To make lined paper in Word, insert a one-column table with as many rows as you need, then set its borders to show only horizontal lines. The lines print, stay evenly spaced, and you can type on them if you want. You can also add borders to empty paragraphs, type three hyphens for a single rule, or start from a lined-paper template.
These steps are for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2016 on Windows. Word for Mac uses the same Table Design and Borders menus, though button positions can differ slightly.
Method 1: A Table With Only Horizontal Lines
This is the most reliable method. Each table row becomes one line, so the spacing is exact and every line prints.
- Open a blank document and go to Insert > Table > Insert Table. Enter 1 column and about 25 rows, then select OK. Result: a grid with one wide column appears across the page.
- Select the whole table by clicking the small four-way arrow at its top-left corner. Result: the entire table is highlighted.
- On the Table Design tab, open Borders and select No Border. Result: the lines disappear (you may still see faint dotted gridlines, which don’t print).
- Open Borders again and select Inside Horizontal Border, then Bottom Border. Add Top Border too if you want a line above the first row. Result: only horizontal lines remain.
- With the table still selected, go to the Layout tab and set the row Height. Wide-ruled paper uses about 0.34″ (11/32″) and college-ruled about 0.28″ (9/32″). Result: the rows get taller or shorter evenly.
- Need more lines? Click in the last cell and press Tab to add a row, and keep going until the page is full. Result: new rows use the same borders.
To add a red margin line like notebook paper, select the table, open Borders > Borders and Shading, pick a red color, and apply a left border only. Then drag the table’s left edge to where you want the margin.
Method 2: Paragraph Borders
This method works without a table. It’s handy when you want a few lines under text, such as on a form.
- Press Enter repeatedly to create empty lines down the page. Result: paragraph marks fill the page.
- Select all of those empty lines.
- Go to Home, open the Borders menu, and choose Inside Horizontal Border, then Bottom Border. Result: a line appears under every empty paragraph.
For line style, color, and thickness, open the Borders menu again and choose Borders and Shading, as Microsoft’s border guide shows. Make sure Apply to is set to Paragraph.
To make these lines farther apart, select them and use Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing (see how to double space in Word).
For a border around the whole page, see how to add borders to Word documents.
Method 3: Three Hyphens for a Single Line
If you only need one or two lines, Word has a shortcut. On an empty line, type three hyphens (---) and press Enter. Result: Word turns them into a line across the page. Typing three underscores or equal signs gives a thicker or double line instead.
According to Microsoft, this line is really a bottom border on an empty paragraph, so you can restyle it with Borders and Shading. Press Backspace right after it appears to keep the characters instead. It’s slow for a full page, so use a table for that.
Method 4: A Template
Go to File > New and search for lined paper or notebook to find ready-made templates. Open one and it’s ready to print. Template names and designs change over time, so results vary.
Troubleshooting
- Lines don’t print: you’re probably seeing gridlines, not borders. Gridlines from View Gridlines don’t print. Apply real borders as described above and check File > Print preview.
- Text jumps off the lines when typing: in the table method, type inside a cell. Pressing Enter inside a cell adds a new line within that row and makes it taller. Use the down arrow to move to the next row instead.
- Uneven spacing: select the whole table and set one row height on the Layout tab.
- Table spills onto a second page: delete a few rows, or reduce the row height slightly.
- Lines appeared when you typed dashes: this is the automatic border feature. To turn it off, go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type and clear Border Lines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don’t the lines print?
Gridlines shown with View Gridlines are only on-screen guides. Real borders, as above, do print.
Can I change the line color?
Yes. On the Table Design tab, choose a Pen Color before applying borders, or use Borders and Shading to set color and width.
How do I make the lines farther apart?
In the table method, select the table and increase Height on the Layout tab. In the paragraph method, raise the line spacing under Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing. If you want a faint background mark instead, see how to remove or add a watermark in Word.
Can I type on the lines?
Yes. With the table method, click in a row and type. Your text sits on the line below it. Move between rows with the arrow keys so the spacing stays even.
Can I make graph paper the same way?
Yes. Insert a table with several columns and rows and keep All Borders on instead of only horizontal ones.
Need just one line instead of a full page? See how to add a solid line in Word.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.