7.7. Adding Borders and Shading

Borders and shading can liven up dull text, emphasize key blocks of text, or provide organization by color-coding information. Even if your final document is going to be printed in black and white, borders and shading can add a professional touch to your piece. If you're working in color, the possibilities are endless.

As with the other formatting options, you can apply borders and shading from within the Formatting Palette, as shown in Figure 7.23, or from the Borders and Shading dialog box, as shown in Figure 7.24. If you're applying shading at various points around your document, you can also use the Tables and Borders toolbar (-click in the toolbar area, and choose ToolbarsTables and Borders), as shown in Figure 7.25. The dialog box offers many more options than either the pane or the toolbar, but you may not need more than what those tools provide.