Document templates are often identified with the word “pattern,” but Word allows you to easily remove watermarks.
Remove watermarks in Word for Microsoft 365
With newer versions of Windows that work with Word for Microsoft 365, the watermark in documents can be removed with just a few clicks.
- Open the document and go to “Draft” -> “Watermark” in the menu. Click “Remove Watermark.”
- If this doesn't work, you can double-click near the top of the page to open the header area. Hover over the watermark until a quad arrow appears. Select the watermark and remove it with the “Delete” key.
Older Word versions: Remove watermarks from documents
Watermarks can be removed from all documents, even in older versions of Word, in just two steps:
- In the menu bar, navigate to “Format” via “Background” to the “Printed Watermark” menu.
- Here select the option “no watermark” and confirm with “OK”. Now all watermarks are removed.
Delete watermarks in headers and footers in Word
Some supposed watermarks are not watermarks at all, but rather headers or footers that extend over a larger area of the page. Here's how you can remove them:
- From the View menu, navigate to Header and Footer.
- You can now delete the text and graphics written in the headers and footers.