(Open Office does not seem to allow for a true watermark at this stage)
What is a Watermark?
A watermark is a picture or text that shows up faintly behind the text on a page.
This is a nice effect to tie your theme into your document.
Watermarks can cover an entire page or can be smaller and placed on a specific area of a page.
To create a watermark in MS Word 2003.
Before you start place a picture you wish to use in a folder on your desktop.
Open a new document in MS Word.
On the toolbar click on Insert/picture/from file.
Locate the picture in your desktop folder and click insert.
Click once on the picture so the handlebars (small squares at the corners of the picture) appear.
Click and drag on one of the handlebars to resize the picture to the desired size.
You can make the picture as large or small as you wish.
In the toolbar, click on View/Toolbars/Picture. A new small toolbar will appear.
Click on your picture to select it.
On the new toolbar select the Colour Button (It may be called image control on some computers)
and choose Washout.
Then select the Text Wrapping button (it looks like a dog) and click Behind Text.
This should make the selected picture turn into a watermark.
If the picture is in colour the colours will remain but will fade to a very light colour.
You can now type text over the picture.
To create a Watermark in Word 2007
Make sure before commencing that if you wish to use a picture you know where it is on your computer.
A good idea is to place it in a folder in Pictures.
Open a word document in Word 2007.
On the Toolbar click Page Layout tab.
Click Watermark in the page layout ribbon.
Here there are some default text watermarks or you can select Custom Watermark and select your own picture
or use your own text.
If you wish to use a picture then click custom watermark/select picture watermark on the next screen.
You will be taken to Pictures.
Find the picture you wish to use, click the picture/click Insert. That window will close.
In the Window which is still open, make sure Washout is ticked.
Click Apply
Click O.K.
The Watermark should now appear in your document.
Prepared by Peggy.