Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 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: Adding Diagonal Borders.

Adding Diagonal Borders

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 4, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word allows you to add all sorts of borders to paragraphs, text boxes, and tables. You can place borders on the left, right, top, and bottom of these items. Many people don't realize that when it comes to table cells, you can also place diagonal borders. This means that a border can appear from the top-left to the lower-right corners of a cell, or from the top-right to the lower-left. (Diagonal borders are not available in Word 97.) To take advantage of diagonal borders, follow these steps:

Create your table as you normally would.
Select the cell you want to have the diagonal border.
Choose the Borders and Shading option from the Format menu. Word displays the Borders and Shading dialog box.
Make sure the Borders tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

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

At the bottom left and right corners of the Preview area of the dialog box, you should see buttons that have diagonal lines on them. Click the line that represents the type of diagonal border you want to use.
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 (877) applies to Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Adding Diagonal Borders.

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

Formatting Page Numbers

Need to format the page numbers you added to your document? Word makes it easy, using the same techniques you use to ...

Discover More

Removing Return Addresses

Word allows you to print return addresses on your envelopes. You may run across a scenario where the return address is ...

Discover More

Lines that Don't Change When You Type

Create a form in Word and you will invariably be faced with the need to places fill-in-the-blank lines in the document. ...

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)

Applying Consistent Shading to a Table

Formatting tables can be very time consuming. When you get a document from another person, you can spend a lot of time ...

Discover More

Formatting Lots of Tables

Do you need a quick way to format your tables? Believe it or not, there are several tools you can use from Word's arsenal ...

Discover More

Resizing Your Table

Need to make your table a different size? It's easy to do, using the same general technique you use when resizing a ...

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 two 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.