How to Delete a Line Across the Page in Microsoft Word

To delete a horizontal line in Word, first identify what created it: for a paragraph border, click in the paragraph directly above the line and choose Home > Paragraph > Borders > No Border; for a drawn line, select the line itself and press Delete. The right method depends on whether the line is a border, a shape, or part of a table or header.

These steps are for Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows. The Mac interface is similar, with a few shortcut and selection differences noted below. If the document is shared or important, make sure you have permission to edit it and consider saving a copy before changing its layout.

What You’ll Need

Microsoft Word with the document open in editing mode. The desktop app is best for selecting shapes and adjusting borders; Word for the web has fewer selection tools.
A way to identify where the line sits: in the main document, a table, or a header or footer. You do not need special software or a separate tool.
Optional: a saved copy of the document if you are unsure which object or formatting you are about to remove.

Step-by-Step

Check what kind of line you have. Click near the line without dragging across text. If the insertion cursor appears in a paragraph and the line stays in place, it is often a paragraph border. If small handles appear around the line, it is a shape. If the line sits between cells or along a table edge, it is likely a table border. If it appears only at the top or bottom of pages, check the header or footer. Identifying the type first helps avoid deleting text or unrelated formatting.
Remove a paragraph border. Click in the paragraph immediately above the horizontal line. Word usually attaches a bottom border to the paragraph above it, even when the line looks like a separate object. On the Home tab, find the Paragraph group, open the arrow beside the Borders button, and choose No Border. The line should disappear. If the line is above the paragraph instead, click in the paragraph below it and check its border settings.
Preserve other paragraph borders if needed. No Border clears every border from the selected paragraph, which can also remove a left, right, or top edge. If you want to keep those, open the Borders menu and toggle off only Bottom Border (or the edge that matches the line). If the menu options are unclear, open Borders and Shading from the same menu. On the Borders tab, use the preview to turn off the relevant edge, then select OK. Check the paragraph afterward to confirm the remaining borders are intact.
Delete a drawn line or shape. Click directly on the line. When selection handles appear, press Delete on your keyboard. If clicking the line is difficult because it overlaps text or sits behind other items, use the Selection Pane: on Windows, go to Home > Select > Selection Pane, select an object in the list, and check whether the line becomes highlighted. Delete the matching object only. On a Mac, look for Selection Pane on the Shape Format or Arrange tab when a shape is selected; the exact location can vary by Word release. If a line is part of a grouped drawing, you may need to select the group and use Shape Format > Group > Ungroup before removing just that line.
Remove a line that belongs to a table. Click in the table cell beside the unwanted line. Open the Table Design tab, then use Borders to turn off the specific edge, such as Bottom Border or Inside Horizontal Border. Choose the edge that matches the line rather than deleting the table row. If you do not see Table Design, click inside the table first; contextual table tabs appear only when the cursor is in a table. Use the border preview or hover over options to confirm which edge each command affects.
Check headers and footers. If the line repeats at the same position on multiple pages, double-click near the top or bottom margin to open the header or footer. Then repeat the paragraph-border or shape steps within that area. When finished, select Close Header and Footer on the ribbon, or double-click in the main document. A line in a header may be attached to a paragraph there, so clicking in the text above it and clearing its border can be the right fix.
Undo an automatically created line if it just appeared. Word can turn a row of hyphens, underscores, or similar characters followed by Enter into a paragraph border. If this happened moments ago, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac. That reverses the autoformat action. If you have continued editing and do not want to undo later changes, use the paragraph-border method instead.
Save and inspect the result. Press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac, then look at the page and the pages around it. Confirm that the line is gone, the text and spacing are still correct, and any intended borders remain. If the line repeats across several pages, inspect another affected page to see whether it comes from a repeated header, footer, or paragraph formatting.

Common Mistakes

Pressing Backspace when the line is a border. A paragraph border is formatting, not a character in the text, so deleting nearby words will not reliably remove it. Clear the border from the relevant paragraph instead.
Clicking the line and deleting text. A border cannot be selected like a shape. If no selection handles appear, do not keep pressing Delete; click in the paragraph above it and check the Borders menu.
Removing the wrong border edge. Choosing No Border may remove more than the horizontal edge. If the paragraph also has other borders, turn off only the matching edge through the Borders menu or Borders and Shading preview.
Deleting a table row or shape group by mistake. A line at a table boundary may be a cell border, while a line in a drawing may be grouped with other objects. Use the table border controls or Selection Pane to target the line rather than removing its container.
Assuming every page-wide line is the same kind. A rule under a heading may be a paragraph border, a shape, or a table edge. The line’s appearance alone does not identify its source; use the cursor and selection handles to check.

