How to change background color in Word document

Changing the background color of a document is a simple but effective way to enhance its visual appeal, highlight key sections, or create a certain mood. Knowing how to change the background color in a Word document will help you achieve the desired effect. However, it’s important to use background colors wisely so that your document remains readable.

Background color refers to the color or image behind the text in your document. This feature allows you to customize your document beyond the default white background, adding depth, contrast, and visual interest.

Here are the goals you can achieve with the colored document backgrounds:

Highlight key sections: Using different background colors can make certain parts of your document stand out, drawing attention to important information.

Enhance visual appeal: A well-chosen background color can add a professional, creative, or thematic touch to your document.

Improve readability: Soft or neutral background colors can reduce eye strain, making the text easier to read. Brightly highlighted paragraphs make the text more accessible to visually impaired people.

Warning: Be careful not to overload the text. While background colors can enhance your document, it’s crucial to avoid overly bright or contrasting colors that could make the text difficult to read. Prioritize legibility to ensure your content remains clear and accessible.

The function to add and change the background color is available in many text editors. The sequence is similar from editor to editor. Let’s see how to do it in ONLYOFFICE Document Editor.

How to change background color in Word documents

ONLYOFFICE Document Editor allows you to create and edit Word documents, as well as format text, add objects, tables, graphs, pictures, hyperlinks, etc.

As for changing the background color, the editor offers two options: change the background color for the whole document and change the background color for a specific paragraph.

How to change the document background color

Step 1. Start by launching ONLYOFFICE Document Editor and opening the document you want to edit.

Step 2. Go to the Layout tab on the top toolbar. Use the Page Color button to open the color scheme.

Step 3. Choose your color. In the color palette, select one of the Theme or Standard colors you want to apply as the background for the entire document.

If you don’t find a suitable color, click the More сolors menu to create your own color.

Then, you can choose a shade of color or enter the data of the color you want.

Step 4. Once you have adjusted the color, Add it as a background color by clicking the corresponding button. The color will be applied across the entire background of your document.

How to change the background color for a single paragraph

Changing the background color for a single paragraph can help highlight important information, making it stand out from the rest of the text. This technique is useful for drawing attention to key points or sections that you want to emphasize within your document.

Follow the steps below to do so.

Step 1. Click and drag to select the paragraph to which you want to add a background.

Step 2. Open the color palette. You can access it in one of the two possible ways:

• Click the down arrow next to the Shading icon on the Home tab of the top toolbar;
• Click the color field next to the Background color on the right-side toolbar.

Step 3. A color palette will appear. Select the desired color to apply to the background of the highlighted paragraph.

To duplicate a color you already have in your document, use the Eyedropper. Click the tool button and point it at the element of the desired color in the document.

If you are satisfied with the color, right click and the paragraph background will be changed to this color.

If you have once identified a color with an eyedropper, you do not need to repeat this action. The color appears in the main palette under Recent colors.

This way you can add the same background for other paragraphs much faster without breaking the unity of the document color scheme.

How to remove background color in a Word document

1. To remove the background color from a whole document, go to the Layout tab, click Page color, and choose the No fill option.

2. To remove the background color from a certain paragraph, place the cursor within the required paragraph, or select several paragraphs with the mouse or the whole text using the Ctrl+A key combination.

Then, open the color palette window by clicking the color field next to the Background color button on the right-side toolbar. Select Transparent in Standard colors.

Work with changing background color in Word documents in ONLYOFFICE Document Editor online by creating a free DocSpace account or downloading free desktop apps for Windows, Linux, or macOS:

START ONLINE NOW          GET DESKTOP EDITORS