Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Changing the Highlighting Color.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 21, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
The Highlight tool is very helpful when you want to draw attention to different areas of a document. The highlighter works in much the same way that a highlighter pen works with a paper document. The default color used for the highlighter is yellow, but this can be easily changed to any of 14 other colors. This is particularly helpful if you are using a color printer and some colors print better than others.
You change the color of your highlighting by displaying the Home tab of the ribbon and then clicking the down arrow at the right of the Highlight tool (Word 2007) or the Text Highlight Color tool (later versions of Word) in the Font group. You can then select from any of 15 different colors for your highlighting.
When you change the highlight color, it does not affect any highlighting you have already done in the document. Old highlighting remains the old color; only new highlighting assumes the new color.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9384) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing the Highlighting Color.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!
Need to get the margins on your document exactly right? It can be a challenge to get the Word settings where you need ...
Discover MoreDocument backgrounds come in handy if you plan on converting the document to a Web page. Here's how you can add a ...
Discover MoreWhen you make extensive edits to a document and those edits include changing the formatting of numbered or bulleted ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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:
Comments