Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Creating a Full-Page Border.

Creating a Full-Page Border

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 25, 2019)

Not only can you add borders to your paragraphs, but you can place one on an entire page. You do this by following these steps:

  1. If you are not going to apply the border to all the pages in your document, position the insertion point in the section that will use the borders.
  2. If you're using Word 2007 or Word 2010, make sure the Page Layout tab of the ribbon is displayed. In Word 2013 or Word 2016, you'll need to display the Design tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the Page Borders tool in the Page Background group. Word displays the Page Border tab of the Borders and Shading dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Page Border tab of the Borders and Shading dialog box.

  4. Use the controls in the dialog box to specify how you want your border to appear. These controls are very similar to those used by Word to set up paragraph borders.
  5. Unlike adding borders to paragraphs, you can use the Art drop-down list to select an artistic treatment to use for your border.
  6. Use the Apply To drop-down list to select what parts of your document should use the border.
  7. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6024) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Creating a Full-Page Border.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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