How to add a watermark to an excel sheet

Contents

Preparing the image for the watermark
Adding a watermark to the header
Setting up a watermark

Do you still think that you can’t add watermarks to an Excel sheet? I must say that you are wrong. In Excel 2010 and 2013, you can simulate watermarks using headers and footers. Do you want to know how? Read this article carefully!

The need to add watermarks to an Excel document arises quite often. The reasons may be different. Perhaps just for beauty, as is the case with my schedule. 🙂

I added an image as a watermark for my schedule. But more often in documents there are such watermarks as Confidential, Project, Confidential, Sample, Confidential, and so on. Such signs emphasize the status of the document.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Excel 2010 and 2013 does not have a built-in tool to create watermarks on a worksheet. However, there is a tricky trick that allows you to simulate watermarks using headers and footers. Next, I will share this secret with you.

Preparing the image for the watermark

First of all, you need to prepare an image for a watermark, which will later decorate the background of your document sheet. This can be done in any graphics editor (Microsoft Paint is fine). But for simplicity, I created the image directly on a blank Excel sheet using the WordArt tool.

For those who are curious how I did it, I will tell you in more detail:

Open a blank Excel sheet.
Turn on view mode Page layout. To do this, press the command View > Book View Modes > Page layout (View > Workbook Views > Page layout) or use the similar button in the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window.
Click on the icon WordArt in command group Text (Text) tab Insert (Insert).
Choose a style.
Enter the text you want to insert as a watermark.

The image for the watermark is almost ready, it remains to adjust its size and rotate it so that it looks beautiful. What do we do next?

Clear the background for the created WordArt object, to do this, on the tab View (View) section Show (Show) uncheck the line Сетка (Gridlines).
Select an image.
Call the context menu with the right mouse button and select Copy (Copy).
Open MS Paint (or any other graphics editor).
Paste the copied object into the graphics editor.
Trim off the excess around the edges of the image.
Save the watermark image as a PNG or GIF.

Now everything is ready to insert the created and saved image into the header, as described above.

Adding a watermark to the header

So, the image for the watermark is prepared. Moving on to the next step, we need to add a watermark to the header. Anything we add to the header will be automatically printed on every page.

On the Menu Ribbon, open the tab Insert (Insert).
In section Text (Text) click on the icon Headers and footers (Header & Footer).The sheet view mode will automatically switch to Page layout, and a new tab will appear on the Ribbon Working with headers and footers | Constructor (Header & Footer Tools | Design).
Click on the icon Drawing (Picture) to bring up the dialog box Insert pictures (Insert Pictures).
Open the location of the file you want to use as a watermark. You can select a file from your computer’s hard drive or OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) cloud storage, use Office.com, or search Bing for a picture.
When the desired picture is found, select it and press the button Insert (Insert)

The text appears in the header &[Picture] (or &[Picture] – in the English version of Excel). This text indicates that the header contains a picture.

But when will the watermark appear on the sheet?! Do not worry! 🙂 Now just click anywhere on the sheet outside the header area to make the watermark visible.

If you click on another page on the same Excel sheet, a watermark will automatically appear on it as well.

Note: Watermarks become visible only in view mode Page layout (Page Layout), in the preview window before printing the document, and on the printed sheet. Watermarks will not be visible in preview mode Normal (Normal), which is typically used by most users when working in Excel 2010 and 2013.

Setting up a watermark

Having added a watermark to the header, it would probably be a good idea to adjust its size and position on the page. And if the need for a watermark has disappeared, you can completely remove it.

Change the position of the watermark

Usually, the added picture is located at the top of the sheet. Do not worry! It can be easily moved below:

Click in the header area.
Place the cursor to the left of the text &[Picture] (&[Picture] – in the English version of Excel).
Press the key Enter one or more times to move the watermark image down to the center of the page.

Experiment a little to get the best position for the watermark on the page.

Resizing the watermark

Push command Insert > Text > Headers and footers (Insert > Text > Header & Footer).
On the Advanced tab Working with headers and footers | Constructor (Header & Footer Tools | Design) in the section Header and footer elements (Header & Footer Elements) click the button Picture Format (Format Picture).
To resize or scale the picture, in the dialog box that opens, click the Size (Size).
You can adjust the color, brightness and contrast in the same dialog box on the tab Drawing (Picture).

I recommend using the mode Substrate (Washout) from drop down list Color (Color) because this mode makes the watermark less bright and makes it easier for users to view the contents of the Excel sheet.

Removing the watermark

Click in the header area.
Select text or picture marker – &[Picture] (or &[Picture] – in the English version of Excel).
Press the key Delete.
Click anywhere outside the header area to save your changes.

You now have this tricky trick to add a watermark to an Excel 2010 and 2013 worksheet. It’s time to get down to business and create your own watermarks that will amaze everyone’s eyes!