Remove Word Watermark
A Word watermark is not part of your text. It is a shape parked in the page header, which is why it appears behind every page and why Word will not let you select it like normal content. This deletes that shape and leaves the document itself completely untouched. It is free, needs no account, and adds no watermark to your result.
Remove Word Watermark
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What people use it for.
What happens to your file.
A DOCX is a ZIP package. Word stores the watermark as a VML shape inside the header parts, either as WordArt text or as a picture, and some templates use a page background instead. Newer versions of Word can write it as a DrawingML shape with the VML copy kept as a fallback; both copies are removed, so the watermark does not reappear when the file is opened in a different version of Word. All of these are removed and the package is repacked. Running headers, footers and page numbers are left alone, and so is a letterhead logo in the header, because a logo is neither washed out nor placed behind the text the way a watermark is.
Where it stops: A picture placed into the body of the document is ordinary content, not a watermark, so it is deliberately left in place - remove that in Word. Only remove watermarks from documents you own or are authorised to change.
What is removed, and what stays
| In the document | Result |
|---|---|
| A text watermark added with Design > Watermark, such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL | Removed |
| A picture watermark: washed out and placed behind the text | Removed |
| A page background colour or picture | Removed |
| A logo in the header or footer | Kept |
| Pictures in the body of the document | Kept |
| Text, tables, styles, comments and tracked changes | Unchanged |
If no watermark is found
- The tool says so instead of handing back an unchanged file.
- A word typed into the body text, or a picture placed on the page, is ordinary content: delete it in Word.
- A watermark in a PDF is handled by Remove PDF Watermark instead.
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Common questions.
How do I remove a watermark in Word?
In Word 2013 and later on Windows, go to Design > Watermark > Remove Watermark; in Word 2010 and 2007 the same menu is under Page Layout. In Word for Mac, open Design > Watermark and choose No watermark. If the watermark is still there, double-click the top of the page to open the header, click the edge of the watermark and press Delete, and repeat in each section's header if the document has more than one. If that fails too, drop the file above: the watermark is removed from every header at once.
Will my text or layout change?
No. Only the watermark shape is deleted. Paragraphs, tables, images, styles and page numbering are untouched, and the header keeps whatever else it contained.
Why can I not just delete it in Word?
Because it sits in the header layer rather than the body, so clicking on the page never selects it. In Word you have to open the header and find the shape; this does that for you.
Does it handle picture watermarks as well as text?
Yes. WordArt text watermarks, picture watermarks and page backgrounds are all handled, both in the VML form older Word writes and in the DrawingML form with a VML fallback that newer Word can write.
What if my document has no watermark?
You get a clear message saying none was found, rather than a file that looks processed but is unchanged.
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