Paragraph rules are a staple layout tool and have been available in software since the early days of QuarkXPress.
Useful as a way of delineating and providing a decorative frame to text, most InDesign users will be familiar with how they work. Where rules are concerned, however, we can go far beyond the intended effects. InDesign gives us enough control to hijack the rules, pushing Rules Above behind Rules Below, setting both behind the text and opening up a range of possibilities for creative effects.