A watermark is a pale image through which you can read your document's text.

To insert a watermark in your Word document, first choose Insert | Picture | Clip Art from the menu bar and insert the clip art object of your choice. Next, select the clip art object you inserted (if it isn't selected already) and then choose Format | Picture from the menu bar to open the Format Picture dialog box. As an alternative, right-click ([control]-click on the Mac) on the object and choose Format Picture from the resulting shortcut menu. Next, click on the Picture tab (if it isn't already active), and then choose Watermark from Image Control area's Color dropdown list. This setting automatically readjusts the picture's Brightness and Contrast settings to lighten your picture. As an alternative, you may wish to customize the Brightness and Contrast settings yourself, rather than using the predetermined watermark settings.

Next, click on the Layout tab, and then choose the Behind Text option. If you're using Word 97 or 98, click on the Position tab and then make sure the Float Over Text check box is selected. When you've finished, click OK.

If you're using Word 2000, you can now continue to fine-tune your watermark's size and position as desired. If you're using Word 97 or 98, you'll need to place the watermark behind your document text before you fine-tune it. To do so, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar, and then choose Order | Send To Back from the resulting pop-up menu. As an alternative, right-click on your watermark ([control-click] on the Mac) and then choose Order | Send To Back from the resulting shortcut menu.)

Note: You can quickly access the Text Wrapping, Image Control, Brightness and Contrast options we've mentioned (as well as other picture-editing options) on Word's Picture toolbar. To display the Picture toolbar, right-click ([control]-click on the Mac) on your clip art object and then choose Show Picture Toolbar from the resulting shortcut menu.

Created Date: 12/07/2001  Last Reviewed: 12/07/2001  Rev. Date: