This article shows you how to add a custom background to your Word documents which normally appear as plain blank pages. You can use a watermark, a custom image, or a solid color.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Insert a Default Watermark
Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word
Click the icon with the white letter "W" placed on a blue background.
If you need to edit an existing document, double-click the corresponding file icon
Step 2. Choose the Blank Document option
It is located in the upper left corner of the Word templates page.
If you are editing an existing document, skip this step
Step 3. Go to the Design tab of the Word ribbon located at the top of the window, to the right of the "Home" and "Insert" tabs
Step 4. Press the Watermark button
It is located within the "Page Background" group of the Word ribbon visible at the top of the window. The button in question is located on the left of the items "Page colors" and "Page borders".
Step 5. Choose a default watermark
You can select one of the following watermark templates to apply as a background to the pages of your Word document:
- "Confidential";
- "Do not copy";
- "Draft";
- "Reserved".
Step 6. Compose your document as you normally would
The watermark is inserted as the background of the document, this means that the text you are going to insert will be positioned at a higher level than the latter and perfectly visible.
If you need to remove a watermark, press the button Remove watermark placed at the bottom of the "Watermark" drop-down menu appeared.
Method 2 of 5: Insert a Custom Watermark
Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word
Click the icon with the white letter "W" placed on a blue background.
If you need to edit an existing document, double-click the corresponding file icon
Step 2. Choose the Blank Document option
It is located in the upper left corner of the Word templates page.
If you are editing an existing document, skip this step
Step 3. Go to the Design tab of the Word ribbon located at the top of the window to the right of the "Home" and "Insert" tabs
Step 4. Press the Watermark button
It is located within the "Page Background" group of the Word ribbon visible at the top of the window. The button in question is located on the left of the items "Page colors" and "Page borders".
Step 5. Choose the Custom Watermark option
It is listed in the middle of the "Watermark" menu that appeared. The "Watermark Printed" dialog box will appear.
Step 6. Select the "Image Watermark" option
It is located at the top of the "Watermark Printed" dialog box.
Step 7. Press the Select Image button
It is located under "Image Watermark".
Step 8. Choose the From a file option
It is located at the top of the new dialog that has appeared. The window for the folder on your computer where images are stored by default (for example, the "Pictures" folder) will be displayed.
You can also choose to use the search engine Bing or the clouding service OneDrive if you want to search the web or if the image you want to use is stored in the cloud.
Step 9. Select the image you want
It will be used as a watermark for the document under consideration.
Step 10. Press the Insert button
It is located in the lower right corner of the window. This will redirect you to the "Watermark Printed" Word window.
Step 11. Press the OK button
It is located at the bottom of the window. The chosen image will be used as a watermark for the document in question.
Through the "Printed Watermark" window you can resize the chosen image by accessing the "Aspect Ratio" drop-down menu and choosing the desired percentage that will be used to calculate the new dimensions (for example 200%). You can also select the "Gradient" checkbox to prevent the watermark from appearing transparent
Step 12. Compose your document as you normally would
The watermark is inserted as the background of the document, this means that the text you are going to insert will be positioned at a higher level than the latter and perfectly visible. In this case the color of the text will be changed automatically to always remain perfectly legible even if you have chosen to use an image that is too light or too dark.
Method 3 of 5: Use Custom Text as a Watermark
Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word
Click the icon with the white letter "W" placed on a blue background.
If you need to edit an existing document double click on the corresponding file icon
Step 2. Choose the Blank Document option
It is located in the upper left corner of the Word templates page.
If you are editing an existing document, skip this step
Step 3. Go to the Design tab of the Word ribbon located at the top of the window on the right of the "Home" and "Insert" tab
Step 4. Press the Watermark button
It is located within the "Page Background" group of the Word ribbon visible at the top of the window. The button in question is located on the left of the items "Page colors" and "Page borders".
Step 5. Choose the Custom Watermark option
It is listed in the middle of the "Watermark" menu that appears. The "Watermark Printed" dialog box will appear.
Step 6. Select the "Text Watermark" option
It is located at the top of the "Watermark Printed" dialog box.
Step 7. Type your watermark text into the "Text" field
It is located in the center of the "Text Watermark" section. The default option should be "DRAFT". The other settings with which you can customize the watermark are as follows:
- Character type - to choose the font to use to display the watermark in the document;
- Dimension - to be able to change the font size. Choose "Auto" (the default option) to have Word choose the correct size automatically.
- Color - to choose the color of the watermark text;
- Layout - you can choose options Horizontal or Diagonal to determine the orientation of the watermark;
- You can also deselect the "Semitransparent" checkbox to make the watermark visible.
Step 8. Press the OK button
It is located at the bottom of the window. The entered text will be used as a watermark for the document in question.
Step 9. Compose your document as you normally would
The watermark is inserted as the background of the document, this means that the text you are going to insert will be positioned at a higher level than the latter and perfectly visible.
Method 4 of 5: Use an Image as a Background
Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word
Click the icon with the white letter "W" placed on a blue background.
If you need to edit an existing document double-click the corresponding file icon
Step 2. Choose the Blank Document option
It is located in the upper left corner of the Word templates page.
If you are editing an existing document, skip this step
Step 3. Go to the Design tab of the Word ribbon located at the top of the window to the right of the "Home" and "Insert" tabs
Step 4. Press the Page Color button
It is located on the right side of the tab Design on the Word ribbon, inside the group Page background.
Step 5. Choose the Fill Effects option
It is visible at the bottom of the drop-down menu that appeared.
Step 6. Go to the Image tab
It is located at the top of the "Fill Effects" window.
Step 7. Press the Select Image button
It is positioned at the top of the window.
Step 8. Choose the From a file option
It is located at the top of the dialog that appears. The window for the folder on your computer where images are stored by default (for example the "Pictures" folder) will be displayed.
You can also choose to use the search engine Bing or the clouding service OneDrive, if you want to search the web or if the image you want to use is stored in the cloud.
Step 9. Select the image you want to use as a background for the document in question
Step 10. Press the Insert button
Step 11. Press the OK button
It is located at the bottom of the window. The chosen image will be used as a background for the pages of the document.
Unlike when using an image as a watermark, in this case the photo will not be transparent
Step 12. Compose your document as you normally would
In this case the color of the text will be changed automatically to always remain perfectly legible even if you have chosen to use an image that is too light or too dark.
Method 5 of 5: Change the Background Color
Step 1. Launch Microsoft Word
Click the icon with the white letter "W" placed on a blue background.
If you need to edit an existing document double-click the corresponding file icon
Step 2. Choose the Blank Document option
It is located in the upper left corner of the Word templates page.
If you are editing an existing document, skip this step
Step 3. Go to the Design tab of the Word ribbon at the top of the window, to the right of the "Home" and "Insert" tabs
Step 4. Press the Page Color button
It is located on the right side of the tab Design on the Word ribbon, inside the group Page background.
Step 5. Choose a color
The hue you have selected will be used as the background for the pages of the document. The color of the text will be changed automatically where necessary, to ensure that it always remains perfectly legible.
- If you need to create a custom color, choose the option Another colors placed at the bottom of the menu that appeared. You can use a special selector to get the shade of color you want.
- You can also select the option Fill effects to use predefined textures or patterns to add to the document background.
