Adding a border in Google Docs improves appearance and highlights sections. You can use tables, paragraph styles, or shapes, and customize the thickness, color, and style.
Steps to Add a Border in Google Docs using the Shape Tool
Let's explore how to add a border to the whole page using the Google Docs Shape tool (Drawing feature) to put decorative borders on Google Docs:
Step 1: Open Google Docs
Open Google Docs in your web browser.
Step 2: Open Google Document
Open the document to which you need to add a border.
Step 3: Go to Insert, Select Drawing, and Click on New
Navigate to the menu bar in your Google Doc, click on "Insert," and then choose "Drawings" from the dropdown menu. Afterward, select "New.
Step 4:Click on the Shape Icon and Select Rectangle
Next, open the Toolbox and select the rectangle shape icon. Choose the first rectangle in the sub-menu that appears.
Step 5:Draw a Medium Size Rectangle
Afterward, when you draw, a tooltip in the shape of a plus sign (+) will appear. Use this tool to draw a rectangle of your preferred size, specifically a medium-sized one.
Step 6: Remove the Default Fill Color from Rectangle
At this stage, you'll notice that the newly created rectangle comes with a default black border and a blue fill. To eliminate the fill color, just click on the "Color Fill" icon in the toolbar.
Step 7:Click on Transparent
Once you've clicked on the color box icon, a dropdown menu will appear. From this menu, choose the "Transparent" option.
Step 8: Preview the Changes in the Rectangle
Now you will notice that your rectangle will become transparent.
Step 9: Customize your Border
To customize your border, go to the top toolbar and click on the "Border Weight" icon, as shown in the image below. Then, choose your preferred border size.
Step 10: Click Save and Close
Now, the border weight has been adjusted according to your selected preference. To save your changes, click on the "Save and close" button located in the top-right corner of the Drawing dialog box.
Step 11: Preview Rectangle Shape in Google Document
Now the rectangle shape is added to the document's top left corner.
Note: The rectangle you added is currently displayed above the document text. To make it appear behind the text or relocate it, please follow the next step.
Step 12: Select the Rectangle and Choose Options
Click on the rectangle, and a set of image options will appear just beneath it. 0pt for "Behind text" to ensure that the page's content remains visible and is not obscured by the rectangle or its border.
Step 13: Preview the Rectangle Behind the Text
Now the rectangle will be visible behind the text in your Google Document.
Step 14: Change the Rectangle Fix Position on the Page
Select "Fix position on page" in the rectangle's image options to adjust the border's position as you like. This keeps the content inside the border and the border in a fixed position.
Step 15: Preview the Border around the Page
The document now includes a border effectively.
Steps to Add a Border in Google Docs Using a Table
This method is a quick and easy alternative to the previous method of adding a border to a page. But the difference in this method is, that the table cell has to be added to the document first, and then only the content of the page has to be added by typing.
So, follow the mentioned steps on how to add a border to a Google Doc:
Step 1: Open Google Document
Create a new Google Docs document. A blank window will appear in Google Docs. Now, let's swiftly apply a border to this document and then proceed to add content within it.
Step 2: Go to Insert, Select Table, and Select 1x1 Table
Navigate to the "Insert" tab located in the menu bar within Google Docs. From the dropdown menu that appears, Select table with dimensions set to 1 by 1, signifying a single-cell table.
Step 3: Preview the Document
Now a single cell table has been added to the document.
Step 4: Go to Format, Select Table and Click Table Properties
You can modify the border width and border color. To do so, position the cursor inside the cell and Click on the "Format" tab within the menu bar. In the dropdown menu, choose "Table," and then, select "Table properties."
Step 5: Preview Table Properties
A section appears to the right side of the page. From there, we can customize the border color and border width of this single-cell table.
Step 6: Change the Border Color
Within the "Color" section, you have the capability to alter the border color. (In this instance, we are adjusting the border color to green).
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Step 7: Expand the Table Width
Select the border width according to your preference from the available dropdown options, as shown in the image below (in this case, the border width is configured to 4.5 pt).
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Step 8: Expand the Cell
After Changing the color and Width of the cell, Expand this single cell to achieve a border-like appearance.
Step 9: Expand it to Full Page
Position the cursor inside this cell and use the "Enter" key on the keyboard to increase the cell's height. Continue pressing it until the cell reaches the bottom of the current page.
Note: Do not to extend the cell's height onto the next page if you desire the border for the current page only. To apply the border to multiple pages, press the "Enter" key accordingly on those pages.
Step 10: Preview the Document
Now border has been added to the document.
Step 11: Add Content
Now we can include the content within this border. After inputting some text, the document, complete with the newly added border, appears as follows. The border has been successfully added in Google Docs.
Steps to Add a Border to a Google Docs Around a Paragraph
Here are the steps on how to add a border on google docs around a paragraph.
Step 1: Open Google Document
Open the document in Google Docs and select the paragraph around which you need to add a border.
Step 2: Go to Format and Select Paragraph Styles
Select 'Format' in the menu bar. A dropdown appears, select 'Paragraph styles'. Another sub dropdown opens. Select 'Borders and Shading'.
Step 3: Edit Border Width
A dialog box will appear. Choose your preferred border width. By default, the border width is set at 0pt.
(In the below image, we are choosing the border width to 3pt).
Step 4: Select the Border Style
Choose the border style you want to apply.
Note: You have three options to select from: solid, dotted, and dashed. By default, the style is set to solid. In the below image we have opted for Dashed Border
Step 5: Choose the Border Color
Click on "border color," and a dropdown menu will appear. You can select a color from the 80 available options or choose a custom color using a HEX color code. The default border color is black.
Step 6: Choose the Background Color
Click on "background color," and a dropdown menu will appear. You can select a color from the 80 available options or choose a custom color using a HEX color code. The default background color is white. In this case, we are selecting the color green.
Step 7: Select the Paragraph Padding
It is possible to set padding of the paragraph around the border. By default, it is 0. Here we are setting to 2pt.
Step 8: Change the Border Position
You have the option to choose where the border should be positioned. You can decide whether the border should encompass all four sides (top, left, right, bottom) or a specific position. By default, all four sides are selected.
Step 9: Click Apply
Press the 'Apply' button located at the bottom of the dialog box.
Note: In case you select the 'reset' button, all the modifications we made in the previous steps will revert to their default values.
Step 10: Preview the Paragraph
Now border is added around the selected paragraph with the desired border settings successfully.
Steps to Add an Image Border in Google Docs
Here are the steps to add image border in Google docs, follow the steps on how to add a border to Google Docs
Step 1: Open the Google Document
Open the document in Google Docs to which you need to add a border around an image.
Step 2: Select the Image
Select the image in the document in Google Docs.
Step 3: Go to the Image options that Appear in the Toolbar
On selecting the image in the document around which the border has to be added, a list of image options appears in the toolbar of Google Docs.
Step 4: Choose Border Color
Select a border color by clicking on the border color icon. Here, we are opting for green as the border color from the dropdown menu.
Step 5: Choose Border Width
Pick a border width by clicking on the border width icon. Here, we are selecting 4pt as the border width from the dropdown menu.
Step 6: Choose Border Style
Select a border dash style by clicking on the border dash icon. Here we are choosing dotted as border dash from the dropdown.
Note: There are three options available such as solid, dotted, dashed border.
Step 7: Preview the Image
A border with a green color and a dotted border dash has now been applied around the selected image within the Google Docs document.
