CHAPTER 17

Changing Other Page Features

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Putting borders around pages
• Adding a color, gradient, texture, pattern, or picture page background
• Using watermarks effectively

If you like the idea of sprucing up the page a little but have never bothered because Word doesn't print page backgrounds by default and doing so can result in paper oversaturated with inkjet ink, you can set those worries aside. Thanks to the Web, PDF, XPS, and ways to share your documents without using paper, adding a background to a document can make sense and can add a needed dimension or personality. If you do want to print decorative page elements, then you can turn on page background printing or consider adding a page border or watermark, instead.

This chapter takes a look at page borders and backgrounds: how to use them, how not to use them, when to use them, and when not to use them. Let's get started.

Adding and Removing Page Borders

A page border is a line, a set of lines, or decorative artwork that appears around the perimeter of the page. You see them a lot on title pages as well as on flyers and brochures. Borders can be formal, discretely colored lines of various weights, or colorful graphics, as in the border for the flyer in Figure 17.1.

FIGURE 17.1

For page borders, you can insert a variety of lines or choose from dozens of built-in art borders.

To insert a page border:

1. Click the Design tab, and then click Page Borders in the Page Background group. (Refer to Figure 17.1). The Borders and Shading dialog box shown in Figure 17.2 appears. The dialog box offers the same options you saw earlier on the Borders tab in Chapter 6, “Paragraph Formatting,” in the “Borders and boxes” section. In addition, however, the Page Border tab includes Art options you can use to create decorative borders, although some of these might not look sophisticated enough for many types of documents.
2. Click an overall border type under Setting at the left.

   FIGURE 17.2

   Choose page border settings in the Page Border tab of the Borders and Shading dialog box.

   

3. In the center of the dialog box, pick a border Style, Color, and Width; alternately, open the Art drop-down list, scroll to find the style of border art to use, and click it.
4. To remove the border from any side, click that side in the border Preview.
5. To control which pages in the document have the border, make a choice from the Apply to drop-down list. For placing a border around a title page, choose This section—First page only. Other options on the list include Whole document, This section, and This section—All except first page.
6. To control the placement of the page border with respect to the edge of the text or paper, click Options. The Border and Shading Options dialog box shown in Figure 17.3 appears. Note that when you're setting page borders, paragraph-related options are grayed out.
7. Make a choice from the Measure from drop-down list to set the distance of the page border either from the Text or from the Edge of page.
8. Adjust the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right distance values as desired.
9. Click OK twice to close the two open dialog boxes and apply the page border settings.

FIGURE 17.3

Use Border and Shading Options if your page border crowds the text too much.

Formatting the Page Background

There are numerous types of page backgrounds, used to add color, personality, or information to a document. They include the following:

• Background colors and patterns: Used mostly for decorative purposes, to add color to presentations
• Background pictures: Used for decorative purposes or to add some kind of subtle message
• Decorative watermarks: Used to “stamp” documents with a particular trademark or symbol
• Informative watermarks: Used to add things like CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, SAMPLE, or DO NOT COPY to the background of every page of a document to prevent printed versions from being misused or misrepresented

Printed versus onscreen background colors and images

You can include background colors, patterns, images, and messages in both printed and nonprinted documents (those designed to be viewed on a computer screen). For printed documents, take more care with your background selections so that you don't waste ink or create a mess. A practical consideration with many inkjet printers is that ink doesn't dry immediately and paper doesn't necessarily dry flat. A piece of paper saturated with ink is messy and will need to be separated from other paper to dry. It's not unusual for ink to bleed through to the back—an added problem especially when you're doing duplex printing. You can find special papers designed to withstand such printing, but they are more expensive than regular paper, adding to the cost of printing.

As a result, when designing documents to be printed you should avoid creating documents that will result in saturated paper. Even when you use toner instead of ink, saturation and other bad things can occur, causing smears, buckling, and bulging paper. To avoid saturation, choose a light page background color. If your background is a picture, you can either edit it in advance in a graphics program to reduce its opacity or intensity, or insert it as a custom watermark (see “Using a picture as a watermark” later in the chapter), and use the Washout option to lighten it.

Due to the potential pitfalls of background printing, Word by default does not print background colors and images. To instruct Word to include background colors and images when you print, choose File Options Display. Under Printing options, click to enable Print background colors and images, as shown in Figure 17.4, and then click OK.

