Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Insert Watermarks in Specific Sections in Microsoft Word

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We previously inserted watermarks on specific pages in Microsoft Word. Today, we are going to insert watermarks in specific sections.

We will also look at how to remove watermarks from specific sections when they are no longer needed.

Table of Contents

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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. These steps don’t apply to Word for Mac, Word for the web, or Word for mobile.

How to Insert Watermarks in Specific Sections

Important Note: These steps assume that you have already inserted section breaks into your document.
  1. Double-click in the header area of the section where you want to insert the watermark.

Double-clicking opens the Header & Footer tab. This contextual tab only appears when working with headers or footers.

  1. Deselect (uncheck) the Link to Previous button.
Link to Previous button in Word 365
Figure 1. Link to Previous button
  1. If there is a section after the section in which you want to insert the watermark, place your cursor in the header area of that section and deselect (uncheck) Link to Previous in the Header & Footer tab (see figure 1).
Important Note: The section in which you want to insert the watermark must be unlinked from the sections before and after it.
  1. Return your cursor to the header area of the section where you want to insert the watermark.
  2. Select the Design tab.
  3. Select Watermark in the Page Background group.
  4. Select your watermark from the drop-down menu or choose Custom watermark to create a picture watermark or unique text watermark.

For step-by-step tutorials about creating custom watermarks, please see “How to Insert and Modify Text Watermarks in Microsoft Word” and “How to Insert and Modify Image Watermarks in Microsoft Word.”

Watermark menu in Word 365
Figure 2. Watermark menu

The watermark should be inserted into the section immediately.

  1. Double-click outside of the header area to close the Header & Footer tab.

How to Remove Watermarks from Specific Sections

  1. Double-click in the header area of the section where you want to delete the watermark.
  2. Select the Design tab.
  3. Select Watermark in the Page Background group.
  4. Select Remove Watermark from the drop-down menu.
Remove Watermark option in Word 365
Figure 3. Remove Watermark option

The watermark should no longer appear in the section.

Related Resources

How to Insert Full-Page Background Images in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Change the Page Background Color in Microsoft Word