Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Word allows you to create text boxes in your document. These can be used to create special document elements, such as sidebars or boxed text. There may be times when you want the text box to be transparent, meaning that whatever is behind the text box shows through. There are two ways you can handle this: you can either make the text box partially transparent or make it fully transparent. How you accomplish this depends on the version of Word you are using.
If you are using Word 2007, follow these steps to control the transparency:
Figure 1. The Colors and Lines tab of the Format Text Box dialog box.
Figure 2. The Layout tab of the Format Text Box dialog box.
In Word 2010 the steps are a bit different:
Figure 3. The Fill options of the Format Shape dialog box.
Figure 4. The Line Color options of the Format Shape dialog box.
In Word 2013 or a later version, the steps are even more different:
Figure 5. The Format Shape task pane.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12687) 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: Creating See-through Text Boxes.
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2019-12-01 03:54:05
Ron
Never mind, I found the answer. I had to highlight the text and change the formatting style to Normal and that made the paragraph background transparent.
2019-11-30 17:22:40
Ron
The problem I'm having is that even though the text box itself is transparent, the paragraph background is not. For example, I'm trying to put a text box with white text over an image that is mostly black, and I can't change the background of the paragraph to either transparent or black, so it looks like blocks of white instead of just the white text.
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