FIGURE 17.4

To enable background colors and images to print, enable the Print background colors and images check box, which is turned off by default. Print drawings created in Word is enabled by default.

Note that even when you turn on printing for background colors and images, the capabilities of your printer will determine how much of the background actually prints. Only a printer that supports full bleed or edge-to-edge printing can print all the way to the edges of the paper. Most consumer and small business printers don't support this functionality and instead only print the background as far as the smallest margin allowed by the printer. For example, the printer selected in Figure 17.5 requires a minimum margin of a quarter inch, so the preview accordingly shows a small margin of white space at each edge beyond the printable background area.

FIGURE 17.5

If your printer does not support bleeds, the background prints only within the space allowed by the printer.

For documents designed to be read on the computer screen, ink and paper aren't a concern. These include documents that “live” on the Internet or on an intranet as various flavors of HTML files, as PDF or XPS files, or even as regular Word documents.

What is a concern with onscreen documents, however, is legibility. Art is important, but so is being able to read what's written. If the color combinations are so bad that they induce eyestrain, or if text gets utterly lost in a background pattern or image, your document won't live up to its potential to communicate via the written word. If you're deliberately trying to obscure the message, on the other hand, a busy background image might work well.

Background versus watermark

It's important to understand the difference between page background and watermarks. Page background is a document-wide setting. You set the page background using the Page Color tool in the Page Background group of the Design tab. You can have only one page background setting in any given document, and the identical page background will appear on every page.

A watermark, on the other hand, applies in the current section only. Though it's common to have only a single watermark in any given document and to have the identical watermark on every page, it is by no means required.

It's important to know that one is a document-wide setting and the other is a section-formatting attribute because it can keep you from beating your head against the wall trying to set a different background for each page using the Page Color tool.

Applying Page Background Colors, Patterns, Textures, or Pictures

Word 2013 provides a variety of colors, patterns, gradients, and textures for use as document backgrounds. In addition, you can use pictures in any of the graphics formats supported. Formats supported include the graphics filters that come with Office 2013, those installed for earlier versions of Office, and some installed with other Windows programs.

Word applies the backgrounds discussed in this section to the entire document, not to specific document sections. Therefore, whatever background you choose should be coordinated with text and other graphics in all parts of the document.

Colors

To apply a background color to a document, click Page Color in the Page Background group of the Design tab on the Ribbon. Doing so displays the palette shown in Figure 17.6. If you want your background to vary when you change the document theme, click one of the colors under Theme Colors. If you don't want your background to change when you change themes, click one of the choices under Standard Colors or click More Colors.

FIGURE 17.6

To specify a page color that will not change if you change themes, choose from the Standard Colors or click More Colors.

To remove the background color at any time, choose Design Page Background Page Color No Color.

More colors

If the Standard Colors don't provide the color you're looking for, click More Colors to display the Colors dialog box shown in Figure 17.7. The Standard tab enables you to choose from among 144 colors and shades of gray. The Custom Colors tab enables you to select one of up to 16,777,216 colors (that's the number available when the computer is set up for 24-bit color, which most current systems support). To set a custom color, click on a color that looks close to the one you want in the Colors area. When you get close, you can drag the triangle along the color bar at the right to choose different shades of the selected color. Alternately, you can choose a Color model, and then enter the values that represent a precise color. For example, you could leave RGB selected and enter 170 for Red, 120 for Green, and 170 for Blue to create a dark lavender color. On both the Standard and Custom tabs, the New and Current preview indicator shows both the current background (bottom) and the background you'll get by clicking OK.

FIGURE 17.7

Use either of the tabs in the Colors dialog box to specify a custom page background color that won't change if you change themes.

Colors and themes

As alluded to earlier, there are two general approaches to applying color page backgrounds. The first approach is to apply Theme Colors, in which case colors and other elements will change when you apply different themes, as discussed in Chapter 18, “Saving Time with Templates, Themes, and Master Documents.” The second approach is to choose a color or other type of background that isn't dependent on the applied theme and therefore will not change when you change themes.

For example, in the default Office theme, Text 2 is a shade of blue-gray with RGB values of 68, 84, and 106. If you like that color for a background and don't want theme changes to affect it later, don't use Design Page Background Page Color Blue-Gray, Text 2 setting to set your background color.

