Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Controlling Field Shading.

Controlling Field Shading

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 3, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Normally, when you either select a field or move the insertion point into a field, Word highlights the entire field or result of the field. This is done so you can tell you are working in a field. Sometimes you may find this distracting, however. If you want to change the way that Word handles field shading, follow these steps:

Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
At the left of the dialog box click Advanced. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

In the Show Document Content section, use the Field Shading drop-down list to specify how you want Word to handle field shading.
Click OK.

There are three options you can specify in step 3. The default is When Selected, which simply means that the field is shaded when it is selected, or you place the insertion point within the field. If you set the option to Never, then fields are never shaded, and (conversely) Always specifies that they are always shaded.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6107) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling Field Shading.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Kerning

When you need to adjust the space Word uses between characters, you need to adjust what is called "kerning." This tip ...

Discover More

Creating a Full-Page Border

Borders are easy to add around text or entire paragraphs. It may be surprising to you to learn that Word can just as ...

Discover More

Resetting Default Character Formatting

If you need to remove any explicit character formatting from some text, you'll want to commit the shortcut in this tip to ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Inserting the User's Initials

One of the pieces of information tracked by Word are your name and initials. You can insert your initials by using the ...

Discover More

Condensing Figure Caption References

Word can automatically add captions to your figures. You can then reference those captions from within your document. If ...

Discover More

Formatting a SEQ Field Number

The SEQ field is a great way to insert a sequence of numbers within your document. If you want those numbers to be ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six minus 4?

2020-01-24 15:34:15

Sarah

I'm working with a document that clearly has style formatting that is making the crossreference fields *print* with a grey background. I can't find the style that contains that formatting though. If I remove all formatting, the field behaves normally (highlighted when selected, not highlighted when not selected, and not *printing* with a grey background. Any idea how to track down the style with the background setting?

2020-01-10 10:48:48

Mike

Hello,
is there a way to make text form fields shaded before the user fills them in, but unshaded after the user fills them in? (For on-screen viewing, not printing.)

2019-09-13 13:58:18

Robert Lalum

When you activate restricted permissions through the review pane the grey shading of the text form fields is removed. How do you get them back? The method above does not work on these type of fields.

2019-08-29 04:54:23

Hip

this does not seem to work on Word for MAC! :-(

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.