BORDERS and shading are two of those features that are super easy to apply but can make a big difference in the way your document looks to your readers. Adding a border to a sidebar can give the section a professional look it might not achieve just hanging out there in your text. Adding a background shade can help you call attention to a particular paragraph or two. And by fine-tuning borders on a table, section, or page, you can add a simple but sophisticated design element that keeps your readers’ interest and gives your document that “put together” look.
This chapter shows you how to add and customize the borders and shading in your document, whether you want to apply the features to paragraphs, sections, your whole document, or tables and images on the page.
Some of the reasons you might want to use borders and shading include:
You want to create a border around a table.
You want to format a heading that includes white text on a colorful background.
You need a shaded sidebar for a section of text that accompanies an article.
You would like to add a border around a table of contents so that readers can find it easily.
To quickly and easily add a plain border to an item in your document, on the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow to the right of the Borders button. A list of border options appears, as shown in Figure 19-1. Click Outside Border to enclose the selected item in a border (or choose another Border option if you prefer). Your most recent selection also becomes the option shown on the face of the button, on the assumption that you might want to use it again soon.
A simple one-line border might do the trick when you are interested in only a box that sets off items from surrounding text. But if you want to use the border as a design element on your page, you can use the Borders And Shading dialog box to tailor the selections and create a more sophisticated effect. The Borders And Shading dialog box presents you with a variety of looks for your border (including 3-D and shadow effects). You can also change the style, color, and width of the lines you use or create a partial border by selecting only the line segments you want to display.
To create a customized border, begin by placing the insertion point in the paragraph where you want the border to start or by selecting the data around which you want to create the border. For example, if you want to add a border around a paragraph that lists your corporate Web site and contact information, highlight that paragraph and then display the Borders And Shading dialog box in one of two ways:
On the Page Layout tab, select the Page Borders tool in the Page Background group. In the Borders And Shading dialog box, select the Borders tab.
Click the Borders arrow (in the Paragraph group on the Home tab) and select Borders And Shading (the last option on the list).
The Borders And Shading dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 19-2.
You can make all kinds of border changes and tweak attributes in any number of ways by adjusting the style, color, width, line, and shading settings. The Borders And Shading dialog box provides three tabs: Borders, Page Border, and Shading. The following list presents a quick overview of what you can do on each tab:
Borders. Contains options for choosing the border style, color, and width, as well as options for choosing partial borders (for example, you can choose to which edges of the selection you want to assign a border).
Page Border. Includes the same options you find on the Border tab, with one addition: the Art list at the bottom of the center panel enables you to add special border art to the pages in your document.
Shading. On this tab, you can apply a background color or pattern behind selected text.
You will probably want to modify the Setting options when you open the Borders And Shading dialog box. These options control the overall look of the border, and they vary depending on whether you’re working in a table or with standard text. If you’re working with standard text, you can choose from the following Setting options:
None. Shows no border around selected text and objects; this is the default.
Box. Encloses the selection in a simple line box.
Shadow. Outlines the selection with a box and adds a drop shadow below and to the right of the selection.
3-D. Creates a three-dimensional effect for the selected border, making it appear to “stand out” from the page.
Custom. Configures the Preview area so you can choose and customize the line segments you want to include in your border.
If you’re working with a table or selected cells, you can choose among the following Setting options:
None. Shows no border around the table or selected cells.
Box. Encloses the table or selected cells in a simple line box without internal lines.
All. Outlines the entire table or selected cells, including borders between cells; this is the default.
Grid. Outlines a table or selected cells with a heavier exterior border and lighter interior borders.
Custom. Configures the Preview area so that you can choose and customize the line segments you want to include in your border.
Note
You can mix and match border types to achieve the effect you want. For example, you can add borders to part of a table and hide borders in other parts to create the appearance of lines for text on forms that users will fill out. You can further combine border options, such as color and line widths, to make borders visually appealing.
To apply one of the Setting options shown in the Borders And Shading dialog box, click in the paragraph, table, image, or other element that you want to format, or select text or cells. Then display the Borders And Shading dialog box and click the Setting selection on the Borders tab. If you don’t want to make any additional changes, you can simply click OK to return to your document.
The border is added to the current text, table, or selected object. If the cursor is positioned in a new blank paragraph before you display the Borders And Shading dialog box, the border appears around the insertion point and expands as you type, including added paragraphs, images, tables, and other elements.
To end the expansion of the border, either click outside the formatted area or press Enter at the end of the formatted area, and then format the new blank paragraph marker by using the No Border setting on the Borders button.