To set the color in a way that is immune to theme changes, first select it using the theme color you want. Then click Design Page Background Page Color More Colors Custom. Once on the Custom tab of the Colors dialog box, make a slight change in the color by setting one of the Red, Green, or Blue numbers one notch higher or lower and then returning it to the original value. This convinces Word that you've made a change when you haven't, but, more important, it makes Word think you applied a non-theme color. Then click OK.

The result is that you've set a custom color that happens to be the same as one of the theme colors, but because you used the Custom color dialog box to do it, it is now not connected with any particular theme, and will stay as is when and if you change the overall theme or theme colors.

Gradients

Gradient or image gradient is a term that refers to the gradual blending of colors, not unlike those shown in the Custom tab of the Colors dialog box (refer to Figure 17.7). A gradient page background adds dimension versus a solid color, and gives you the opportunity to arrange page contents so you put text on the lighter or brighter areas and graphics on the darker areas. Or, you can vary the text color on the page to ensure the text remains readable versus the gradient color at any given point on the page. To set a gradient page background:

1. In the Page Background group on the Page Layout tab of the Ribbon, choose Page Color Fill Effects. The Fill Effects dialog box opens.
2. Click the Gradient tab. When you first choose this dialog box tab, the initial offering is based on the current page's background setting. If you haven't yet applied any color, you'll see gradients based on black and white (that is, shades of gray).
3. If the base colors of the displayed gradients aren't to your liking, click a choice in the Colors section, and then make choices from the gradient color options that appear in that section, which will vary depending on which option button you select. One color blends between white and the Color 1 color you select from the drop-down that appears. Two colors enables you to make selections from the Color 1 and Color 2 drop-downs that appear to create the gradient. Click Preset colors and then make a choice from the Preset colors drop-down list that appears. Figure 17.8 shows one of the presets selected, with the Sample box at the lower right previewing the selected Colors options for the gradient.
4. In the Shading styles section, choose one of the available options until the sample preview appears as desired.
5. Click OK.

FIGURE 17.8

A gradient page background can be a color, a blend of two colors, or a choice of 24 preset combinations.

Textures

Texture refers to a variety of subtle pictorial backgrounds—everything from wood to different fabrics to marble. Word offers 24 built-in textures and enables you to insert your own from existing graphics/picture files.

To use a texture as your page background, on the Design tab in the Page Background group, choose Page Color Fill Effects, and then click the Texture tab, which displays the Fill Effects dialog box choices shown in Figure 17.9. Click a texture and click OK, or click Other Texture to load a picture file as a texture. When you do this the picture is temporarily added to the list of textures shown. To actually use the picture, you need to select it once it's in the Texture gallery and then click OK.

FIGURE 17.9

You can choose from 24 built-in textures, or click Other Texture to use a file of your own.

Patterns

Word provides 48 preset patterns you can use for the background. To use a pattern for your page background, click the Design tab, and in the Page Background group choose Page Color Fill Effects, and then click the Pattern tab (see Figure 17.10). Click the desired pattern, choose Foreground and Background colors, if desired, and then click OK.

FIGURE 17.10

By combining different colors with Word's 48 built-in patterns, you can create literally millions of different backgrounds.

Pictures

You also can use a picture for the document or section background. The result and the considerations involved are identical to those for setting a background texture or pattern. To use a picture as your document background, click the Design tab, and in the Page Background group choose Page Color Fill Effects, and then click the Picture tab in the Fill Effects dialog box. Click Select Picture. The Insert Picture window that appears gives you the option of clicking Browse to find and open a picture locally or to add an online picture as described in Chapter 14, “Adding Pictures and WordArt to Highlight Information,” in the section, “Adding an Online Picture.” If you click Browse beside From a file, navigate to the desired picture and select it, click Insert, and then back in the Fill Effects dialog box, click OK. Otherwise, search Office.com Clip Art or Bing Image Search, or select an image from your SkyDrive as covered in Chapter 14, and then click OK. Figure 17.11 shows an Office.com Clip Art image, selected and ready to become the page background.

FIGURE 17.11

You can use downloaded or local pictures as the page background via the Picture tab of the Fill Effects dialog box.

