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So many Office customers ask about watermarking that we've gathered the best answers here--links to our top instructions for using watermarks in Word, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Excel. (Excel doesn't have an actual watermark feature, but you can still create watermarks in Excel using photos or words.)
Not sure what we mean by watermarks? Not to be confused with backgrounds, which fill the entire page, watermarks are usually ghosted words, such as DRAFT, COPYRIGHT, CONFIDENTIAL, or the company or creator's name, placed on photos and documents. But watermarks can also be images, logos, or photos.
Customers not only want to use digital watermarks to stamp photos and documents, but also to use photos as watermarks. That's one way to create your own stationery, for example. So we've included links for both, along with information about more traditional watermarking using text behind words.
If you're trying to stamp photos with a copyright or other watermark using Word 2010, follow the three-step solution in my post on the Word Blog.
You can also find instructions for creating a digital watermark for a photo in PowerPoint in Add a watermark to a photo in PowerPoint and in Publisher in Add a watermark to a photo in Publisher.
A Publisher 2010 "Photo watermark" template by my colleague, Joannie Stangeland, makes adding a watermark to a photo in Publisher that much easier. When you download and open the template, you'll see the instructions for using the template on the right-hand side.
Photos and pictures can decorate or brand a document or worksheet. The steps for making a watermark from a photo, picture, or graphic are outlined for Excel 2010 in Mimic a watermark in Excel and for Word 2010 in Create a watermark from a picture.
Check out the stationery and other watermarks templates on Office.com.
What about you? What do you want to know about watermarks? Have you tried creating your own?
--Leslie H. Cole
Comments: (25) Collapse
Anna C,
Thanks for your solution to a very gnarly problem!
Leslie
How do you create a page number as a watermerk in office 2007 and 2010?
We are having issues with Watermarks displaying correctly and printing correctly. When we apply a watermark it does not display the full name and shows the watermark behind the text. Also when we print, it prints like a barcode and behind text still, which I realize could be a printer issue. How do we accomplish getting the watermark to display correctly on screen?
Hi TammiLV,
I put this question out to some folks and one of the Word managers came up with this response:
Without version information , this is a guess, but it is known that some printers don’t support the ‘’Semitransparent’’ setting that is applied by default to text watermarks. This setting can affect also how watermarks are displayed on screen.
For existing or new watermarks use these steps to turn off the Semitransparent setting:
1. In Word 2010 go to the Page Layout group, click Watermark, and then click Custom Watermark.
2. Uncheck the ‘’Semitransparent’’ box, and then click OK.
3. Try printing again.
Please let us know if this helps, and thanks for reading The Office Blog.
Hi Leslie:
I have many sections with header and footer but I also have three sections without header and footer (cover page and safety without H/F). When I try to insert watermark in the safety section, it puts it on every page. I have checked that the 'link to previous' are disabled in sections where there are headers; so, why do I still see watermark seen in all 175 pages? Thanks- Kayal1
When will I get an answer to my query I posted a few minutes back and where will I see (my email that I provided or the blog here)? Thanks!
Leslie:
I forgot to mention that I am using WORD 2010. Document was created in earlier WORD -1997-2003. So, the compatibility mode is on.
Hi Kayal1,
Because we're not officially product support, it sometimes takes us a bit longer to get the answers for you. One of my product contacts says that she was able to get the watermarks to apply only to one particular page in a Word 2003 document by using a combination of section breaks and editing the headers to disable linking to previous. Is this what you are looking for? If not, someone on Answers.microsoft.com might work with you to get the solution you need.
Thanks for reading the Office Blogs ...
Hi there,
I have a Word 2010 document that has 0.2" margins all around (with a 0" gutter) in order to keep all the info on one page. I need to add a watermark that I've customized to say "UNOFFICIAL" (it's on a diagonal). When I do that, it shifts my top margin down, pushing my content into a second page. When I check my margin settings, nothing has changed.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Amy
Excellent summary! Everything that's required, and nothing more than required, with links to detailed information. 'wish there were more blogs like this!
Comments: (loading) Collapse