Top 3 Ways to Add Borders in Google Docs

Google Docs is a free online word processor that is a must-have for many people because of its simple interface and options. That said, simplicity also means that it lacks some features. Such an omission is an option to add borders on a page.

Borders can give your document an elegant touch and make it stand out if you don’t plan on including other design elements, especially if you’re creating a custom template in Google Docs.

Although there is no built-in option, there are several ways to add borders in Google Docs. In his article, we will discuss the 3 best ways to do this.

Let’s get started.

1. Use a 1 x 1 table

Let’s start with a simple one. You can use the table option to add borders to your document. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open your Google Docs document. Then click on the Insert menu at the top. Then go to Table and select a 1×1 table (a table with one column and one row).

2nd step: If you prefer to adjust the width and height of the table, you can simply do so by holding and dragging the rows as you see fit.

You can also keep the cursor in the 1×1 array and press Enter repeatedly to expand the array.

Step 3: To customize the table, you can use the four options available in the upper right corner. With this, you will be able to change the colors, thickness and style of the border. In addition, you can also choose between different colors for the background.

You can also go to the Format menu, then click Table and choose Table Properties at the bottom of the list. Here you can also adjust the cell padding to adjust the distance between your text and the border. And then press OK to make these changes.

Step 4: To change the margins between the border and the page, you can click on the File menu and go to the page layout.

To note: First create the table, then type or paste the text.

2. Draw it yourself

If you want more border options, you can use the built-in drawing function.

Step 1: Open your Google Docs document. In Google Docs, go to the Insert menu, select Drawing, then click + New.

2nd step: In the drawing window that opens, click the Shape button, select Shapes, and choose an object according to your border preferences.

Step 3: Draw the shape by clicking anywhere and just dragging your mouse. Just like the table method, you can further customize the borders using the same tools mentioned earlier.

Step 4: Once you are done customizing your border, select Save and hit the close button in the top right corner and Google Docs will add the border to the page. You can also select the anchor points to resize the table.

If you want to change the border after adding it, select the border and click Edit on the menu to return to the drawing window.

3. Use an image

If you want more elegant borders for your document, you can add borders as an image and then add text on it.

Step 1: Go to the Insert menu, hover the mouse over the Drawing option, and click + New to open the drawing panel.

2nd step: In the drawing window, click the image icon at the top. You can add images from your computer, your player or by inserting its URL. Alternatively, you can also click Search to search for an image online.

Moreover, you can also paste an image directly from your clipboard.

Step 3: After adding the image, use the Text Box icon at the top to add text inside. When done, click Save and hit the close button to add the drawing to your document.

If you want to change the image, double click on it to open the drawing panel.

Bonus: add a border around a paragraph

Although there is no option to add borders for a page, there is an option to add borders around lines and paragraphs.

Step 1: Move your cursor to the line or paragraph where you want to add the border. Then click Format on the menu. Go to Paragraph Styles and select Borders & Shading.

2nd step: In the Border and Shading window, select the position of the border lines. Then customize the border by changing the width, color, dash, background color, and paragraph fill. After that, hit Apply.

To remove the border around the paragraph or line, keep the cursor anywhere inside the border and go to Borders> Shading again. Click on Reset and press Apply.

Add a degree of difference

We hope that soon Google will add a more complete option to add borders. You can rely on these methods to add borders to make your document stand out for the time being. In addition, there are ready-made templates to add a touch of creativity to your documents.