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Watermark does not appear on every page even though I added it.

Anonymous
2011-05-16T15:52:22+00:00

Watermark does not appear on every page even though I added it. Once I save the document, watermark disappears from section 1 and first page of section 2. Any ideas why?

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  1. Stefan Blom 338.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-05-16T18:05:00+00:00

    A watermark is nothing more than an object anchored to a header. Based on your description, I'm guessing you have the "Different first page" option selected, which means the first page header (and footer) is separate from the other headers (footers). You can do the following: On a page where you do see the watermark, double-click the header to activate header/footer view. Press Ctrl+A to select everything in the header. If no text has been added, that will select the empty paragraph to which the object is anchored. Copy and paste into a first page header. You should now see the watermark on all pages.

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-05-17T12:06:12+00:00

    You can have a watermark on the cover page if you want it; you just have to paste it into the header of that page. And you can delete the extra paragraph mark in the header, which Word infuriatingly insists on adding no matter how carefully you copy content without the paragraph mark and paste into the existing paragraph.

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  2. Charles Kenyon 166.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2013-12-21T04:03:12+00:00

    What about watermark on main page rather than headers/footers, such as DRAFT / CONFIDENTIAL? I found it only works in ONE Section-breaks, not the whole document. Specially where I oritente from portrait to landscape, vice versa.

     

    Thanks!

    A Watermark - inserted by Word as a Watermark, will always be in the header even though appearing in the body of the document. Headers and footers are Section parts.

    If a header in a subsequent section is not "linked" to previous, it will not get the Watermark. Changing a page from portrait to landscape or back will add one or more Section breaks. Often the headers and footers in a landscape page are not linked to the headers and footers in the portrait section.

    You can also put a Watermark manually onto a single page by cutting it from the header/footer and pasting it on the page behind text. (It is a text box or a picture.)

    Remember, each Section has three headers and three footers, even if they are not displayed. The link to previous tagging can be separate for headers and footers in each section.

    Watermarks in Ribbon Versions of Word

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-05-17T11:59:24+00:00

    That did work. I do have different first page so because of that I'm assuming I can't have a watermark on the cover page. I noticed this adds an extra paragraph mark into the header but I guess I can live with that. Thanks for the help.

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  4. Charles Kenyon 166.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2017-07-13T12:04:03+00:00

    I've tried this - it doesn't work. When I add the watermark to the header on the title page, I get the watermark on the title page. When I add it to the next header, it appears on that page, but disappears from the title page. If I then add it to my landscaped pages in the next section, it disappears from the previous section. Other than screaming at my computer screen, is there a work-around?

    Instead of using the Watermark command button, treat the watermark as an image. Put that image in the headers where you want it to appear. Word's Watermark feature is the best they can do, but it is flawed and not intuitive if there are multiple headers/sections.

    Watermarks in Ribbon Versions of Word

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