Nigh of you already know that you can quickly add a horizontal line to a Word certificate past typing iii hyphens and pressing Enter–just there'south more. At that place are several keyboard shortcuts and a built-in feature that lets you lot add a predefined line that yous can copy, move, slant, and delete.

In this commodity, I'll show yous how to insert lines using both methods.

I'k using Part 365 Give-and-take (desktop) on a Windows ten 64-bit system, but yous tin use an older version of Word. The browser edition doesn't back up these features. There's no sit-in file; you lot won't need one.

SEE: Choosing your Windows 7 exit strategy: Four options (Tech Pro Research)

From the keyboard

Other than the 3 hyphens shortcut there are 5 others, for a total of 6 keyboard shortcuts for displaying a horizontal line in a Discussion document, every bit shown in Effigy A.

Simply type the iii characters and press Enter, and Word will convert the three characters into its corresponding line. This magic is made possible by the AutoCorrect feature.

  1. To admission this feature, click the File tab and click Options.
  2. In the left pane, click Proofing.
  3. To the right, click the AutoCorrect Options push button.
  4. Then, click the AutoFormat As Yous Blazon tab.
  5. In the resulting dialog, check the Border lines in the Apply department (Effigy B). This setting is in the same spot in all versions but finding it in older versions is a flake different: If you lot're nonetheless using 2003, choose AutoCorrect from the Tools menu; 2007 users should click the Role button, and then click Word Options.

To disable this feature, uncheck the Edge lines option in the Utilize section. To temporarily usurp the feature, press Ctrl+z to undo the conversion. To remove the line, click the AutoCorrect Options dropdown (in the left margin) and choose Undo Border Line, equally shown in Effigy C. (Just you must exercise so immediately.) You can also utilise this dropdown to disable the AutoCorrect feature. If the dropdown is no longer available, click the line (it won't exist credible though; the cursor volition appear to exist above the line), and press Delete.

If yous determine to disable the pick, you can quickly insert a horizontal line as follows:

  1. Place your cursor where y'all want to insert the line.
  2. Click the Home tab and so click the dropdown arrow for the Borders option in the Paragraph group.
  3. From the resulting list, select Horizontal Line.

To remove the line, select it and press Delete. A few formatting options are available; only double-click the line to run across what's available.

To learn more most the AutoCorrect feature, read Harness the power of Word's AutoCorrect feature

Sticky border trouble

Word converts your set up of three characters into a paragraph format. It's actually a edge and not a shape (which we'll discuss briefly below). If you enter the 3 hyphens directly under a line of text, Word will attach a edge to the text (paragraph). If you move the text, the line goes with information technology. If there's a blank line between the text and the hyphen-generated line, the line stands alone. Y'all can move it and delete it.

Once a line is anchored to text as a border, you can't select and remove the line. How practice you go rid of information technology? Click anywhere inside the textual paragraph and then click the Borders dropdown. Choose No Edge, as shown in Figure D, and the sticky border is gone

As a Lines shape

The lines produced past the keyboard shortcuts and AutoCorrect are certainly functional, but Discussion can depict lines at an angle also using a Lines shape. You'll need to insert a truthful shape and not a paragraph-formatted border.

  1. To practise so, click the Insert tab and click the Shapes dropdown (in the Illustrations group).
  2. Choose a line from the Lines section and click where y'all want the line to start.
  3. Drag a flake and click a second time where you want the line to end.

Yous can copy, motility, or resize this line. To insert a straight line, hold down the Shift key. Either end signal tin be adjusted to exist in a higher place or below the other point by dragging either point up or down. The point you aren't moving volition remain anchored to its position.

If you want both points to move, concur down the Ctrl fundamental while you motion 1 point or the other. The line responds similar to a child's seesaw, as though the line were centered on a fulcrum, but only at offset because yous tin drag the bespeak a full 360 degrees.

Stay tuned

Adding a horizontal line can provide a visual line of demarcation betwixt ii sections. Calculation a vertical line will exercise the same thing. In a future article, I'll show you how to add a vertical line to a document.

Ship me your question near Role

I answer readers' questions when I can, but at that place's no guarantee. Don't send files unless requested; initial requests for help that make it with attached files will be deleted unread. You can ship screenshots of your data to help clarify your question. When contacting me, exist as specific as possible. For case, "Please troubleshoot my workbook and fix what's wrong" probably won't get a response, but "Can you tell me why this formula isn't returning the expected results?" might. Please mention the app and version that y'all're using. I'm not reimbursed by TechRepublic for my time or expertise when helping readers, nor do I ask for a fee from readers I aid. You can contact me at susansalesharkins@gmail.com.

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