Make MS Word default background white?

Question

I reinstalled ms word 2003 and usually the background is already supposed to be white but for some reason it is 'no fill' for new documents, so I want to know how to get it back to white without having to choose it each time.

Answer 1

Well, I can't really see a difference between white and No Fill, but here's what I think would work:

1. Close all open copies of Word.

2. Open Word.

3. Click on the File->Save As menu item.

4. In the "File of Type" list box, scroll down to Document Templates and select it.  The directory should change and there should be a Normal.dot file in it.  DON’T SAVE THE FILE.  Click Cancel instead.

5. Click on the File->Open menu item.

6. Select Normal.dot.  Normal.dot should become your open document.

7. Click the Format->Background menu item and select the White color.

8. Save the file with File->Save.  You may get a warning message about the Global template having been changed.  This is OK.  Click Yes.

9. Close Word.

Word sometimes leaves the last directory used incorrectly set, so the next time you open or save (especially!) a file, be careful that Word's pointed at the right place.

By the way, Backgrounds take effect only when you view and edit the file in Web Layout mode.  In Normal and Print Layout, the "background" is white unless you've applied a watermark.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Open Word click on Tools > Options > General (tab) uncheck Blue Background White Text.

Option set how you want Word to look and act when you open it.