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:

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

  6. 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.
  7. 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Tracked Changes Notification when Opening

If you have Word configured to show markup on-screen and you look through a document, it is easy to tell where changes ...

Discover More

Smoothing Out Data Series

One way you can make your charts look more understandable is by removing the "jaggies" that are inherent to line charts. ...

Discover More

Printing a Draft Watermark

Adding a watermark to the background of a printout can be challenging. This tip explains the different ways you can ...

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)

Space after a Table

Those familiar with styles are used to setting vertical spacing before or after paragraphs. You can get just the look you ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Background Color in All Tables

When working with tables (particularly those created by others), you can spend a large amount of time getting the ...

Discover More

How to Stop a Table Row from Splitting Over Two Pages

Do you want your table rows to be split between pages? Word allows you to format the table so that rows stay together and ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is nine minus 1?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.