How to get borderless text boxes

Q I use text boxes in some documents and, when I’ve created the first one, I format it with ‘No line’ to remove the border, then right-click ‘Set Autoshape Defaults’. This means that all subsequent text boxes inherit the no border option. The snag is that the ‘defaults’ setting does exactly what it says, so all shapes then have no outline, rendering them invisible, and I have to format each one manually.

Is there a way to apply the default no line only to text boxes and not to other shapes? I’m using Word 2003.
James Kelly

A There is a cunning way round this that gives you borderless text boxes but visible lines for other shapes. Set the Autoshape defaults to something visible, such as a one-point black line. Now create a text box, type some placeholder text in it ­ for example ‘Text’ and format it with no line.

With the box still selected, go to Insert, Autotext, New. Accept the name ‘Text’ for the entry (or choose another), and OK out of the dialogue.

Now type ‘Text’ and press F3. A text box will appear without a border and containing the placeholder ‘Text’, which helps to locate it. Other Autoshapes from the Drawing toolbar will retain the default settings.