Word provides 24 line styles that you can use to create border effects. From simple, straight lines to dotted, double, and triple lines, you can create a variety of looks by changing line styles. Figure 19-3 shows a few examples of borders created with different line styles.
To choose a line style for a border, display the Borders And Shading dialog box and select a line style in the Style list on the Borders tab. The Preview area shows the effect of your choices. Set any other border choices you want then click OK. The document is updated with your changes.
When you begin adding lines and borders to your publication, Word uses the Automatic color by default, which is black if you are using the standard Windows color scheme. However, you have all of the colors offered by Word at your disposal, so you can get as colorful as your document design allows. To choose new border colors, follow these steps:
Click in or select the elements you want to format with border colors.
If the content already has a border and you only want to color the existing lines, you can retain the current border and simply apply a color setting to the existing border settings.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Borders And Shading. Choose Borders And Shading at the bottom of the list to display the Borders And Shading dialog box.
On the Borders tab, select a Setting option and line style if you’re creating a new border.
If you’re working with an existing border, you can make changes as desired.
Click the Color arrow. The color palette appears, as shown in Figure 19-4.
Click the color you want to use from the color palette or, if you don’t see the color you were hoping for, click More Colors.
The Colors dialog box appears, in which you can find the color you’re looking for. Click the color you want. If you’re creating a new border, the color setting is reflected in the Preview area immediately. If you’re adjusting the color setting for an existing border, you need to click each line in the Preview area to apply the color setting. In this way, you can control the line color for each border line.
Click OK and the color settings are applied in your document.
Note
The Color palette is divided into two areas. The Theme Colors area provides colors from the document theme, and the Standard Colors area offers primary colors. More Colors displays the Colors dialog box so that you can choose from a wide range of colors or create your own custom color. If you choose a color that is not included in the Theme Colors section, it won’t be changed automatically if you later choose a different theme for the document. To make sure that colors can be automatically swapped whenever you choose a new theme, select Theme Colors only.
Suppose that you’re using Word 2010 to create a Web page or document that must conform to last year’s annual report, right down to the color scheme. When you need to match colors, choosing accurate border colors can become an especially important issue. For times like these, you can use the Custom tab in the Colors dialog box to enter the exact RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) or HSL (Hue, Saturation, and Luminance) values for custom colors. To configure the Custom tab in the Colors dialog box for borders, perform the following steps:
Click the border for which you want to change the color.
On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Background group, choose Page Borders.
On the Borders tab in the Borders And Shading dialog box, click the Color down arrow.
Click More Colors on the color palette.
In the Colors dialog box, click the Custom tab.
On the Color Model list, choose RGB, HSL, or another available color scheme (see Figure 19-5).
Enter values in the Red, Green, and Blue, or Hue, Sat, and Lum text boxes as appropriate (depending on the color model you choose).
Click OK to close the Colors dialog box.
Finish configuring your border settings in the Borders And Shading dialog box then click OK to apply the custom color.
When you create a simple border, the default line width is 0.5 point, which is a simple, thin line. If you want to create a more dramatic effect—whether you leave the line black or add color—you can change the width of the line. To change line width, display the Borders And Shading dialog box, click the Width arrow, and then click the width you want. Available point sizes include ¼, ½, ¾, 1, 1½, 2¼, 3, 4½, and 6.
Note
You can use line widths to create a special effect for partial borders. For example, to add a wide line above and below content, select the area you want to enclose between the lines, display the Borders And Shading dialog box, and then on the Borders tab, click the Custom setting. Select a line style, click the Width arrow, and then choose a larger point size, such as 3 point. In the Preview area, click the top-horizontal edge of the preview page. A line is added to the top border. Next, click the bottom-horizontal edge of the preview page then click OK. Word adds the thick line border above and below the selected area.
Not every paragraph, table, or object you enclose in a border needs four lines surrounding it. You might want to add only two lines—perhaps along the top and right side of a paragraph—to help set it apart from an article that appears beside it. You might use only a top and bottom rule to contain your table of contents. Or you might use a single line to set off a quotation from the main text in a report or to mark the start of a new section.
Creating a partial border is a simple task, and you use the Custom Setting option and the Preview area of the Borders And Shading dialog box to accomplish it. Here are the steps:
Click in a table or paragraph, or select the information around which you want to create the border.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Borders button.
On the Borders tab, click the Custom setting. Specify the border’s line style, color, and width.
In the Preview area, click each edge of the preview paragraph to indicate where border lines should appear, or click the buttons that correspond to the edge or edges that should have a border line.
