On the gridlines

Table gridlinesWord has gridlines in tables, gridlines on a page, and a page boundary.

We'll cover all three.

Gridlines in a table

Here's what a table looks like without the gridlines showing:

Table without gridlines showing

To see the gridlines in a table, click the table.

Click the Layout tab under Table Tools.

In the Table group, click View Gridlines.

View Gridlines command

Here's what the table looks like with the gridlines showing:

Table with gridlines showing

Gridlines on a page

Click the View tab.

In the Show group, select the Gridlines check box.

Gridlines check box

Here's what the page looks like with gridlines showing:

Page gridlines

Page boundaries (or text boundaries)

If you just want to see a dotted line where your page margins are, you can show the text boundary.

Click the File tab.

Click Options, and then click Advanced.

Scroll down to the Show document content area, and then select the Show text boundaries check box.

Show text boundaries check box

Here's what the page looks like with text boundaries showing:

Page with text boundaries showing

 I hope this helps you stay on the grid in Word.

-- Joannie Stangeland

 

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  • Jim --

    If you created a new Excel object, press CTRL+A, right-click, click Format Cells, and then click the Border options that you want (be sure to choose a line weight that's heavy enough). If you're linking to content that's in a separate Excel file, you should be able to set the cell borders in the Excel file. For more answers, see http://answers.microsoft.com.

    -- Joannie

  • How do I get the gridlines on my page to print out?  I guess the default is for them NOT to print, but I need them to print in one of my documents along with he other data I have entered.  Is this possible?

  • Jacnanat --

    Word doesn't support printing gridlines, because they are an alignment tool as opposed to a graphical element.

    You can work around this by creating a full-page table spaced the same as the gridlines you're using and then showing borders within the table.

    -- Joannie

  • I recently obtained Microsoft Office 2010.   I somehow managed to set my gridlines default showing as a drafting page (the kind with all the little small boxes.)   How can I get rid of the boxes?  Help!!!!

  • Lisanyc100 --

    On the Page Layout tab, in the Arrange group, click the Align, and then click Grid Settings. The Drawing Grid dialog box opens, and you can change the gridline settings.

    -- Joannie

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