Occasionally you may want to indicate separation between elements in your document and a standard line break won’t work. Use these steps to add a horizontal line in Google Docs.
- Sign into Google Drive and open your document.
- Select the point where you want to add the line.
- Click the Insert tab at the top of the window.
- Choose the Horizontal line option.
Our article continues below with additional information and pictures for each of these steps.
Google Docs provides you with several options for showing separation between paragraphs, pictures, tables, or other document objects that you might create. But perhaps one of the most effective choices is to create a simple line.
Adding a horizontal line is something that has been available in word processing applications like Microsoft Word for a while, but the method of doing so varies between each of these applications.
Our article below will show you how to insert a horizontal line in your Google Docs document.
How to Add a Horizontal Line in Google Docs
The result of completing the steps in this section will be a solid horizontal line that runs from the left margin of the document to the right margin.
Step 1: Open your Google Drive and open the document to which you want to add the line.
Step 2: Click in the document at the point where you wish to insert the line.
Step 3: Choose the Insert tab from the menu bar at the top of the window.
Step 4: Select Horizontal line from the menu.
You can remove a horizontal line in Google Docs by positioning your cursor at the start of the line below it then using the Backspace key to delete it the same way that you would delete a letter or number.
Additional Information on Horizontal Lines in Google Docs
- You can’t adjust the thickness of the horizontal line that you have added to the document in this way.
- If you would like to add a vertical line in Google Docs, or if you need to change the thickness or style of the horizontal line, then you may be better served with paragraph borders. You can find this setting by going to Format > Paragraph styles > Borders and shading then adjusting the desired option from there.
- You can also add vertical lines in Google Docs if you have more than one column. This option is found by going to Format > Columns > More options.
- While there isn’t an option to add a line break in Google Docs other than simply pressing Enter on your keyboard, you can add other types of breaks, such as page breaks. These are found by going to Insert > Break and choosing an option from that menu.
- You can add a horizontal line in the Google Docs iPhone app by tapping the pencil icon at the bottom-right of the screen, choosing the spot for the line, then tapping the + button at the top of the screen and choosing the Horizontal line option.
Find out how to clear formatting from a selection in Google Docs if you have text or objects that contain a lot of formatting and you don’t want to remove each option individually.
Matt Smith has been writing tech content online for more than 10 years. He has been published on dozens of popular websites and his works have accumulated millions of pageviews.
While focused primarily on tutorials and guides for popular electronics like the iPhone and iPad, as well as common applications like Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, he covers topics across the entire technology spectrum.