Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Filling A Drawing Object.

Filling A Drawing Object

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 25, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

When you have created a drawing object, you can fill it with a color of your choosing. This is easy to do by following these steps:

Select the drawing object you want to fill.
Make sure the Format tab of the Ribbon is displayed.
Click the down-arrow next to the Shape Fill tool in the Shape Styles group. Word displays a list of options you can select.
Select the color you want to use to fill the object.
If you do not see your desired color displayed, click your mouse on More Fill Colors to display a wider selection of choices.

Once you select a color, Word removes the color menu and fills the interior of the drawing object with the color selected. To remove a color you previously used, you can repeat the same steps, but in step 3 choose No Fill.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5931) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Filling A Drawing Object.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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