How to Add an Outline to Text in Microsoft Word

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Create an outline or hollow font effect in Word with these simple methods

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: October 15, 2025 Fact Checked

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Outline Text Effect

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Font Menu (Windows)

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Word Art

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Outline Fonts

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

Want to create an outline around certain letters in your Word document? We'll show you how to make any font in your Microsoft Word document stand out by adding a solid or dashed outline. Depending on your version of Word, you can even do fancy effects like adding a gradient to the outline or fill. We’ll also explain how to find and install hollow or outline fonts for Word.

Simple Steps to Make Outline Text in Word

Select the text you want to outline.
Click the Text Effects tool in the Home tab (it looks like an A with a glowing outline).
Click Outline.
Select a color, thickness, and outline style (e.g., solid or dashed) for your outline.
If necessary, click the text color tool in the Home tab and select a contrasting color for the inside of the letters.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Using an Outline Text Effect

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1
Type the word or phrase you want to outline. The lines around your text will look better on larger characters, so make your font a bit larger than the rest of your text.^{[1]
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- You can make the letters any color you want before creating an outline around them. Just highlight the word or phrase, and then select a color from the "Font" panel at the top of Word in the Home tab (the font color icon looks like the letter A with a red line under it).
Just click and drag the mouse around the text to select it.

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Click the Text Effects and Typography tool. This is the "A" surrounded by a blue glowing outline in the "Font" panel at the top of Word.
- If you don't see this icon, click the Home tab at the top of Word.
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Select the Outline menu. Now you'll see all of the options you can use to create an outline around the selected letters.
- If you don’t want to make a custom outline, you can skip this option and choose one of the outline presets from the main Text Effects menu.
To choose the color of the line that surrounds your text, choose one of the colors displayed on the menu, or select More Outline Colors… to select a custom color.
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Use the Weight menu to select the thickness of the outline. The larger the number, the thicker the outline around the letters.
- If you go too thick, you might make the text unreadable. You can always undo the last action in Word by pressing Control + Z (PC) or Command + Z (Mac).
If you'd rather have a dotted, dashed, or otherwise stylized line around your word or phrase instead of a solid line, you can select any of the options in this menu.
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Set the text color to white to make the letters hollow. Adding an outline to your letters will simply make them look thicker unless you choose a contrasting color for the inside of the letter. To make your letters look hollow against the white page background, click the font color icon in the Font section of the Home tab (it looks like an A with a red line under it), then select white from the list of color options.
- You can also choose any other color you like. Just pick a color that contrasts with the outline color you chose.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using the Font Menu (Windows Only)

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1
Select the text you want to outline. If you’re using Word for Windows, you can access a slightly different Text Effects tool by accessing the Font menu. To get started, type the text you want to outline, then click and drag your mouse over it to select it.
- This tool offers a few more options than the one in the Home tab.
This will bring up a context menu.
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Click Font…. A new window will open.
- While you can access the Font menu in Word for Mac, it doesn’t have a Text Effects option.
It’s at the bottom left side of the Font window.
A menu of options will expand.
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Select your outline formatting options. You’ll see a wide variety of options here to customize your outlined text:
- Choose from No line, Solid line, or Gradient line. If you select the gradient option, you can choose the gradient type, angle, and direction of the gradient. You can also adjust the colors, brightness, and transparency of the gradient text. This option will create a gradient effect across the entire selected text (not just each letter).
- Select a color for your outline.
- Use the Transparency slider to adjust the transparency of the outline.
- Adjust the thickness of the outline with the Width drop-down.
- Use the Compound type menu to create a double or triple outline in various styles.
- Use the Dash type menu to make a dashed or dotted outline.
- Use the Cap type and Join type menus to change the shape of the inner and outer edges of the outline (e.g., make them rounded or sharp).
- If your text contains connectors with arrows, you can also change the arrow style in this menu.
It’s at the top of the Format Text Effects menu.
In this menu, you can choose whether your text is hollow (no fill), filled with a solid color (solid fill), or filled with a gradient (gradient fill). You can also adjust the color and transparency of the fill. Choose options that contrast with the outline style you selected.
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Click OK when you’re done. Click OK again in the Font window. This will close the windows and apply your changes to the selected text.
- You won’t be able to see what the outlined text looks like until you click OK in both windows.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Using Word Art

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WordArt is a tool that can help you create all types of vibrant text designs, including color outlines. You'll find it on the Insert tab.
It's the icon of a tilted blue "A" on the Insert tab in Word. A menu with several text styles will appear.^{[2]
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Select an outline style. Not all WordArt styles have outlines, but several do. Don't worry about the colors you see in the sample—you'll be able to change those if you don't like them. Once you click a style, you'll see some sample text appear on the page.
- The sample text will appear in a movable text box. If you don’t like where it’s positioned on the page, click the outline of the box and drag it to another location.
Select the text inside the box (if it’s not already selected) and type in whatever you want. The text you type will appear in the selected outline style.
It'll appear at the top of the screen while you're editing WordArt. This tab should already be active, but if it's not, click it now.
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Click the small arrow at the bottom-right corner of the WordArt Styles panel. It's at the top of Word. This expands the "Format Shape" panel on the right side of Word.
- Skip this step and the next step if you’re using a Mac. In Word for Mac, you’ll see separate Text Fill and Text Outline icons in the middle of the ribbon menu while you’re in the Shape Format tab, just to the right of the large preset style icons.
It's the "A" with a line under it in the right panel.
When you choose this option, you'll be able to choose the color of the actual text—you can choose an outline color separately.
On this menu option, you can select a color, width, and even pattern (such as dotted or dashed) for the lines that surround your letters.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Using Outline Fonts

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1
Select an outline font from the Font drop-down. There may already be some hollow fonts in your font library. If so, you can select one of these to quickly and easily make outline text. Click the Home tab and select the Font drop-down to browse for a font you like.
- Font styles with outlines that may already be in your Word library include Castellar, Academy Engraved LET, and Desdemona.
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Install a hollow font if you don’t have one you like. There are thousands of free fonts available online. Visit a site like Fontspace or AZFonts and use search terms like “hollow font” or “outline font.” Once you find the font you like, click the download icon to save it to your computer. To install it on your computer so you can access it in Word, follow these steps:
- Windows: Locate your font in the Downloads folder. If it’s in a zipped (compressed) file, right-click it and select Extract. Right-click the extracted font file and select Install. If you want everyone on your computer to have access to it, select Install for all users. Click Yes if prompted to allow the program to make changes on your computer.^{[3]
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- Mac: If the font file is compressed, double-click on it in Downloads to extract it. Open the Font Book app (it’s in your Applications folder). Select File > Add Fonts to Current User. Locate the font file you downloaded in the window that opens and double-click on it.^{[4]
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  - You can also simply double-click the font file in Finder and then follow the prompts to install it.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I outline text in Windows 10?

Community Answer

Under WordArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the WordArt Styles group, click Shape Outline, and then do one of the following: To add or change an outline color, click the color that you want. To choose no color, click No Outline.

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Tips

Are you trying to write an outline in Word? Check out Microsoft’s guide to creating numbered and bulleted lists.

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If your document has multiple sections or headers, you can easily view or even rearrange them in Outline View. Click the View tab, then select Outline from the Views group.

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