You can add a border to any or all sides of each page in a document, to pages in a section (section: A portion of a document in which you set certain page formatting options. You create a new section when you want to change such properties as line numbering, number of columns, or headers and footers.), to the first page only, or to all pages except the first. You can add page borders in many line styles and colors, as well as a variety of graphical borders.

You can set apart text from the rest of a document by adding borders. You can also highlight text by applying shading.

You can add borders to a table or individual table cell, and you can use shading to fill in the background of a table.

You can also use the table AutoFormat feature to quickly give a table a polished look with a variety of borders, fonts, and shading.

You can modify the borders around frames on a Web page. You can change the size and color of the borders, and you can specify that no border will appear, so the frames appear like a unified Web page.

You can add borders to drawing objects (drawing object: Any graphic you draw or insert, which can be changed and enhanced. Drawing objects include AutoShapes, curves, lines, and WordArt.) and pictures. You can change or format the border of an object in the same way you change or format a line.

You can fill drawing objects with a solid color, a gradient (gradient: A gradual progression of colors and shades, usually from one color to another color, or from one shade to another shade of the same color.), a pattern, a texture, or a picture. If you want a color or fill effect to appear behind all the text on the page, you may want to use a watermark (watermark: A semi-transparent image often used for letters and business cards. In currency, a watermark is visible when you hold a bill up to the light.), background, or theme (theme: A set of unified design elements that provides a look for your document by using color, fonts, and graphics.).