Adding decorative borders to your Microsoft Word documents can help make them stand out. Borders can give your documents a polished, professional look or match the theme of special projects.
Fortunately, Word provides several built-in options for adding borders to your documents. You can customize the design, color, width, and more to suit your needs.
Types of Borders in Word
There are a few different types of borders you can add in Word:
- Page borders – These borders print around the entire perimeter of a document page. You can add them to just the first page or all pages.
- Text borders – Add a border around a paragraph, selection of text, or entire text box. The border prints directly around the text.
- Table borders – Customize the borders for the cells and overall table in Word tables.
- Image borders – Wrap a border around inserted images.
The steps to add each type are slightly different, but they all allow for customization.
Adding Page Borders
Page borders create a decorative frame around your document pages. Here’s how to add them:
- Go to the Design tab
- Click Page Borders
- Select a border style from the menu
- Customize the appearance using the options for color, width, and more
- Click OK
You can add page borders to just the first page or entire document. Use the Apply to dropdown menu to choose.
Customizing Page Borders
After adding a basic page border, you can customize it to suit your needs:
- Change border style – Select a different line style like dots or dashes instead of a solid line.
- Adjust border width – Make borders thicker or thinner.
- Change border color – Select another color or create a custom one.
- Set distance from page edge – Use the Options menu to set spacing between the border and page edge.
Take some time to explore all the customization settings for page borders to create the perfect frame for your documents.
Adding Borders to Text
You may want to highlight paragraphs or sections of text by wrapping a border around them instead of the entire page. Here’s how:
- Select the text you want to border
- Go to Home > Borders
- Choose a border style
- Customize the appearance using the Borders and Shading options
The border will print directly around the text you selected. You can choose which sides to add borders to or wrap all 4 sides.
Using Borders in Tables
Add decorative borders to tables in Word to spruce them up:
- Click inside the table and go to the Design tab
- Open the Table Styles gallery
- Scroll through the options to see different border designs
- Select a style to apply to your table
You can also customize the borders for individual cells using the Borders button on the Design tab.
Adding Borders to Images
Wrap a border around images inserted into your documents:
- Double click the image to open layout options
- Go to the Picture tab
- Open the Picture Border menu
- Select a border style, color, and width
This wraps a decorative border directly around the picture.
Using a Watermark Image as a Border
For more creative freedom, you can insert a watermark image and use it as a border:
- Go to Design > Watermark
- Select Custom Watermark > Picture Watermark
- Choose a border image from your computer
- Adjust transparency so it looks like a border behind your text
- Resize and position the image as desired
Using a watermark gives you more flexibility than standard borders. You can use PNG images with transparency to create a truly custom border.
More Tips for Decorative Borders
Here are a few more tips to help you work with borders:
- Use section breaks to have different borders on different pages
- Wrap images or text boxes to position over borders without covering them
- Layer borders by applying them to text inside a page border
- Use page border graphics for themed designs
- Mix and match border types and appearances within a document
Take some time to explore all the options Word provides for adding and customizing borders. They can give your documents some extra design flair with just a few clicks.
