Borders automatically close between pages

Question

Windows 7, Office 2010, Word document:   I often put one border ('box') around 2 or 3 consecutive paragraphs to show that they are related.  If automatic pagination happens to fall in the midst of a paragraph, no problem:  The box stays open, i.e., no border at the bottom of one page or the top of the next, correctly indicating the the contents of the box continue from one page to the next.  The PROBLEM occurs when automatic pagination breaks *between* consecutive paragraphs in a single box, in which case Word closes the boxes (at the bottom of one page and the top of the next), making it seem like two discrete boxes when it's meant to 'read' as a single continuing box.  Any way to adjust the settings to do this?

Answer 1

This may be a moot point by now, but this has finally bothered me enough to search for a solution. I have seen a few other posts about this but nothing that really matched what I needed. However, thank you to Suzanne for responding and sparking this idea. I have possibly found a workable solution: (I am using Word 2013)

1. Create a 3 row table
2. Select the top and bottom rows and reduce the font size to something small, such as 6 pt. or whatever spacing you like:

    

3. Select the middle row and remove the top and bottom borders

    http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=1a3a5377-55cf-4183-bd7c-cbe07257dc91[](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/eec15805-58f7-4924-ba71-2be711ea0fff?platform=QnA)

4. Copy and paste the table where ever it is needed and then enter your content into the middle row.

    



Answer 2

Thank you for your creative suggestion.  I am still seeking (perhaps in vain) a WORD 'settings' solution so I don't have to reconfigure each box for 400 pages.  This problematic box closure which, as you know, occurs by default when page breaks fall between paragraphs has been frustrating.  But thanks.

Answer 3

I don't think there is a solution. This is just the way Word works (and always has). You could define a series of otherwise identical styles that have, sequentially, top and side borders, only side borders, and side and bottom borders, and apply these to the first, following, and last paragraphs of your boxed text.

Answer 4

I appreciate the suggestion.  The problem is that I'm dealing with a dynamic 400+ page document that undergoes frequent edits (insertions and deletions).  As a result, the auto-pagination (page break) locations change constantly.  With such a long and dynamic document, ad hoc 'fixing' of each affected box one-by-one just isn't feasible.   I'm looking for a setting that will override the troublesome default box closure that occurs whenever the bottom of a paragraph falls at the bottom of the page.

Answer 5

When you apply a box border, you're applying Top, Bottom, Left, and Right borders. Unless you also add an Inside Horizontal Border, you won't get borders between paragraphs except when the bottom of a paragraph falls at the bottom of a page. The only way around this is, on an ad hoc basis, to remove the bottom border from that bottom paragraph. To do this, click in or select the paragraph and click on the Bottom Border button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab (if you've previously used another border, you'll need to click the arrow beside the button to drop down the menu and then select Bottom Border). You may need to click twice to turn it off.

The likelihood is that you're also getting a top border on the next page; you'll need to use the same technique to remove it.