Change the Background Color of a Word Document
The background of a Word document can be virtually any color, whether based on the document theme or from an expanded color wheel. The document background isn’t limited to solid colors. Add a pattern, texture or image as a background. To do this, select Fill Effects and select Gradient, Texture, Pattern or Picture. When you are in the correct section, select the options you want to apply.
Change the Text Color in Microsoft Word
Using colorful text in a document is an easy way to draw attention to parts of the document. Change all or part of the text to colors other than black.
Highlight Text in Color
Another way to emphasize important information in your document is to highlight it.
Apply a Standard Color Theme
Microsoft Word ships with several standard Color Themes you can choose for your document. To see them, go to the Design tab and select Colors. The color palette in the upper-left corner shows the color theme currently in use, but you can select from any of the options displayed in the window for your document.
Apply a Custom Color Theme
Create a custom color theme if you want exciting warm colors, friendly neutrals, or calming cool colors.
Word Document Background Printing Considerations
Microsoft Word no longer sets a background color solely for display (one that you see on screen but that doesn’t print). In early versions of Word, you could set the background to blue and the text to white, purely for display, but when the time came to print the document, the text printed as usual without a background tint. The reasoning for including this option was that the white text on a blue background was easier on the eyes while you worked. However, this option has not been available since Word 2003. More recent versions of Word have options for changing the colors of background and text, but those colors print out as part of the document.
