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Word not recognizing there is a watermark.

Jeremy Brydges 20 Reputation points
2026-01-26T22:47:47.5233333+00:00

On Jan 16, 2026 I updated the watermark on a Word document. On Jan 26, 2026 I cannot edit, or remove that same watermark. I am on a MAC. I see there was a Word update installed today (Jan 26, 2026) to version 16.105.1
It's not in the Header.
There is no dropdown for "Watermark".

Its as if Word is not recognizing the watermark is there.

Please Help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS
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Answer accepted by question author

Stefan Blom 341.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-01-27T00:43:49.1733333+00:00

Thanks for the link. Currently, I am working in an old installation, Word 2019 running under Windows, but the principles remain the same.

Double-clicking the header area activates the header/footer view. If you display nonprinting marks (click to activate the ¶ icon on the Home tab) you will see that the watermark is anchored to the page header. You can click to select the object.

In Word 2019, the selected watermark has a dotted selection border (or actually with tiny squares); you may see something slightly different in your version of Word for Mac. After it has been selected, you can Cut the object to remove it.

Note that since the document has multiple unlinked headers, you have to repeat the procedure, once per header type (three time should do the trick).

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  1. Founder 0 Reputation points
    2026-04-22T20:18:53.7133333+00:00

    I'm having the same issue. I add a watermark under the Design function, then select No Watermark to remove it. The watermark may have left some pages but other pages and sections in the same document will now have the watermark attached to the Header/Footer. And it's VERY DIFFICULT to remove with the double click function. It's taking minutes to get the double click right in order to get rid of the watermark and this is required in every section of a document. Uncertain why the Watermark function is working like this now.

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  2. Stefan Blom 341.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-01-26T22:59:14.3933333+00:00

    Is the watermark repeating on multiple pages? In that case, it is likely anchored to a header paragraph (or possibly to a footer paragraph).

    If you activate the header/footer area, then can you select and delete the watermark?

    If you can't get it sorted, consider sharing the document, or a representative sample, with the forum, so that we can have a closer look.

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