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: Adding Drop-Shadows to Paragraphs.

Adding Drop-Shadows to Paragraphs

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 19, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

You already know that Word allows you to quickly and easily add borders to your paragraphs. You can take this one step further by adding drop shadows to your text. A drop shadow is a type of border that is wider on two sides than it is on the other two. The result, especially when printed, is that the bordered paragraph looks like it is raised above the rest of the document. To add a drop shadow to a paragraph, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point in the paragraph to which you want the drop shadow added.
Select the Borders and Shading command from the Format menu. Word displays the Borders tab of the Borders and Shading dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

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

Select the Shadow option from the Preset area at the left side of the dialog box.
Select a line weight from the Width drop-down list.
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 (1160) 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: Adding Drop-Shadows to Paragraphs.

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 Printing of Document Properties

Getting to a printed document is often the entire purpose of using Word. The program, however, allows you to print out ...

Discover More

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

Protecting Headers and Footers

If you don't want the information in a header or footer to be changed by users of your document, there are a couple of ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Forcing a Page Break Before a Paragraph

There are times that you just want to begin a paragraph (perhaps a heading) at the top of a new page. Word allows you to ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Choppiness in Justified Text

Justified text doesn't always produce the best-looking results. Here's how to avoid some of the choppiness that can occur.

Discover More

Vertical Alignment of Sections

Using one of the page setup options in Word, you can specify that the paragraphs within the section be vertically aligned ...

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 9 + 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.