How to insert built-in and custom horizontal lines in Word documents

For various purposes, you may need to insert horizontal lines in Word documents from time to time. You may need to separate a section, you may need to add a long underline to the title, etc. You may also know that typing 3 hyphens (- – -) and pressing Enter inserts a standard horizontal line in the document. However, if you're tired of using the same old horizontal lines all the time in your documents, you might want to try your own custom horizontal lines. Or even simpler, insert the built-in horizontal lines that Excel already has.

No matter what your requirements are, we have them all covered. If you must frequently insert horizontal lines into your documents, we've also detailed how to assign keyword shortcuts to horizontal lines! So, let’s jump right into the article, shall we?

Part 1: How to Insert a Built-in Horizontal Line Using the Border Option

Step 1: First, clickthe point where you want to insert the horizontal line.

Now click on the HOME tab at the top.

Next, under the Paragraph section, click the Borders icon and select the Borders and Shading option.

Step 2: In the Borders and Shading window, make sure you are in the Borders" tab.

From the Style options list, select the built-in border of your choice.

You can change the color of the border using the Color drop-down menu.

Now from the Width drop-down menu, select the width of your choice.

In the right pane, under the "Preview" section, make sure the bottom border icon is the only active icon.

After all is completed, click the OK button at the bottom.

Step 3: That’s it. Your built-in border is now inserted successfully.

Note: Built-in borders are easy to insert, but difficult to delete, because the delete key will not delete borders inserted using this method. If you want to know how to remove borders inserted using this method, you can read our article on the topic How to Insert and Remove Horizontal Lines in Microsoft Word.

Part 2: How to Insert Custom Horizontal Lines Using Symbols and Characters

In the above section, we detailed how to insert the built-in horizontal lines in Word documents. But if you want to insert your own custom horizontal lines, there is a way. The following steps pave the way to achieving this goal!

Step 1: Click anywhere on the Word document where you want to insert a custom horizontal line.

Now, click on the

Insert tab on the top ribbon.

Under the

INSERT tab options, click the drop-down menu named Symbols, and then click the Symbol drop-down menu.

At the bottom of the list of available symbols, click the option

More symbols.

Step 2: From the list of available symbols, click the symbol you want to create a horizontal line, then click "Insert" button.

Note: By default, the font type is set to normal text. But you can change the Font type to Webdings or Wingdings or any other font to see many other symbols and characters.

Step 3: You can insert any number of symbols in a similar manner.

Don’t forget to click the

Insert button every time you select a symbol. Also, once you're done, click the Close button.

Step 4: In the following example, I created a pattern using the symbols I inserted in the previous step. I will now copy and paste this pattern to form a complete horizontal line. To copy and paste the pattern you create, press the CTRL C keys simultaneously, and then the CTRL V keys simultaneously.

Note: Remember that you can also enter characters from the keyboard between inserted symbols. Additionally, you can select the Font style options available under the Home tab. You can change the width of the pattern, you can change the color, etc.

Step 5: Once the pattern repeats, it will be a complete line as shown in the screenshot below.

Part 3: How to insert horizontal lines by specifying shortcuts

Of course, if you want to insert multiple lines in a Word document, follow the instructions in Section 2 above With all the steps detailed, inserting one horizontal line at a time would be very time consuming and definitely not the first choice. But what if you could use a keyword and press Enter to insert a horizontal line, either built-in or custom? Yes, it's more like assigning a shortcut key to each horizontal line. Sound cool? continue reading.

Step 1: Start by inserting the row once using one of the methods detailed in the sections above.

If the row you want to assign a shortcut key to is a built-in horizontal line that you inserted using section 1, just click on its initial part to select The line is shown in the screenshot below. Next click on the File tab at the top.

Alternatively, if you followed the steps detailed in Section 2 to insert a custom line, click and drag to Select the entire horizontal line as shown below.

After selecting the row, click the "File" tab in the top ribbon.

Step 2: Now, in the left pane of the window, click on Options.

Step 3: In the left pane of the Word Options window, Click "proof".

In the right pane, click the AutoCorrect Options button under the section with the same name.

Step 4: Make sure you are on the AutoCorrect tab first.

Now, at the bottom of the "AutoCorrect" option, under the "Replace" section, type your preferred keyword## for the selected horizontal line #, as shown in the screenshot below. In the example below, I specified the shortcut keyword for the horizontal line as theGeekPage1. Once done, click the Add button.

Click the

OK button at the bottom to continue.

When you return to the

Word Options window, click the OK button.

Step 5: Now you will be in your Word document again. Enter the keyword you want to assign to for the horizontal line and press Enter.

Note: Keywords are not case sensitive. This means that Word treats thegeekpage1 and theGeekPage1 the same way.

Step 6: Viola! A horizontal line is now magically inserted, replacing your shortcut keyword.

Step 7: Likewise, you can select any horizontal line and assign any keyword as per your choice, except reserved keywords.

In the example screenshot below, I have assigned the keyword

line1 to another line.

Step 8: Now, try typing Line1 and press Enter key.

Step 9: Of course, the allocated row is inserted! enjoy!

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