Adding a horizontal line in Google Docs is a common thing to do when you want to separate sections of your document. It’s so common that Google Docs even has a tool that specifically lets you do it.
There are a number of different ways that you can visually separate elements of your document, but one of my personal favorites is the horizontal line. When used sparingly it can not only look nice, but provides a clear indication that a new section of the document is starting.
You might be used to adding horizontal lines to a document in other word processing programs, but some of the methods that work in those applications won’t work in Google Docs. So continue reading below to see how you can add a horizontal line to a document in Google Docs.
How to Make a Google Docs Line
- Open your Google Docs file.
- Click where you want to add the line.
- Choose Insert.
- Select Horizontal line.
Our guide continues below with additional information and pictures for these steps.
How to Add a Horizontal Line to a Document in Google Docs
The steps in this article were performed in the Google Chrome version of Google Docs, but the steps should be the same in other desktop Web browsers.
Step 1: Go to your Google Drive at https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive and open the file to which you want to add a horizontal line.
Step 2: Click in the spot in the document where you want to add the horizontal line.

Step 3: Click the Insert tab at the top of the window.

Step 4: Select the Horizontal line option from the menu.

Note that the horizontal line is added to your document as a character, so you can delete it by positioning the cursor behind the horizontal line, then pressing the Backspace key on your keyboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can add a line between document columns by going to Format > Columns > More options and checking the box next to Line between columns.
You can add a border line to a paragraph by going to Format > Paragraph styles > Borders and shading then choosing the settings for the the left or right border.
No, there is not keyboard shortcut in Google Docs for adding a horizontal line. You can underline selected text by pressing Ctrl + U, however, or you can strikethrough selected text with Alt + Shift + 5.
Click at the start of the line below the horizontal line, then press the Backspace key on your keyboard to delete it.
There are many other objects and items that you can add to your documents, some of which aren’t visible. For example, learn how to add a page break in Google Docs if you need to start the next page of your document before Google Docs automatically does it for you.
See also
- How to use strikethrough in Google Docs
- How to add a row to a table in Google Docs
- How to switch to landscape in Google Docs
- Where is the file menu in Google Docs?
- How to change paper size in Google Docs
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