Blend objects into the background of your Word documents

by Mary Ann Richardson | Aug 22, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Word processors, Microsoft Office, Mary Ann Richardson, Microsoft Word, red background, Microsoft Office Suite Word Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: If you're combining pictures or graphics in Microsoft Word, you don't want the effect to be jarring. In this tip, learn how to blend objects into backgrounds while maintaining the integrity of the original design.

Suppose you've inserted a picture that contains a blue sky in your Word document and would like to scatter three stars across the sky. You have a picture of a yellow star that you use, but the star is drawn against a red background. You could try to change the background of the star picture to blue, but why spend time trying to match the color of the other picture? A quicker way would be to make the red background transparent. Follow these steps:

1. Go to Insert | Picture | From File and double-click the Star file.
2. Click the picture and then click the Text Wrapping button on the Picture toolbar.
3. Select In Front Of Text from the drop-down list.
4. Click the Set Transparent Color Tool on the Picture toolbar.
5. Click anywhere in the picture's red background.
6. Click and drag the picture to the blue background.
7. Press [Ctrl] while you click and drag the picture to insert another copy on the blue background.
8. Repeat step 7 for each star you want scattered across the sky.

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