Tips

Turn on formatting marks with Home > Paragraph > Show/Hide ¶ if it is hard to tell where a paragraph begins and ends. This reveals paragraph marks and other nonprinting formatting, but it does not display a border as editable text.
When a border line is directly under a heading, place the cursor in the heading paragraph itself before opening Borders. Do not select the heading words unless you intend to format only selected text.
If the line is difficult to click, zoom in or open the Selection Pane and use its object list. Rename a shape there if you need to distinguish it from other objects before deleting it.
Use Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac) immediately if the wrong item disappears. Save after the desired change, not after an accidental deletion.
For a document that uses a consistent design, check whether the line is part of a reusable heading style. Removing the border from one paragraph may not remove it from other paragraphs using that style.

Troubleshooting

The No Border command did not remove the line. The cursor may be in the wrong paragraph. Click in the paragraph directly above the line and check again; if the line is above the text, try the paragraph below it. If the line remains, click it once and look for selection handles. Handles indicate a shape, which should be selected and deleted as an object. Also check whether the line is inside a table or a header or footer rather than the main body.

The line disappears, but other formatting changes too. No Border may have cleared several edges from that paragraph. Press Ctrl+Z or Command+Z to restore the previous state, then reopen the Borders menu and remove only Bottom Border or the specific edge you do not want. If the line is a table border, use Table Design > Borders rather than paragraph border controls.

I cannot select the line. First try clicking near its center, not on nearby text. For a shape that is behind text or another object, open the Selection Pane and choose likely objects one at a time; Word highlights the selected item. For a paragraph border, selection handles will not appear. For a table border, click inside the table and use the contextual Table Design tab. If the document is in read-only mode, choose editing access before trying to make changes.

The line returns on other pages. It may be part of a repeated header or footer, or several paragraphs may share the same border style. Open the header or footer and remove the source there if it repeats in that area. If separate headings use the same style, change the border in the style settings or remove it from each relevant paragraph. Check the document after making a style change, because it can affect every paragraph using that style.

The line appeared after I typed characters and pressed Enter. Undo immediately if possible. To reduce future automatic lines, open Word Options on Windows through File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type, then clear Border lines. On Mac, open Word > Preferences (or Settings in some releases) and look under AutoCorrect or AutoFormat As You Type for the border-line option. Labels can differ slightly between versions. Turning this off stops this specific automatic formatting; it does not remove existing lines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word add a line when I type three hyphens? Word may interpret a row of hyphens followed by Enter as a request for a bottom paragraph border. Use Ctrl+Z or Command+Z immediately to undo it. To prevent similar automatic lines, disable Border lines in the AutoFormat As You Type settings.

How do I remove a horizontal line without deleting text? If it is a paragraph border, click in the paragraph above the line and choose Home > Paragraph > Borders > No Border. If it is a shape, select its handles and press Delete; that removes the line object, not the surrounding paragraph text.

Can I delete only one horizontal border and keep the other paragraph borders? Yes. Open the Borders menu and switch off only the relevant edge, such as Bottom Border. Avoid No Border when you need to preserve other sides of the paragraph’s border.

Why does the line appear on every page? It may be in a header or footer, which repeats across pages, or it may be applied to multiple paragraphs. Double-click the header or footer area to inspect it. If the line is part of a heading style, changing that style can affect all headings that use it.

Does this work in Word for the web? Basic paragraph-border controls may be available in Word for the web, but selecting and managing overlapping shapes is more limited than in the desktop app. If the Selection Pane or a needed border control is unavailable, open the document in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac and make the change there.

Will removing the line change the page layout? It can change the space around a paragraph slightly, especially if the line is part of a shape or table. After deleting it, check spacing and page breaks. Removing a border usually leaves the paragraph and its text in place, but removing a shape or table element can alter nearby layout.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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