Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Creating a Full-Page Border.

Creating a Full-Page Border

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 15, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

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:

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.
Choose the Borders and Shading option from the Format menu. Word displays the Borders and Shading dialog box.
Make sure the Page Border tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

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

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.
Unlike adding borders to paragraphs, you can use the Art drop-down list to select an artistic treatment to use for your border.
Use the Apply To drop-down list to select what parts of your document should use the border.
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 (1828) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Smart Quotes are Incorrectly Replaced

Not able to replace smart quotes as you want? Here are some ways that you can be sure that every smart quote is changed, ...

Discover More

Pasting Text with Track Changes

Track Changes is a great tool for developing documents. If you want to copy text from one document to another, with ...

Discover More

Determining the Length of a Non-Document Text File

If you use a macro to create and work with text files, you can find out the length of those files using a simple command. ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Removing Automatic Lines

Type a few dashes, underscores, or equal signs, and you could end up with a full-width line in your document. This is ...

Discover More

Using Text As a Page Border

Word allows you to add page borders to a document, but you might find the options in this area too limiting. What if you ...

Discover More

Non-printing Page Borders

With your page border in place, you might be surprised if you don't see one side of the border (or all sides) print out ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is one less than 9?

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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.