Dress It Up

There are times when a drawing, hovering in the background, will go a long way in presenting an attractive document.

You can easily acquire this effect with the watermark feature of Microsoft Word 97/2000.

After fooling with the procedure a bit to achieve the best contrast between the watermark and the text and with a little practice, you will wonder why you had not tried this before.

I can hear you now.

"How do I do this?" you demand. "Is Word so powerful that it will allow me to create such a presentation?"

Absolutely. And here is how you do it.

CLICK "view" in the toolbar.

CLICK "Header and Footer."

CLICK "Insert" picture; choose "Clip Art" or "From File."

BROWSE and select the picture that you think will best suit your watermark. I like to insert pale images to allow for better viewing of the text.

As you position and size the image to your liking, you will notice that you are not behind the text.

CLICK "View," "toolbar," "drawing." Highlight the picture and click on the "Image Control" icon in the drawing bar and choose the watermark option. This will soften the image. Next you will click on "Format Picture" and choose the layout tab. There you will find and choose the "Behind text" button. Or use "Text Wrapping," depending on what version you are using.

CLICK "OK."

That's all there is to it. Once you have completed these steps, close the header/footer box to return to your document.

"Where did it go?" you ask, wryly?

To actually see it in your document, you will have to go to the "Print Preview" in "File." It should, however, show up on the printed copy.

What! I hear a moan.

"I don't like the way it looks!" you exclaim.

Fear not, mon amie, for there is a way. Return to the header in "View;" highlight the picture by clicking anywhere on it; and proceed to edit. Delete and replace the picture if you so desire and your choice of a very dark font will enhance the word visibility.

Keep in mind that the watermark will appear on every consecutive page so unless that's exactly what you want, you will need to create an individual file for page 2 and beyond. All in all, the watermark will give your documents a nice added touch.

THE WATERMARK