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-   -   Horizontal Line in MS Word 2000 (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=34455)

  • Sep 18, 2006, 12:51 AM
    accrtprof
    Horizontal Line in MS Word 2000
    How can I remove the Horizontal Line that goes completely across the page?
    How can I prevent it from happening again? I think there is something about holding down a key and pressing the "=" three times, but I cannot remember.
    Thanks.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 05:42 AM
    RickJ
    To remove it, place your cursor right after it and hit Backspace.

    If you're typing dashes or underscores, and you don't want it to go completely across, just hit the space bar after you've made it as long as you want.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 05:52 AM
    ScottGem
    Ricks advice will probably work, though it depends on how the line got there in the first place. It could be a border for a paragraph, a vertical line dropped in using the drawing tools, A border on a header, textbox or table, a series of dashes or Underscores, etc.

    I always keep certain non printable characters visible in Word (See Tools>Options>General), specifically paragraph marks and Tabs. This helps determine where formatting is.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 05:54 AM
    NeedKarma
    If your frustration level gets too high and you can't get rid of it, just copy the text, paste it into Notepad, start a new document and paste the content back in - problem solved. This is assuming that your dicument does not contain a large amount of formatting as Notepad will strip out all the formatting.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 09:30 AM
    accrtprof
    I tried the suggestions from Rick and Scott. Unfortunately for me they did not work.
    To Karma, I guess my frustration level did get too high. This was also given to me a long time ago but I forgot the use of notepad. I did just what you said and IT WORKED! The formatting was all stripped out but I can "fancy" it up at my leisure.
    Thanks to all of you. I have added you to my Buddy List.
    I am new to this help desk and am working on learning how I can help someone else when they ask for it.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 09:56 AM
    ScottGem
    The problem is that you weren't able to find where the line was from. Sometimes that can be very difficult if you are not experienced. NK's idea was a good fall back.

    As to helping others, just look for questions where you feel you have an answer and post a reply.
  • Sep 18, 2006, 10:20 AM
    accrtprof
    Scott, you ARE a gem. LOL. You are correct. I did not understand or remember how the line got there. The easiest was NK's.
    Thanks again to all of you.
    Prof
  • Sep 18, 2006, 10:29 AM
    NeedKarma
    The only reason I mentioned that suggestion was because I faced the same issue on a workmate's document. After much swearing under my breath I went with the easy way out. :) Glad it all worked out for you.
    Have a great day.
  • Oct 19, 2006, 05:22 AM
    Dale F Wiley
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by accrtprof
    How can I remove the Horizontal Line that goes completely across the page?
    How can I prevent it from happening again? I think there is something about holding down a key and pressing the "=" three times, but I cannot remember.
    Thanks.

    Hi accrtprof,

    The first time this happened to me the solution I used was pathetic but you won't have to do that you can do the right thing.

    To remove that solid line select the paragraph that it is in and go to Format, Borders and Shading (be sure you have the line before and after the solid line selected)

    Select the Borders Tab if not already selected

    Under Setting: click in the None Box then click on OK

    That line should disappear.

    For your information:

    Border Lines & Lines on Pages

    There are numerous ways to get lines on a Word document.

    I am going to start with the most common one.

    There is a feature in Word that automatically applies character and paragraph border styles. If you type three or more hyphens (-), underscore characters (_), or equals signs (+), Word applies a thin, thick, or double-line border style, respectively.

    This feature is enabled and it is by default, and if you type three of any of the above, a line will appear across the page.

    Here is how to disable this feature:

    On the Insert Menu, click AutoText, AutoText then the AutoFormat As You Type Tab.

    Uncheck the box labeled Border Lines under Apply as you type, click OK.

    Good Luck.

    Dale :cool:
  • Jan 30, 2007, 05:45 AM
    graemelucas
    Hiyall!

    I have been pulling out my hair and watching my blood pressure shoot through the roof over this one. All the information I found up until now was close, but I wasn't smoking the cigar.

    However I finally did crack it, and I believe it to be a bug in word, well Word 2003 anyway which is what I'm running! And I thought I have to divulge the information for you other poor sods out there going through the same nightmare.

    OKAY the answer is YES it is a border, but you have to do magic tricks to get it to work. It's NOT formatting as selecting the line, and the hard returns above and below the line, then going edit > clear > format DID NOT WORK.

    Go to view > toolbars > tables and borders (for some reason going file > borders and shading DID NOT WORK for me, so you must do it through the toolbar!

    Click at the beginning of the line and actually select no border from the toolbar NOT through format > B & S OR right-click B & S.

    It's the small icon with four very small boxes represent the border type (above, below, left, right, inside.) Click on the little down arrow just to the right of it and select the one that shows all dotted borders (no border), this SHOULD work, well it did for me!

    We really should billl Bill for our doctors' bills, who's with me!

    The Ultimate Guide to Creating Custom Tomtom Voice Files
  • Jan 30, 2007, 07:35 AM
    ScottGem
    What I suspect your problem was had to do more with positioning then the menu options. I just tested on Word 2003 and both the menu and tool bar icons work fine. In fact this feature has worked pretty much the same since at least Word 97.

    The problem many people have is that don't realize that Word is very paragraph centric. Almost eveything is done within a paragraph. For example, you can have different Tab settings from one paragraph to another. This really causes hair pulling trying to get things lined up.

    Most of the formatting for the paragraph is stored within the end paragraph mark (looks like a P with an extra line). However, by default Word doesn't display these marks so its hard to know when you go from one paragraph to another. I always recommend that you go to Tools>Options, under View set the paragraph and Tab marks to show. You would be amazed how much easier your formatting becomes.

    So its not a bug in Word. By the way, Office 2007 tries to make such formatting tasks easier by eliminating the duality of menus and tool bars, combining things in a "ribbon" that brings many functions and tasks up where they are easier to find.
  • Jan 30, 2007, 08:48 AM
    Dale F Wiley
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by accrtprof
    How can I remove the Horizontal Line that goes completely across the page?
    How can I prevent it from happening again? I think there is something about holding down a key and pressing the "=" three times, but I cannot remember.
    Thanks.

    Hi accrtprof, I understand how frustrating this line thing can be but if you do what is outlined below the line or lines should be gone. To remove that solid line select the paragraph that it is in and go to Format, Borders and Shading (be sure you have the line before and after the solid line selected) Select the Borders Tab if not already selected Under Setting: click in the None Box then click on OK That line should disappear. For your information: Border Lines & Lines on Pages There are numerous ways to get lines on a Word document. I am going to start with the most common one. There is a feature in Word that automatically applies character and paragraph border styles. If you type three or more hyphens (-), underscore characters (_), or equals signs (+), Word applies a thin, thick, or double-line border style, respectively. This feature is enabled and it is by default, and if you type three of any of the above, a line will appear across the page. Here is how to disable this feature: On the Insert Menu, click AutoText, AutoText then the AutoFormat As You Type Tab. Uncheck the box labeled Border Lines under Apply as you type, click OK. Good Luck. Dale
  • Jan 30, 2007, 08:52 AM
    NeedKarma
    Dale,
    Is it me or did you just repost the same thing you wrote in post #9 of this thread?
  • Jan 30, 2007, 02:41 PM
    Dale F Wiley
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by NeedKarma
    Dale,
    Is it me or did you just repost the same thing you wrote in post #9 of this thread?

    Hi, So sorry, when I first saw the post I didn't see all the other posts. This is a question I get all the time over at AllExperts.com. Dale

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