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 Vertical Lines between Columns.

Adding Vertical Lines Between Columns

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated May 13, 2020)

As you already know, Word allows you to add columns to your page layout. As part of your page layout, you may decide to add vertical lines between each column on your page. To do this, follow these steps:

Position the insertion point at the beginning of the material you want to appear in columns.
Select the Columns option from the Format menu. Word displays the Columns dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Columns dialog box.

Specify the number of columns desired, as you normally would.
In the Apply To box, select This Point Forward. This causes Word to apply columns beginning where the insertion point is located.
Click on the Line Between check box.
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 (1163) 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 Vertical Lines between Columns.

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...

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