Adding Borders to Text Boxes

You can add borders around a text box, specifying the border size, color, and type. 

How to Add a Border to Text Boxes

1. Open the stylesheet you want to modify or create a new one.

2. Complete one of the following sets of steps, depending on whether you want to use the Simplified view or Advanced view in the Stylesheet Editor.

   • Simplified The Simplified view displays styles in a grid view and is often best for brand new users.

     This view provides an easy way to apply properties to styles, with format options available from a toolbar and dialogs (similar to the way one would use an interface such as Microsoft Word). In some cases, only the most common property options are available in the Simplified view (e.g., font, letter/word spacing, paragraph alignment/indentation, autonumbering format, borders, background). One advantage of the Simplified view is that you can apply a property to multiple styles at the same time. You can also click a check box to hide the properties in the editor, allowing you to see only the styles.

   • Advanced The Advanced view displays styles in a tree structure, and despite the name, is user friendly for authors of all levels.

     For the properties, you can toggle between a grouped display and an alphabetical display. The Advanced view of the Stylesheet Editor lets you edit more settings than are available in the Simplified view. In addition, the Advanced view lets you see and apply settings to multiple mediums and media queries at the same time.

   If Using Simplified View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays (which means that the Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
   3. Select the appropriate div style. If you use the default style when inserting the text boxes, then select div. Otherwise, if you have used a class of that style that you created previously, then select it instead.
   4. In the local toolbar of the editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   5. Select the Borders tab.
   6. Set the options in the Borders section.

      1. Click in any of the individual fields (Left, Right, Top, Bottom) to specify the settings for the border. If you click the down arrow to the right of all the fields, the settings will be applied to all of the border fields.

         When you click that down arrow or in one of the individual fields, a small popup displays.

      2. Use the lower-left area of the popup to enter a number for the border thickness.
      3. Use the lower-middle area to select a unit of measurement (e.g., point, pixel, centimeter) for the number you entered. See Units of Measurement.
      4. Use the upper-right area to select a color for the border.
      5. Use the lower-right area to select a line type (e.g., solid, double, dashed) for the border.
      6. Click OK.
   7. In the Properties dialog, click OK.

   If Using Advanced View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays . If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
   3. Select the appropriate div style. If you use the default style when inserting the text boxes, then select div. Otherwise, if you have used a class of that style that you created previously, then select it instead.
   4. From the Show drop-down list on the upper-right side of the editor, select .
   5. (Optional) You can use the toggle button in the local toolbar to show properties below in a group view or an alphabetical view .

   6. If you are using the grouped view, expand the Border group.

   7. Locate and select the border property you want to change. Each side (bottom, left, right, top) has separate properties that you can set for the color, style, and width (e.g., border-bottom-style). You can set these properties individually, or you can set the primary property for each side (e.g., border-bottom), which lets you specify the color, style, and width in one place. If you plan to have the same settings for all sides, you can use the main border property to set the color, style, and width the same. The border-radius properties let you create curved edges on the border by providing horizontal and vertical values.

      When you click next to a border property, a popup appears. Use the fields in the popup to define additional properties such as color, width, style, and thickness, then click OK.

3. Click to save your work.