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Can't remove horizontal line - not a border or graphic line

Anonymous
2013-09-06T18:10:23+00:00

I am having issues with horizontal lines above the end notes in a manuscript.  I have already tried to remove it through various border options on both the body and header/footer, which have not worked.  I cannot select it or delete it any way.  I don't know what the original creator did to make the line; as a last-ditch attempt, I tried to copy and paste individual paragraphs into a new document - and the line is still there.

The formatting needs to be correct to submit to a publisher, so I can't just live with it.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. HansV 462.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2013-09-06T18:27:41+00:00

    Do you mean a single horizontal line between the last paragraph of the document proper and the first endnote? That is the endnote separator.

    To get rid of it:

    • Switch to Draft View, either using the button to the left of the zoom percentage in the status bar, or the button in the Document Views group of the View tab of the ribbon.
    • Click Show Notes in the Footnotes group of the References tab of the ribbon.
    • The endnotes will be displayed in a separate pane at the bottom of the document window.
    • Select Endnote Separator from the dropdown at the top of this pane.
    • You can now select and delete the line.
    • Switch back to Print Layout View to see the result.

    1100+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-06T05:45:20+00:00

    I have the exact same problem, but my show note is off, and I can't click on it. Please help

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-17T15:43:24+00:00

    I am having issues with horizontal lines above the end notes in a manuscript.  I have already tried to remove it through various border options on both the body and header/footer, which have not worked.  I cannot select it or delete it any way.  I don't know what the original creator did to make the line; as a last-ditch attempt, I tried to copy and paste individual paragraphs into a new document - and the line is still there.

    The formatting needs to be correct to submit to a publisher, so I can't just live with it.

    • Just type "delete line" in Tell me what you want to do option with the light bulb symbol (top middle section of the menu bar).
    • Select Borders option from the drop down menu
    • Select No Borders option from the list.
    • The annoying line will be gone.

    60+ people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-19T03:34:51+00:00

    Try moving the cursor to right above the line then going to 'Page Borders' in the 'Page Layout' tab. Change the 'Setting' to 'None' in both the 'Page Border' and 'Borders' tabs of the pop-up window.

    50+ people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2017-05-17T14:14:02+00:00

    Note that that URL is now obsolete. The updated article is at http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/TroublesomeLines.htm

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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