Adding a Watermark

A watermark is a special faded text graphic (similar to WordArt) that appears underneath the document text, usually on every page of a document. It might contain a picture or text, such as the huge word CONFIDENTIAL.

Choosing a preset watermark

To insert a preset text watermark, click the Design tab, and in the Page Background group, click Watermark. Word 2013 provides a dozen or more ready-made watermarks. Scroll down the Watermarks gallery and see if there's one that suits your needs. Click it to insert it. It now appears as the backdrop for your document's page. If you want a text watermark other than what you see in the Watermarks gallery, skip down to Other Text Watermarks.

As shown in Figure 17.12, the watermark actually is a WordArt object inserted on the header and footer layer of the document. (Note the presence of the WordArt Tools Format and Header & Footer Design contextual tabs.) To learn how to adjust a watermark WordArt object as you need, see Chapter 14.

FIGURE 17.12

Word 2013 creates ready-made text watermarks as WordArt on the header and footer layer.

Other text watermarks

If the Watermarks gallery doesn't have a preset text watermark that suits your needs, you can choose Watermark from the Page Background group of the Design tab, and then click Custom Watermark. The Printed Watermark dialog box shown in Figure 17.13 appears. Use the Text drop-down list to select alternate text. Or, select the entry in the Text text box and type your own custom text to replace it.

Choose the desired Font, Color, Size, and Layout, and decide whether you want the watermark to be Semitransparent or solid (the unwritten alternative). For Size, you're generally best off leaving it set to Auto, as that will choose the largest possible font that works for the chosen text and the current paper/margin sizes.

FIGURE 17.13

Create your custom watermark by entering new Text and changing other settings as you want.

Although the Printed Watermark dialog box doesn't provide Live Preview, it does let you click Apply without closing the dialog box so you can get an idea of what the watermark will look like. Figure 17.13 also shows an example of this. When you click Apply, the Cancel button turns into a Close button. Hence, once you've clicked Apply, the change has been made in your document. If necessary, make changes until you're satisfied and click Apply again. Click OK or Close when you're done. Pressing Ctrl+Z (Undo) once the Printed Watermark dialog box has been dismissed will undo only the most recent change. If you clicked Apply more than once while experimenting, it will take multiple presses of Ctrl+Z to get you back to where you were before you displayed the Printed Watermark dialog box.

Using a picture as a watermark

To use a picture for your watermark, click to select the Picture watermark option button in the Printed Watermark dialog box in Figure 17.13. Click the Select Picture button that becomes active. Then as before, use the Insert Picture window that appears (Figure 17.14) to select a picture. Click Browse beside the From a file choice to open the Insert Pictures dialog box, or click Browse beside your SkyDrive to display a window with the folders on your SkyDrive; use either to find and select a pictured file either in your local folders or in your SkyDrive folders, and then click Insert. Or, enter search word or phrase beside Office.com Clip Art or Bing and click the Search button to search for an image. Click the picture you want to use in the search results, and then click Insert. Back in the Printed Watermark dialog box, set the desired scale and click the Washout check box to lighten the picture, unless your picture is already suitably light for a background. As before, you can click Apply to see if the picture appears as you want, changing pictures or options until you're satisfied. Clicking Apply changes the Cancel button into a Close button. When you're ready, choose OK or Close.

FIGURE 17.14

The Insert Pictures choices also appear when you want to select a picture to use as a custom watermark.

Removing Watermarks and Page Backgrounds

The commands you used for adding page backgrounds and watermarks are the same choices that you can use to remove those items. When you want to remove a watermark, in the Page Background group of the Design tab, click Watermark Remove Watermark.

If you try to remove a watermark and it doesn't go away, it's not a watermark. It's probably a page background instead. To remove a page background—even if it's a picture, gradient, or pattern—in the Page Background Group of the Design tab, choose Page Color No Color.

Summary

In this chapter you've learned how to add page borders and backgrounds to your documents. You've also seen that you need to be careful to maintain a balance between art and legibility. You should now be able to do the following:

• Add a simple or artistic page border
• Create colored backgrounds and control whether or not Word prints them
• Distinguish between page backgrounds and watermarks
• Match a page background color exactly by using RGB or HSL settings
• Add an informative watermark to the document
• Quickly remove a watermark or a page background