Many of the techniques you use to add a border to a section, table, or object in a document can be used to add borders to entire pages as well. When might you want to do that? You could add a page border to a special page you want to stand out in a document—perhaps parts pages that mark the beginning of a new section, or an executive summary page to which you want to call attention. Figure 19-6 displays a document with a page border. You can create standard page borders or use Art Border. This section shows you how.
Begin the process of adding a border to the page by displaying the Borders and Shading dialog box and selecting the Page Border tab. The main visual difference between the Borders tab and the Page Border tab is the addition of the Art list (which is covered in Inside Out: How Do I Change the Border on the First Page Only?). On the Page Border tab, after you make all of your border choices, the border is applied to an entire page, section, or document. The following procedure describes the process:
Click in a page or section to which you want to apply a border.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Borders button.
In the Borders And Shading dialog box, select the Page Border tab.
Click a page border setting (Box, Shadow, 3-D, or Custom).
From the Style list, select a line style.
On the Color list, select a color if desired.
Click the Width arrow and then choose the line width you want.
The Style, Color, and Width settings are reflected in the Preview area.
If desired, use the Preview image to select which edges of the page will have a page border.
On the Apply To list, specify where the border should apply.
Available options are Whole Document, This Section, This Section – First Page Only, and This Section – All Except First Page. By default, Whole Document is selected on the Apply To list; therefore, the border is added to all pages in the current document.
Click OK to close the dialog box and apply the page border settings to the current document.
Note
To apply a page border to a single page (other than the first page) or to a few pages in a long document, you must first set off the page or pages by creating a section. To learn more about creating and working with sections, see Chapter 6.
The Art Page Border feature, known in earlier versions of Microsoft Office as BorderArt, is where you can add an artistic touch to entire pages in your document. Special graphics are placed in patterns—either in black and white or in color—and used as borders for a page, group of pages, or selected sides of pages. To apply an artistic page border, follow these steps:
Click in the document to which you want to add the border.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Borders button to display the Borders And Shading dialog box, and then select the Page Border tab.
Click the Art arrow then scroll through the art borders. Select an Art option.
The Preview area displays your change. To control which borders will contain graphics, you can click the border segments to add and remove the images.
On the Apply To list, choose which pages should include the border.
You can include the border on the Whole Document, This Section, This Section – First Page Only, or This Section – All Except First Page.
Click OK and the border is added to the document according to your choices.
Artistic borders can be colorful and vibrant, but they can also be a bit much for some professional documents. For that reason, you should use art borders sparingly and use discretion to determine whether they are appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
Borders add emphasis to the page, section, or paragraph to which you want to call the reader’s attention. Word 2010 makes it easy to add borders to sections, paragraphs, images, or even words or phrases, if you like. Using the Apply To setting in the Borders And Shading dialog box, you can choose the item you want to change.
If you want to create a border around a section in your document, use the Page Border tab. On the Apply To list, you can find what you need to specify section bordering options.
If you want to add a border around a paragraph, text, table, image, selected table cell, or other element in your document, use the Borders tab. The Apply To options on that tab offer choices specific to the item you choose.
You might want to create a border around a section when you have specific information to highlight or when you want to set a section apart from the main flow of the text. To create a section border, start by placing the insertion point in the section you want to highlight. Display the Borders And Shading dialog box (click Borders in the Paragraph group on the Home tab) and then click the Page Border tab. Next, configure the border effects, including the Setting option and line style, color, and width. Click the Apply To arrow and select your choice: Whole Document, This Section, This Section – First Page Only, or This Section – All Except First Page. Finally, click the OK button to create your border.
If you want to see how the border looks for the entire section, click Print on the File tab. Adjust the Zoom controls so that two pages appear in the preview area. This helps you see the effect of your border selection on more than one page in your document.
Word makes a few assumptions about the way borders appear in documents. By default, it sets a small margin to borders applied to a paragraph and a larger margin to borders for sections and pages. When you add a border to a paragraph, Word adds a 1-point margin to the top and bottom and a 4-point margin along the left and right edges of the border. When you add a page or section border, it adds 24-point margins on all four sides, measured from the edge of the page.
To access border options with which you can adjust spacing between borders and content, display the Borders And Shading dialog box (click Borders And Shading in the Paragraph group on the Home tab). Click the Borders tab if you’re changing the options for a paragraph border, or click the Page Border tab if you’re working with a document or section border. Each of these choices displays different selections in the Border And Shading Options dialog box.
If the Borders tab is displayed when you click Options in the lower-right corner of the dialog box, the Border And Shading Options dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 19-7. If the Page Borders tab is selected, you will see the dialog box shown in Figure 19-8.
