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Add shading, color, or graphic fills
 

Do one of the following:

ShowAdd shading to text or a table

  1. Select the text or table (table: One or more rows of cells commonly used to display numbers and other items for quick reference and analysis. Items in a table are organized into rows and columns.) that you want to add shading to.

    If you want to shade specific table cells (cell: A box formed by the intersection of a row and column in a worksheet or a table, in which you enter information.), select the cells, including the end-of-cell mark.

    Select cells and end-of-cell mark

  2. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading, and then click the Shading tab.
  3. Select the options you want.

ShowTip

If you are adding shading to a complicated table or several parts of your document, you may want to use the Tables and Borders toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.).

ShowFill a drawing object with a color or decorative effect

  1. Select the AutoShape (AutoShapes: A group of ready-made shapes that includes basic shapes, such as rectangles and circles, plus a variety of lines and connectors, block arrows, flowchart symbols, stars and banners, and callouts.), text box (text box: A movable, resizable container for text or graphics. Use text boxes to position several blocks of text on a page or to give text a different orientation from other text in the document.), drawing canvas (drawing canvas: An area on which you can draw multiple shapes. Because the shapes are contained within the drawing canvas, they can be moved and resized as a unit.), or WordArt (WordArt: Text objects you create with ready-made effects to which you can apply additional formatting options.) you want to fill.
  2. On the Drawing toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), click the arrow next to Fill Color Button image.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • To apply a solid color, click the color you want, or click More Fill Colors for more choices.
    • To apply a decorative fill, click Fill Effects, and then click the Gradient, Texture, Pattern, or Picture tab. Select the options that you want.
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