph, display the Tables and Borders toolbar, and choose the No Border option in the Border list. To remove shading, choose the No Fill option at the top of the Shading Color palette.

You can adjust the position of top and bottom borders by dragging them up or down with the mouse. You can also drag left and right borders out toward the margins. However, if you want to bring the left and right borders in toward the center of the page, you need to set left and right indents (the borders automatically move to the position of the indents).

If you like, you can add a border around your entire page. To learn how, see "Adding a Page Border" in Hour 8.

If you want to add a single horizontal border running from the left to the right margin, you don't need to use the Tables and Borders toolbar. Instead, click on the blank line where you want the border to go, type --- (three hyphens), and press Enter. To create a double line, type === (three equal signs) and press Enter. To get fancier borders, try using the ~ (tilde), # ( pound ), and * (asterisk) symbols. To disable these automatic borders, choose Tools, AutoCorrect Options, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, clear the Border Lines check box, and click OK.