Figure 19-7. You control border margins and make choices about border alignment in the Border And Shading Options dialog box.
Figure 19-8. Use the Page Border tab to display the options available for spacing the border of an entire page.
To make changes to the border margins, click in the box you want to change and type a new value, or use the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the value shown.
For page borders, Word automatically measures the margin from the edge of the page, but you can change the setting so that the measurement reflects spacing between the text and the surrounding border. To make this change, click the Measure From arrow and choose Text. When working with the Borders tab, the Border And Shading Options dialog box only allows you to configure the space between the border and text.
Other options in the Border And Shading Options dialog box are available only if you’re working with a page or section border. By default, Word 2010 includes any headers and footers inside the bordered area and, also by default, enables the Always Display In Front check box, which causes the border to be in front of any text or graphic objects that might overlap it. If you have other borders or tables within the bordered section, the Align Paragraph Borders And Table Edges With Page Border check box is also available to you. If you want Word to align all of these borders, select this check box.
After you finished choosing border options, click OK twice to return to your document.
Word provides a collection of graphical horizontal lines that you can insert in documents to help set off a section, call attention to a special element in text, or set off a sidebar or special element. To add a graphical horizontal line to a document, follow these steps:
Place the insertion point where you want to add the line.
Display the Borders And Shading dialog box and select any tab.
Click the Horizontal Line button in the lower-left corner of the dialog box to display the Horizontal Line dialog box, as shown in Figure 19-9.
Scroll through the selections and click a line style to add the line.
After you place a horizontal line in a document, you can select, copy, paste, resize, move, and color it as you would other graphical items. To change the format of the line, right-click it, choose Format Horizontal Line, and select the settings you want to change. Furthermore, you can insert additional instances of the line by choosing the Horizontal Line option from the Borders button menu.
Tip
You can create your own graphical lines in Word or another program (such as Windows Paint or Microsoft PowerPoint 2010) and then add the customized line to your Horizontal Line gallery. To import a custom line, display the Borders And Shading dialog box and click Horizontal Line. In the Horizontal Line dialog box, click Import. Navigate to the file you want to use, click it, and then click Add. The line is added to the gallery and remains selected, ready for you to use.
Adding borders to pictures is a little different than adding borders to text. Instead of using the Borders And Shading dialog box, adding a border to a picture involves changing the formatting settings for that particular object in your document. Here’s how it’s done:
Click the picture or chart to which you want to add the border.
The contextual Picture Tools appears above the Ribbon.
In the Picture Styles group, click Picture Border.
The Picture Border list appears, as shown in Figure 19-10.
Click the color you want in the Theme Colors area of the gallery.
It’s a good idea to stay with the Theme Colors so that they coordinate with the colors in the rest of your document.
Use the Weight And Dashes settings to choose the width and style of the line used for the picture border.
Remember that you can point to a selection to preview it before selecting it.
Note
You can also spruce up the images in your documents by adding drop shadows, applying 3-D settings, rotating images, and much more. For more about working with pictures in your Word documents, see Chapter 17.
Word includes an entire set of border options that you can apply to your tables. The tools are easy to use and can help you change a boring table into something that looks professional and really showcases your data effectively. For in-depth coverage of creating and working with tables, be sure to check out Chapter 15. This section provides the basic steps for adding borders and shades to your tables.
As you know, Word includes a gallery of table styles that you can apply to your tables. The table styles that are available to you depend on the theme you’ve selected for the document. (For more information about using themes in Word 2010, see Chapter 4.) The table styles that appear could give you all of the borders you’ll ever need. However, if you want to change the borders used in the style, knowing how to customize your table borders comes in handy.
In the Borders And Shading dialog box, you can choose the border setting, style, color, and width, as you learned earlier in this chapter. If you want to experiment with custom lines and mix and match line styles in your table border, use the tools presented on the Design tab, which is available on the Table Tools contextual tab that appear when you select the table. The following procedure shows you how to do it:
Begin by selecting the table element to which you want to apply the border.
You might select the entire table or simply a column, row, a single cell, or selection of cells. To select a specific cell, simply click it to position the cursor in that location.
On the contextual Table Tools tab, click Design.
In the Draw Borders group, click the Line Style arrow to choose the line style you want for the border, as shown in Figure 19-11.
Click the Line Weight arrow to choose the weight (or thickness) you want for the border.
In the Table Styles group, click the Borders arrow to display the list of Border options you saw earlier in this chapter.
Click your selection to apply the border to the selected table elements.
