How To Add a Watermark to Documents in Microsoft Word

This tutorial explains step by step how to add a custom watermark to the background of a document in Microsoft Word.

1. With your Word document open click on the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon. Note: in newer versions of Microsoft Word you may find the Watermark button (next step) by selecting the Design tab.



2. Then click the Watermark button found in the Page Background section of the Ribbon.



3. Microsoft Word includes some watermarks already created for you, including commonly used watermark examples such as “Confidential”, “Sample” and “Do Not Copy”.



4. Click on the one you want to use and it will show up in the background, as illustrated in the screenshot below.



5. If you need to remove the watermark just click the Watermark button again and select Remove Watermark from the menu.



6. Another thing you might want to do is create a custom watermark such as your company logo or other image. In that case, select Custom Watermark from the menu.



7. In the Printed Watermark panel select Picture watermark, then click the Select Picture button.



8. Browse to the picture you want to use and double-click on it. In this example I’m using a Windows logo.



9. Below you’ll find a screenshot of the example I created, and the Windows logo seems a bit too light.



10. One way to make the watermark a bit less transparent is to go back into the Custom Watermark settings and uncheck Washout, maybe change the Scale percentage, then click OK.



11. Here is the result after some changes and in this case it’s a bit too pronounced in the background. Keep experimenting with the settings values until you hit the level of transparency you’re happy with.



12. You can change the default text watermarks in the settings as well. Select Text watermark and you can change the Language, Font, Size, Color, and Layout between either Diagonal or Horizontal.



13. Below is an example of creating a custom text watermark.



14. Hopefully your TPS reports will look even more professional now! :)

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