How to Add / Insert a Watermark in Excel

This tutorial demonstrates how to add a watermark in Excel.

 

 

Add Image As Watermark

There are several ways to secure your spreadsheets in digital form, but when it comes to printing them on paper, the best way to mark and control them is to add a watermark. In Excel, there is no built-in watermark feature, but you can use a workaround and insert it as a picture.

1. First, in the Ribbon, go to the View tab and select Page Layout.

 

 

2. Click within any of the three boxes in the header where you want to place your watermark (here, the second one, because the chosen placement of the watermark is in the center of the spreadsheet).
Then, in the Ribbon, go to the Design tab and choose Picture.

 

 

3. The Insert Pictures window will open. In it choose the location of the image file (in this example From a file) and click on it.

 

 

4. Now select the image you want, and click Insert.

 

 

5. As a result, the picture is added to the selected header box.

 

 

6. To make the right placement of the picture on the spreadsheet, manually adjust it by pressing Enter to lower the position of the picture. To be able to see a picture on the spreadsheet just click any cell in the worksheet.

 

 

Modify Picture Inserted As Watermark

To make your picture look more like a watermark, you can easily edit it.

1. If the picture is too big or too small for the spreadsheet you can easily resize it to fit. In the Ribbon, go to Design and click on Format Picture.

 

 

2. After that, the Format Picture window will open. Click on Size and in the Size and rotate section choose the wanted measurements.

 

 

3. In the same Format Picture window you can adjust the transparency of the picture. To do that (1) click on the Picture, under the Image control section, (2) click on the box next to the Color, and from the drop-down menu (3) choose Washout. When done, (4) press OK.

 

 

As a result, the picture is added as a watermark in Excel.

 

 

Add Watermark Using WordArt in Excel

Another way to add a watermark to your spreadsheet is to insert a WordArt object, but you can only use this option for text-based watermarks. To add it just follow these steps:

1. First, in the Ribbon, go to Insert and click on WordArt.

 

 

2. After that, the text box will appear on your spreadsheet. Just enter your text in it.

 

 

To format your text and make it look like a watermark, in the Ribbon go to Format, and in the WordArt Styles group click on the Format Text Effects: Text Box icon (pointed down arrow in the bottom right corner).

 

 

After that, the Format Text Effect task pane will appear on the right side of the workbook. To make watermark text more transparent click on the Text Options, then click on the Text fill and outline icon, and under the color section set the Transparency on wanted percent.

 

 

To change the dimensions of the text box, in the Ribbon go to Format, and in Size group click on the Size and properties icon (pointed down arrow in the bottom right corner).

 

 

If you need your text box to be with precise dimensions, in the Format Text Effect task pane click on Shape Options, then click on the Size and Properties icon, and under Size section enter correct dimensions for your spreadsheet.

 

 

You can also resize your text box directly in a spreadsheet by using the resize handle.

 

 

To make watermark text larger, select it and right-click it, and in the Font size box enter the wanted value.

 

 

To change the text orientation, the easiest way to do that is by using the rotation handle.

 

 

As a result of previous steps, the watermark is added to the spreadsheet with the wanted size, transparency, and orientation.