How to Change Text Highlight Color in Word

To change the highlight color in Word, select the text, open Home, select the arrow beside Text Highlight Color, and choose a color. You can apply a different color directly to text that is already highlighted. These desktop steps apply to Word for Microsoft 365 and Word 2024 on Windows and Mac.

Word for the web also has a highlight palette, while Word for iPad and Android tablets uses a touch control. For additional background colors on Windows or the web, you can use Shading, a separate type of formatting.

Change the color of selected text

In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows or Mac, select the word, sentence, or passage you want to highlight. Open Home, select the arrow beside Text Highlight Color, then choose your color. Follow the same sequence to change an existing highlight.

To apply the color throughout the document, first press Ctrl + A on Windows or Command + A on Mac. Then choose the color from Home > Text Highlight Color. This selects all the text, including passages that were not previously highlighted.

In those Windows editions, you can also use the right-click control. If you are in Read Mode, choose View > Edit Document first. Select and right-click the text, select Highlight, then choose a color.

Highlight several separate passages

In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows or Mac, start with no text selected. Open Home > Text Highlight Color and choose a color, then drag over each passage you want to mark. The highlighter stays active between selections.

When you finish, press Esc. You can also choose Text Highlight Color > Stop Highlighting to leave highlighting mode.

Find existing highlights or remove their color

To locate highlighted passages in Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, open Home > Find > Advanced Find. On Mac, open Edit > Find > Advanced Find and Replace.

Select More if necessary, then choose Format > Highlight > Find Next. Recolor the located text through Home > Text Highlight Color. Use Find Next to continue locating highlighted passages.

Choosing No Color removes highlighting from your selection. In the same desktop editions, select the affected text, then choose Home > Text Highlight Color > No Color.

Applying that command to the whole document removes its text highlighting throughout. To do that, press Ctrl + A on Windows or Command + A on Mac, then choose Home > Text Highlight Color > No Color.

Change highlighting in your browser or on a tablet

In Word for the web, select the text in an editable document. Open Home, open Text Highlight Color in the Font group, and choose a color.

With a Windows keyboard, you can open the web palette using keys. Select the text, press Alt + Windows logo key + H, then press I. Press Tab until the desired color is selected, then press Enter.

In Word for iPad or Word for Android tablets, double-tap a word to select it. Extend the selection handles as needed, tap the highlight icon, then choose a highlight color. On an Android tablet in portrait orientation, the formatting controls may be inside the Font menu; open that menu when the highlight control is grouped there.

Copy a highlight with Format Painter

In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, you can copy an existing highlight with Format Painter. It copies other formatting along with the highlight, so use it when you want that formatting applied to the destination text too.

Select text with the formatting you want, choose Home > Format Painter, then drag over the destination text. To apply the formatting to multiple selections, double-click Format Painter before dragging over those selections.

Use shading for additional background colors

In Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, or in Word for the web, select a word or paragraph. Open Home > Paragraph > Shading using its arrow. Choose from Theme Colors or Standard Colors, or select More Colors.

Shading is a separate formatting property from text highlighting. Choosing More Colors here changes shading; it does not expand the Text Highlight Color palette.

Change highlighting with your voice

In Word for the web with Dictate available, you can change highlight colors using English voice commands. You need a microphone and an internet connection. Sign in to Microsoft 365, open Home > Dictate, and select the target text.

Say change highlight color to [color], replacing [color] with the desired color name. You can also say as instead of to in that command. To apply highlighting to the selection, say highlight that.

The removal command clears highlighting from the selected text. With that text selected, say remove highlight.

Change digital pen and ink highlights

In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows with pen and Ink Editor features, choose View > Print Layout if the Draw tab is grayed out, because Word must be in Print Layout to draw with ink. Then open Draw and choose a highlighter from Pens. Open its arrow, choose Color, then select Snap to Text. Draw across the text to highlight it.

Drawing across the same text again removes its highlight. To clear highlighting applied with Snap to Text, repeat that gesture across the text.

For a freehand ink highlight in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, choose View > Print Layout. To create a new mark, choose a highlighter on Draw, open its arrow, and choose Color before drawing. These marks are ink objects rather than Text Highlight Color formatting.

To recolor an existing ink mark, choose Draw > Lasso and encircle the mark. Right-click it, select Format Ink, then adjust its color in the Format Ink pane.

Fix hidden highlight marks

If existing highlights are hidden in Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, open File > Options > Display. Select Show highlighter marks to display highlighting on screen and in printed documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you hide highlights without removing their formatting?

Yes, in Word for Microsoft 365 or Word 2024 on Windows, open File > Options > Display and uncheck Show highlighter marks. This hides the marks without removing their formatting or changing their color.

Can you remove highlighting with Dictate in desktop Word?

Yes, you can do this in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac with a Microsoft 365 subscription, a microphone, and an internet connection. The command removes highlighting from the selected text. Select the highlighted text, choose Home > Dictate, wait for listening to start, then say remove highlight.

How do you change the Windows selection color instead of document highlighting?

On Windows 11, open Start > Settings > Accessibility > Contrast themes, choose a theme, and select Edit. Change Selected Text using the color picker, select Done, then select Save as. Enter a theme name and select Save and apply. This changes the system color for selected menu items and options rather than saved document highlighting.

Can you change highlighting through a Word VBA routine?

Yes, in desktop Word with VBA available, you can set Selection.Range.HighlightColorIndex = wdYellow in a VBA routine to make selected text yellow. Use another supported WdColorIndex value for a different color. Setting the property to wdNoHighlight removes highlighting from the selection. To do that, use Selection.Range.HighlightColorIndex = wdNoHighlight.