A horizontal line in Word usually comes from one of three sources, and which one it is determines how you remove it

The most common culprit is AutoFormat, Word's feature that automatically converts what you type into formatted elements. If you type three or more hyphens, underscores, or equal signs in a row and press Enter, Word converts that line into a border. The second source is a manual border you or someone else added to a paragraph. The third is an actual horizontal line shape inserted as a drawing object. Each one deletes differently, and trying the wrong method will waste your time.

The fastest way to find out which one you have is to click directly on the line. If it highlights as a paragraph border (you'll see selection handles around the paragraph above it), it's a border. If it's a separate object that moves independently, it's a shape. If nothing obvious happens, it's likely an AutoFormat artifact that's already been converted.

Key Takeaways

  • Most unwanted horizontal lines come from AutoFormat converting three or more dashes or underscores into a paragraph border.
  • Click on the line to see what type it is: a paragraph border will highlight the paragraph, while a shape will show selection handles around itself.
  • To remove an AutoFormat border, select the paragraph and use the Borders button in the Home tab to turn off all borders.
  • A manually added border requires the same removal method as an AutoFormat border, but you access it through the Borders menu instead of undoing.
  • A horizontal line shape deletes like any other object: click it and press Delete.

Removing a border created by AutoFormat

When you type --- or === or ___ (three or more characters) and press Enter, Word automatically converts it into a paragraph border. This happens silently, and the line stays even after you delete the characters you typed. To remove it, click anywhere in the paragraph that has the border underneath it.

Go to the Home tab in the ribbon. Find the Borders button — it looks like a small square with lines around it, usually near the Highlighting button. Click the small arrow next to it to open the menu. Select No Border or Borders and Shading and then choose None. The line disappears when ready.

If you want to prevent Word from doing this in the future, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options, then click the AutoFormat As You Type tab. Uncheck the box that says "Borders" under the explore As You Type section. This stops Word from converting dashes into lines, though it will still convert other things like fractions and smart quotes.

Removing a border you added manually

If you deliberately added a border to a paragraph and now want to remove it, the process is the same as removing an AutoFormat border. Click in the paragraph, go to Home > Borders, and select No Border.

You can also right-click the paragraph and choose Borders and Shading from the context menu, then set the border to None. This route is slightly faster if you're already looking at the paragraph and don't want to navigate the ribbon.

Deleting a horizontal line shape

If the line is a separate object — something you or someone else inserted as a drawing element — it will have selection handles (small squares) around it when you click on it. These shapes don't behave like borders; they sit on top of your text and can be moved around independently.

Click on the line to select it, then press Delete. The shape disappears. If you accidentally delete something else, press Ctrl+Z to undo.

If the line is part of a group of objects, clicking it might select the whole group instead. Right-click and choose Group > Ungroup to separate it, then select and delete just the line.

When the line comes back after you delete it

If you remove a border and it reappears the next time you open the document, the border was likely added by a style rather than directly to the paragraph. Styles are formatting templates that Word applies to multiple paragraphs at once. Removing the border from one paragraph doesn't change the style itself.

To fix this, right-click the paragraph and choose Styles > Modify Style. In the dialog that opens, click Format > Borders, set it to None, and click OK. This changes the style itself, so the border won't reappear on any paragraph using that style.

If you're not sure which style is applied, look at the Styles pane on the right side of the screen (or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S to open it). The style name appears highlighted. Click it, right-click, and choose Modify to access the same dialog.

Removing page breaks that look like lines

Sometimes what looks like a horizontal line is actually a page break — the invisible boundary between one page and the next. Page breaks don't look like borders; they appear as a thin line running across the page, often with a small label if you hover over them.

To see if you have a page break, turn on formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+Shift+8 (or Cmd+Shift+8 on Mac). Page breaks show up as a dotted line with the words "Page Break" written across it. Click on the page break and press Delete to remove it. Borders and shapes don't show up in formatting marks, so if you see nothing when you turn them on, you're dealing with a border or shape instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word keep creating a line when I type dashes?

AutoFormat is converting three or more dashes into a border automatically. Turn off AutoFormat in File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type, then uncheck Borders. You can still type dashes; Word just won't convert them into lines.

I deleted the line but it's still there. What's happening?

The border is probably part of a paragraph style, not applied directly to the paragraph. Right-click the paragraph, choose Styles > Modify Style, click Format > Borders, set it to None, and save the style. This removes the border from the style itself.

Can I remove a line without selecting the paragraph?

Not easily. You need to select the paragraph that has the border to access the Borders menu. Click anywhere in the paragraph, then use Home > Borders > No Border. If it's a shape instead of a border, you can click it directly and press Delete without selecting a paragraph.

What if the line is part of a table?

Table borders work differently from paragraph borders. Click in the table, go to Table Design (the tab that appears when you're inside a table), and use the Borders button there. You can also right-click the table and choose Table Properties > Borders and Shading to remove specific borders.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to remove all borders at once?

No single shortcut removes all borders in a document. You have to go through each paragraph or use Find & Replace with formatting options, which is complex. The fastest method for most documents is to select all text (Ctrl+A), then use Home > Borders > No Border to clear everything at once.