The fastest way to remove a line in Word
A line in Word is usually one of three things: a paragraph border, a horizontal line you drew, or a line created by typing dashes or underscores. The method to remove it depends on which one you have. The quickest way to find out is to click directly on the line — if the line itself highlights or shows selection handles, you can delete it by pressing Delete. If nothing happens when you click the line, it is a paragraph border or an auto-generated line, and you will need to access the formatting menu instead.
Most lines that appear to be "stuck" in your document are paragraph borders, not actual objects. Word applies these automatically when you type a row of dashes or equals signs and press Enter, or when you manually add a border to a paragraph. Removing them takes about 30 seconds once you know where to look.
Key Takeaways
- Click on the line to see if it is a drawn object — if it highlights with selection handles, press Delete to remove it when ready.
- If clicking the line does nothing, it is a paragraph border, and you must select the paragraph and remove the border through the Format menu.
- Lines created by typing dashes or underscores can be removed by selecting those characters and deleting them, or by undoing the auto-formatting that created the border.
- Word sometimes converts a row of dashes into a border automatically — you can undo this by pressing Ctrl+Z right after it happens, or remove the border later through paragraph formatting.
Removing a line you drew or inserted
If you inserted the line as a shape or drawing object, it will have selection handles (small squares) around it when you click on it. Click once on the line to select it, then press the Delete key. The line disappears when ready.
If the line does not show selection handles when you click it, move to the next section — it is a paragraph border, not a drawn object.
Removing a paragraph border line
A paragraph border is formatting applied to a paragraph, not a separate object. To remove it, first click anywhere inside the paragraph that has the line. You do not need to select the entire paragraph — just place your cursor in it.
Next, go to the Home tab at the top of Word. Look for the Borders button in the toolbar — it usually shows a small square with lines around it. Click the small arrow next to it to open the dropdown menu. Select No Border from the list. The line disappears.
If you cannot find the Borders button, use the menu instead: go to Home, then click Borders in the Paragraph section on the right side of the ribbon. The dropdown menu appears, and you can select No Border.
Removing lines created by auto-formatting
Word automatically converts certain keystrokes into lines. If you type three or more dashes (---), equals signs (===), or underscores (___) and press Enter, Word converts that row into a paragraph border line. The same happens with asterisks or tildes.
The easiest way to stop this is to press Ctrl+Z when ready after the line appears. This undoes the auto-formatting and leaves you with the dashes or characters you typed. If you want to keep the dashes visible instead of converting them to a line, press Ctrl+Z and then retype them — Word will not convert them a second time in the same location.
If you did not catch it right away and the line has already been formatted, click in that paragraph and remove the border using the method in the section above.
Removing multiple lines at once
If your document has several paragraph borders you want to remove, you can select multiple paragraphs and remove all their borders together. Click at the start of the first paragraph with a line, then hold Shift and click at the end of the last paragraph with a line. This selects all the paragraphs in between.
With the paragraphs selected, go to Home and click the Borders dropdown, then select No Border. All the lines in the selected paragraphs disappear at once.
When a line will not go away
Sometimes a line persists even after you try to delete it. This usually means the border is applied to a table cell or a text box rather than a regular paragraph. Click inside the cell or box and try the border removal method again. If it is a table, you may need to select the entire table first by clicking the table selector (the small square in the top-left corner of the table) before accessing the border options.
Another cause is a page break or section break that has a border applied to it. In this case, click on the break itself (you may need to show formatting marks by pressing Ctrl+* to see it) and remove the border from the paragraph properties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did a line appear when I typed dashes?
Word converts three or more consecutive dashes, equals signs, or underscores into a paragraph border automatically. This is called auto-formatting. You can undo it with Ctrl+Z, or turn off this feature entirely in Word settings under AutoCorrect Options if it happens frequently.
I clicked the line but nothing happened — what do I do?
The line is a paragraph border, not a drawn object. Click anywhere in the paragraph containing the line, go to Home, click Borders, and select No Border. This removes the formatting that created the line.
Can I remove a line from just one page without affecting the rest of the document?
Yes. Click in the paragraph with the line and remove its border using the Borders menu. This affects only that paragraph. If the line spans multiple paragraphs, select all of them before removing the border.
What if the line is part of a table?
Click inside the table cell that contains the line, then go to Home and click Borders. You can remove the border from that cell only, or select multiple cells and remove borders from all of them at once.
Is there a way to prevent Word from creating lines automatically?
Yes. Go to File, then Options, then Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings, then AutoCorrect Options. Find the AutoFormat tab and uncheck the option that converts dashes to borders. This stops Word from creating lines when you type dashes.