How to Change Background Color on Google Docs
Give your report a little pizzazz
Google Docs provides several options for background customization. You can spice up the background by charging its color orinserting a text watermark & background image.
By default, texts sit on a white background in Google Docs. However, you can customize the color if you have access to edit the document. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to change the background color of Google Docs documents.
Change Google Docs Background Color On a Web Browser
You can change the background color of a Google document in all web browsers compatible with Google Docs.Google recommendsthe latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. Other web browsers may or may not work correctly.
Open an existing or new document in Google Docs on your preferred web browser and follow these steps.
That will bring up the Page setup menu on your screen. The “Page setup” pop-up box has several customization options for adjusting a page’s appearance and overall graphical interface. You can use the tool tochange a page’s orientation, edit background colors,modify the Google Doc’s margin & page layout, etc.
It’s currently not possible to change the background color of a single page or for separate pages to have different background colors. So, all pages in the entire document will have a new background color.
Note that setting a new default background color will not change pre-existing documents. You’ll have to repeat these steps to change the background color on older documents.
One more thing: The new background color isn’t limited to the Google Docs editor. The document maintains the new background color when printed or saved as a Microsoft Word document, PDF,EPUB, and HTML text file.
Change Google Docs Background Color On Mobile
You can also change the background color of your documents on the Google Docs mobile app. Open Google Docs on your Android or iOS device and follow the simple steps below.
On Android, tap theEdit (pencil) iconfirst to put the document in edit mode. Afterward, tap themenu icon, selectPage setup, selectPage color, and choose your preferred background color.
On the Google Docs mobile app, you cannot customize background colors using Hex color codes. The Google Docs app currently has 11 preset background colors to choose from, with each color having eight different shades.
Google Docs Background Not Changing? 5 Fixes to Try
Do you have issues assigning a custom color to a document’s background in Google Docs? These troubleshooting fixes should help resolve the problem.
You can’t change a document’s background color in “view-only” mode. If you don’t find the “Page setup” option in the File tab, switch to “Editing” Mode and check again.
Open the document in your browser, selectViewon the toolbar, selectMode, and selectEditing.
Wait for some seconds or reload the document and check if “Page setup” is now available in the File menu.
As mentioned in the intro, you can only change the background color of documents you have access to edit. If you can only view a document, request edit permission and proceed to change the background color.
Open the document on a web browser and select theRequest edit accessbutton in the top-right corner.
Google Docs or some of its features may not work correctly if your browser doesn’t meet theeditor’s requirements. Google Docs works flawlessly on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox Safari (Mac only), and Microsoft Edge (Windows only). For the best experience, we recommend accessing Google Docs on Google Chrome.
If you’re using a compatible browser but still can’t change background color in Google Docs, refresh the page (pressF5) and try again. Update your browser to the latest version if the problem persists.
Enablingcookies and JavaScript in your web browseris another important requirement for using Google Docs and other Google services.
In Chrome, pastechrome://settings/content/javascriptin the address bar, pressEnter/Return, and ensureSites can use Javascript.
Next, pastechrome://settings/cookiesin the address bar, and selectAllow all cookies.
Using Google Docs in dark modeaffects the background color of your documents. Did you change the background color of a document, but it doesn’t come as intended? Viewing the document in “light theme” or disabling system-wide dark mode on your device might fix the problem.
To disable dark mode in iPhone or iPad, go toSettings>Display & Brightnessand selectLightin the appearance section.
On Android devices, go toSettings>Displayand turn offDark theme.
Disable “Battery Saver” if the Dark theme option is grayed out. Head toSettings>Battery>Battery Saverand tapTurn Off Now.
Now, return to the display settings menu and disable “Dark theme.” Note that disabling the system-wide Dark theme will deactivate Dark Mode across all supported apps. You can view the document in light theme if you don’t want to disable system-wide dark mode.
Open the document in the Google Docs app, tap thethree-dot menu icon, and tapView in light theme.
If you still can’t change a document’s background color, ensure you’re using the latest version of the Google Docs app. Open the Google Docs page on thePlay Store (for Android)orApp Store (for iOS), and tap theUpdatebutton.
Updating your phone’s operating system might also fix Google Docs issues. Visit theGoogle Docs Editor Help Centerfor more troubleshooting tricks and solutions.
Sodiq has written thousands of tutorials, guides, and explainers over the past 4 years to help people solve problems with Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows devices. He also enjoys reviewing consumer tech products (smartphones, smart home devices, accessories, etc.) and binge-watching comedy series in his spare time.Read Sodiq’s Full Bio
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