Page borders are frequently used in Microsoft Word to add a decorative frame to certificates, title pages, or formal invitations. However, if you inherit a document from a colleague, or if you apply a template that includes a thick, distracting black line around the perimeter of every single page, you will quickly find that you cannot delete it by simply clicking on it and pressing Backspace. Because page borders are a structural layout element rather than an embedded object, you must remove them through the Design ribbon.
How to Remove the Page Border
Removing the border takes only a few clicks once you know which menu to look in.
- Open the document in Microsoft Word.
- Look at the main ribbon menu across the top of the screen and click on the Design tab. (Note: In some very old versions of Word, this was located under the ‘Page Layout’ tab).
- Look to the far right side of the Design ribbon, in the “Page Background” group.
- Click on the Page Borders button.
- A ‘Borders and Shading’ dialogue box will pop up. Ensure you are looking at the middle tab labelled Page Border.
- On the left side of this dialogue box, under the “Setting” column, you will see a list of border styles (Box, Shadow, 3-D, Custom).
- Click the very top option in that list: None.
- Look at the “Preview” pane on the right side of the box to confirm the border lines have disappeared.
- Click OK at the bottom of the dialogue box.
The border will instantly vanish from your entire document, restoring a clean, standard page layout.
How to Remove a Border from Only One Page
If you want to keep the border on your title page but remove it from the rest of the document, you do not need to delete it completely.
Follow steps 1-5 above. Instead of clicking ‘None’, look at the “Apply to” drop-down menu in the bottom-right corner of the dialogue box. Change it from “Whole document” to “This section – First page only”. Click OK, and the border will be stripped from all subsequent pages.