Note
If you like the border style you created for a table you’ve been working with, you can save the style and reuse it. To do so, click the More button in the Table Styles gallery (available when you choose Design on the contextual Table Tools). Choose New Table Style from the bottom of the gallery. Enter a name for the new style and click OK to save it.
You might occasionally want more than a border to make something in your document stand out. Adding shading can help call attention to passages of text that you want to highlight. For example, you might add a shade to highlight a special quotation, draw the reader’s eye to an important summary, or make items pop out from the page. When you add a shade to text, you can control the color, transparency, and pattern used to create the shaded effect.
Word’s table styles make use of shading in various ways to create professional effects for your tables. You can use one of the preset table styles by selecting the table and then choosing the style you like from the Table Style gallery (available when you choose Design on the contextual Table Tools tab). Chapter 15 includes detailed information on using table styles to format your tables.
When you want to apply custom shading to text, paragraphs, table cells, tables, or headings, you can use the Shading tab in the Borders And Shading dialog box. You can also choose the Shading button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab (when you’ve selected text) or the Shading button on the Design tab on the contextual Table Tools tab (when you have selected a table). To apply shading effects, follow these steps:
Select the item you want to shade.
Display the Borders And Shading dialog box then select the Shading tab.
The Shading tab contains various options that you can use to add and modify shades.
Note
The borders and shading features of Word work independently, which means that if you add shading without adding a border, the item appears with only the shade behind it—no outer border is added automatically. To add a border to a shaded item, select it and then display the Borders And Shading dialog box. Choose border settings on the Borders tab and then click OK to apply the border to the shaded selection.
In the Fill area, click the color you want to apply.
If you don’t see the color you want, you can click More Colors to open the Colors dialog box and choose another. Alternatively, you can click the Custom tab in the Colors dialog box to enter the RGB or HSL values for a custom color (described in Note).
In the Patterns area, click the Style arrow to display your choices for the density or pattern of the color you select. Choose a lower percentage for a lighter shade.
The Preview area shows the effect of each selection. Check carefully to make sure that the pattern doesn’t make your text more difficult to read.
Click OK to apply the shading settings.
To remove shading, select the shaded content and then perform one of the following actions:
Highlight the shaded area then click the Shading arrow in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. Choose No Color.
Display the Borders And Shading dialog box, click the Shading tab, choose No Color in the Fill area, and then click OK.
Remove the pattern by displaying the Borders And Shading dialog box, clicking the Shading tab, and then clicking the Style arrow in the Patterns area. Click Clear to remove the pattern and then click OK.
As with the caveat given earlier about art borders, remember that a little shading goes a long way. Done thoughtfully and with readers’ needs in mind, shading can be effective in calling attention to certain elements and helping special design objects stand out on the page (especially in a complex document). Yet overusing shading or using the wrong mix of colors and patterns can make your document or Web page harder for people to read, which means they’ll turn the page or click away from your site—and you’ll lose your audience.
To use shading effectively, consider the following guidelines:
Use shading on a need-to-use basis. Don’t sprinkle shades all the way through your document at random. Give a shade a reason, such as, “Every time we mention a new board member, we’ll provide a brief biography in a shaded sidebar.”
Choose intensities carefully. A shade that looks light on the screen might be much darker in print. Always look at your document in print form whenever possible, even for online content. You never know when a reader will decide to print an online page for later reference.
Check your color choices. If you lack confidence in your color choices, use the Theme Colors area of the color palette. Apply your color based on the element you are formatting, such as text or background, and let the document Theme handle the contrasts for you.
Test your contrasts. When you add a colored shade behind text, be sure to increase the contrast between the color of the shade and the color of the text. Be careful with using dark backgrounds: select a light (white or yellow) text color to ensure that the text can be easily read. If you choose a dark blue background, black text won’t show up clearly.
Print test pages on a printer that produces comparable output. If you’re printing colored shades, be sure to print a test page on a color printer.
If you’re creating a Web page, use Web-safe colors for your shades. Most Web browsers today can support the standard colors used in the Windows palette. If you choose customized colors, however, some browsers might not display the color accurately. Test the display of the page with different browsers to check the colors you select.
This chapter rounded out Part III of this book, which focused on ways you can communicate your point clearly using all sorts of visual tools that are available in Word 2010. It also focused on adding professional polish to your documents by demonstrating how to add borders and shading to your paragraphs, sections, pages, pictures, and tables. The next chapter introduces the concept of sharing and securing your documents in Word 2010—techniques that come in handy in our increasingly collaborative workplace.