Gray or colored backgrounds behind text in Word usually come from one of three places: paragraph shading, text highlighting, or character shading that came along with text pasted from a website. Each is removed differently, which is why the obvious button sometimes doesn’t work. This guide shows how to identify and remove each kind in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021/2019/2016/2013 and Word for Mac.
Quick Answer
Select the shaded text, go to Home, click the arrow next to the Shading button (paint bucket) in the Paragraph group, and choose No Color. If the color remains, open Borders > Borders and Shading > Shading, set Fill to No Color and Style to Clear, and apply to both Paragraph and Text.
Method 1: Shading Button
- Select the shaded paragraphs (press Ctrl + A for the whole document).
- On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow beside the Shading button.
- Choose No Color.
Method 2: Borders and Shading Dialog (Most Thorough)
- Select the text.
- On Home, click the arrow beside the Borders button and choose Borders and Shading.
- Open the Shading tab.
- Set Fill to No Color.
- Under Patterns, set Style to Clear. (Patterned shading, such as 10% gray, keeps showing even when Fill is No Color.)
- Set Apply to to Paragraph and click OK.
- Repeat with Apply to set to Text to remove character-level shading.
Method 3: Remove Highlighting
If the color looks like a marker (often yellow), it’s highlighting. Select the text, click the arrow next to Text Highlight Color on the Home tab, and choose No Color.
Method 4: Clear All Formatting
Select the text and press Ctrl + Space to remove character formatting and Ctrl + Q to remove paragraph formatting, or click Clear All Formatting (the A with an eraser) on the Home tab. This also removes bold, fonts and other formatting, so use it on pasted text you plan to restyle.
Shading From Copied Web Text
Text pasted from web pages often carries background colors. To avoid it next time, right-click and choose Paste Options > Keep Text Only, or set the default in File > Options > Advanced > Pasting from other programs > Keep Text Only. See also how to remove background color in Word after copying text.
Still Shaded? Check These
- Styles: the shading may be part of a paragraph style. Right-click the style in the Styles gallery > Modify > Format > Border > Shading and set it to No Color.
- Table cells: click in the table, go to Table Design > Shading > No Color.
- Field shading: gray behind dates, page numbers or form fields is only on screen. Change it in File > Options > Advanced > Field shading > Never.
- Track Changes or comments: colored text may be a tracked change. Accept or reject it on the Review tab.
- Page color: if the whole page is colored, go to Design > Page Color > No Color.
Word for Mac
Select the text and use Home > Shading > No Color, or Format > Borders and Shading > Shading and set Fill to No Color and Style to Clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between shading and highlighting?
Highlighting is a marker-style color on text. Shading fills the background of text or whole paragraphs and can include patterns.
Does gray field shading print?
No. Field shading only appears on screen.
How do I remove shading from the whole document?
Press Ctrl + A, then use the Borders and Shading method for both Paragraph and Text.
Summary
- Select the text.
- Home > Shading > No Color.
- If needed, Borders and Shading > Shading: No Color, Style Clear, for Paragraph and Text.
- Check highlighting, styles, tables and field shading.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.