Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Adding Sidebars.

Adding Sidebars

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 13, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


In publishing, sidebars are used extensively in some page designs. You often see them in magazines and sometimes in books. A sidebar is generally a short, concise treatment of a subject related to the main text, but which is called out in a boxed format to the side of the main text. Sidebars are generally digressions from the main topic of the text, and if they were included in the main text they would distract from the information being conveyed.

In Word, the usual way of creating sidebars is to use a text box. To create a sidebar, follow these general steps:

  1. Switch to Print Layout view, if you are not already in that viewing mode.
  2. Display the page on which you want to place the sidebar.
  3. Decide whether you want the sidebar on the left or right side of the page.
  4. Add a text box that will contain the sidebar text.

Your sidebar has been placed, and you can type text in the box that defines the sidebar. You can also position and format the text box, using tips provided in other issues of WordTips, to appear exactly as you desire.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10668) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Adding Sidebars.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Forcing Worksheets to Print on a New Sheet

Excel allows you to easily print an entire workbook. Doing so, however, may not give the desired results if you a ...

Discover More

Positioning a Column on the Screen

If you have static columns and dynamic columns on the screen, you may want the dynamic columns to always show a ...

Discover More

Limits on Filtering

Filtering your data is a very power capability in Excel. What, however, are the limits on how many rows you can filter? ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Wrapping Text around a Graphic in a Text Box

Word allows you to wrap text around a graphic or around a text box, but it won't allow you to wrap text in a text box ...

Discover More

Extracting Text Box Contents

If your document has quite a few text boxes within it, you may want to extract the contents of those text boxes to a new ...

Discover More

Boxes in Boxes

When you insert a text box within another text box, you may expect any text in the outer text box to wrap around the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.