ID: Q95277
The information in this article applies to:
This article describes various methods you can use to create a watermark in Microsoft Word. A watermark, as defined in this article, is any text or graphic that is printed to overlap existing text in a document, either in the background or foreground. For example, a logo printed lightly behind a letter or the word "Confidential" printed lightly on a contract might be considered a watermark. Some of the most commonly used watermarks are:
Use the any of the following methods to create a watermark.
1. Position the insertion point on the page where you want the
watermark to be placed. If you want the watermark to appear
on every page in the document or that section, position the
insertion point in the header by choosing Header and Footer
from the View menu.
3. Select the Drawing toolbar and click OK.
The drawing toolbar should appear below your Word document.
Drawing toolbar.
text box needed for the text or graphic you'll be using.
type the watermark text.
Note: To rotate the text, you need to use WordArt. For details of
how to do this, see the "How to Create Rotated Watermark Text" section
of this article.
Note: If you need to enlarge the font, select the text and change
the point size to approximately 72 pts.
location. To resize the text box, select the border, and then drag
one of the sizing handles. You can also move or resize the
text box with specific measurements by choosing Drawing Object
from the Format menu.
This macro is available in the Supplemental Macros Application Note.
The Watermark macro prompts you with a dialog box that asks you to enter the text or graphic. It then inserts the text or graphic into a text box that is placed in the current section's header.
For information on how to obtain the Supplemental Macros Application Note, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q123606
TITLE:WD: Supplemental Macros for Word 6.0 for Windows Available
The Watermark macro inserts text underneath the original text of the document. You must print the results to a PostScript printer.
The macro can be found by opening the Newmacro.doc from the <drive>:\WINWORD directory, where WINWORD is the Word program directory. Choose the Watermark macro from the list of available macros and then click Install.
By adjusting the top margin, you can add a watermark text/graphic to the header so that it overlaps existing text in the document.
1. In Word version 2.0, choose Page Setup from the Format menu. In Word
version 6.0 and later for Windows, choose Page Setup from the File menu.
In Word version 6.0 for Macintosh, choose Document Layout from the File
menu. In Word version 5.x, choose Document from the Format menu.
Margin. For example, a 1 inch top margin becomes -1 inch margin. Click
OK.
4. From the View menu, choose Header and Footer. In Word 2.0 and Word 5.0,
select Header. Click OK.
watermark text. To rotate the text, see the section entitled "How to
Create Rotated Watermark Text". If you are not rotating the text but
need to enlarge it, select the text and change the point size to
approximately 72 points.
watermark in a frame or format the paragraph with Spacing Before.
To create a frame:
a. Select the text/graphic.
b. On the Insert menu, click Frame.
c. To move the frame, select the border and drag it to its new
location. To resize the frame, select the border and drag one of
the sizing handles. You can also move or resize the frame with
specific measurements by clicking Frame on the Format menu. Set
both Horizontal and Vertical position to Center Relative to
Margins or Page.
To format the paragraph for spacing before:
a. Select the text/graphic.
b. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.
c. In the Spacing Before text box, type one of the following
measurements: 18 li, 216 pt, or 3 in (6 li = 72 pts = 1 inch).
Click OK.
For example, "3 in" provides 3 inches of space between the margin
and the watermark text. You may need to adjust the Spacing Before
setting to achieve proper vertical spacing.
d. To center between the left and right margins, click the Center
Align button on the Formatting toolbar in Word 2.0, 6.0 and 7.0 or
on the Header ruler in Word 5.x.
NOTE: You can also use this procedure to add landscape text or
graphics to the margin area of a page printed in portrait mode.
In Word for Windows 2.0 and later and Word 6.x for the Macintosh, you can use WordArt to create these types of words formatted in large, lightly colored text that is rotated 45 degrees. In Word 5.x for Macintosh, you can use Picture Editor to do the same. Use the appropriate method for your version of Word.
Method 2: Word 2.x, 6.x, 7.x:
1. On the Insert menu, click Object.
2. Select Microsoft WordArt. Click OK.
3. In the "Enter Your Text Here" dialog box, type the watermark text.
4. Change the Font Size from Best Fit to the desired size.
5. On the Format menu, click Shading.
NOTE: On the Macintosh, the Shading button can be found under the Fill
option (second button from the left).
--Silver being lighter than Gray. Click OK.
NOTE: On the Macintosh, use the Special Effects button which can be
found under the Stretch option (third button from the left).
9. Make any other formatting changes necessary to produce the watermark
needed. When finished formatting, click outside of the WordArt object
border. This will return your insertion point to the header.
1. On the View menu, verify that Ruler is selected. On the Ruler, click the
Centered paragraph alignment button.
Select a large font size (such as 72 pt). Select the Outline
option and click OK.
text as a picture by pressing COMMAND+OPTION+D.
5. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. The watermark text will appear.
NOTE: If the watermark text wraps when you paste it in the picture
window, set the left and right document margins to 0 (zero) inches
before you press COMMAND+OPTION+D in step 3 above.
rotation tool and drag one of the sizing handles to rotate the
text approximately 40 degrees.
A border appears around the graphic in the header window.
choose Border. Select None and click OK.
If the watermark interferes with the legibility of the text on the page, you can use any of these procedures to lighten it:
For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q28868
TITLE : Setting Absolute (Fixed) Margins in Word (Macintosh)
ARTICLE-ID: Q26556
TITLE : PostScript Commands to Print a Word Under Text on a Page
(Macintosh)
ARTICLE-ID: Q141926
TITLE : How to Place Text over a Graphic in Microsoft Word
Additional query words: QuickDraw watermarking watermarks water mark overlay overlapping
Keywords : kbgraphic wordnt winword ntword macword word6 winword2 word7 word95 macword5
Version : WINDOWS: 2.x, 6.x, 7.0, 7.0a, 97; MACINTOSH: 5.0, 5.0a, 5.1, 5.1a; 6.x; 98
Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowtoLast Reviewed: June 12, 1998