Automatic horizontal lines in Word, often created by typing specific characters like --- or === and pressing Enter, are typically formatted as paragraph borders. You can easily remove them using the Borders menu.
Step-by-Step Guide to Removing the Line
Follow these simple steps to remove an unwanted automatic horizontal line from your Word document:
- Position Your Cursor: [Reference 1] Place the cursor immediately above the horizontal line you want to remove. This is crucial because the line is often a border applied to the paragraph above it.
- Access Borders and Shading: Go to the Home tab on the Word ribbon.
- Remove the Border: [Reference 2] On the Home tab, click the arrow next to the Borders and Shading button (it looks like a window pane), and click No Border.
This action removes the bottom border from the paragraph where your cursor was placed, effectively deleting the automatic line below it.
Quick Action Summary
Here is a summary of the steps:
| Step | Action | Location / Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Position Cursor | Immediately above the line |
| 2 | Remove Border | Home tab > Borders & Shading > No Border |
Understanding Why the Line Appears
These automatic lines are a feature called "AutoFormat As You Type." Word automatically creates a horizontal line (a bottom border) when you type one of the following character combinations on a new line and press Enter:
- Three or more hyphens (
---) - Three or more equal signs (
===) - Three or more asterisks (
***) - Three or more underscores (
___) - Three or more tildes (
~~~) - Three or more hash signs (
###)
Knowing this can help you avoid creating them unintentionally in the future.
Preventing Automatic Lines
If you want to prevent Word from creating these lines automatically, you can disable the feature:
- Go to File > Options.
- Click Proofing.
- Click the AutoCorrect Options button.
- Go to the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
- Under "Apply as you type," uncheck the box for Border lines.
- Click OK on both dialog boxes.
