Understanding Page Border Art

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 22, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you add page borders to your document, you already know that you can use special artistic treatments for the borders. For instance, you may want the page border to be comprised of a line of apples, stars, candles, or some other object. Word provides a wide array of artwork that you can use for borders.

The artwork used for borders is stored in a proprietary file format. The artwork is not in a normal format, such as GIF, JPG, or TIF. Instead, the artwork is in files that end in .BDR. You can find them on your hard drive by using the Find feature from the Start menu, and searching for any file ending with a .BDR extension. There are 15 such files, typically stored in the \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Borders folder. (The actual path may vary, depending on the version of Word installed on your system.)

Because the border artwork is stored in a proprietary format, you cannot add your own custom artwork for borders, nor can you use any artwork stored in a different format for borders.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (674) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Turning Off a Startup Sound

If you hear a sound when you start Word, it is because of some settings within Windows itself. You can use the Control ...

Discover More

Ensuring Proper Page Numbers for a Table of Authorities

Automatically create a Table of Authorities entry in your document, and Word might place the necessary field at the wrong ...

Discover More

Working With OLE Graphics

An explanation of the way Word imports graphics.

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Keeping Callouts Positioned

Using graphics to add callouts to your graphics is a common occurrence in Word. Here's how to stop all those graphics ...

Discover More

Editing Wrap Points

If you have a graphic that has text wrapping around it, you might want a way to modify the wrapping path used by Word. ...

Discover More

Understanding Fill Effects

Want to fill a drawing shape with more than just a color? Word allows you to use all sorts of fills, as described in this ...

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 eight more 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.