I recently downloaded and installed Office 2011 and I was wondering if anybody knew of a way to change the background color from grey to anything you want. In 2008, there was a file in the Contents-->Resources folder called "Page Layout View Background Rest" that you could replace with any image and the background would change (by 'background', I mean the actual grey color on each side of the word document, not the background of the document itself). Below is my Word 2008 appearance, which I would very much like to replicate for 2011.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Change Background Color Word 2011
- Thread starter SHADO
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
In full screen mode you can change the black background. Don't think you can cutsomize it though... As far as the grey background in print layout mode I dont know how you can change that...
Just wondering if we ever got an answer to this question. I'm a writer and editor that just switched to Mac, and thus far I'm loving every second of it except for trying to read documents in Print Layout View in Office 2011. That gray is just hard as heck on the eyes. I want to switch it back to something like the cool blue of the Windows version.
I see there's a drop-down list to change the background in Full Screen (which, by the way is a huge improvement over the Windows version of Office I was using), and I see a place where it looks like you can manage add-ons and plugins for Word and Office, but I don't see anything that will let you change this color. Are there any plugins that will do it?
For reading and editing I use mostly Full Screen, but I also spend a lot of time manipulating layout and document components to see what formatting changes will look like on the page and that lifeless gray on an LED backlit screen with black and white text in front of it feels like scraping my eyes over razor blades.
I see there's a drop-down list to change the background in Full Screen (which, by the way is a huge improvement over the Windows version of Office I was using), and I see a place where it looks like you can manage add-ons and plugins for Word and Office, but I don't see anything that will let you change this color. Are there any plugins that will do it?
For reading and editing I use mostly Full Screen, but I also spend a lot of time manipulating layout and document components to see what formatting changes will look like on the page and that lifeless gray on an LED backlit screen with black and white text in front of it feels like scraping my eyes over razor blades.
Haha yea I feel you man. I haven't found out a way to change the grey yet, but you can change the white text area to blue via Preferences-->General. I think the option is "White text on blue background" or something like that. As for the plugins, where did you find that option? There may be a plugin that does this.
I checked it out and it's more for changing the style of the document rather than the application unfortunately. Changing the grey background is a matter of modifying files, it's just a matter of finding the right one in the Resources folder of Show Package Contents.
@Andrew K. :
Here is what you need to do to change the background in Word 2008:
Go to Microsoft Word.app
right click and choose "show package contents"
click "contents" and then "resources"
Now, the two relevant files are there: 1. Page Layout View Background Rest
2. Page Layout View Background Top
Change the contents of these files with images you choose. (if they do not work, pay attention to the pixel size of the original files and adjust your chosen images accordingly [using e.g. Preview]).
That's it for 2008.
----
But for Word 2011: I have tried a lot to find the relevant files to change the background, but to no avail. So, I second Shado's question... anyone?
Here is what you need to do to change the background in Word 2008:
Go to Microsoft Word.app
right click and choose "show package contents"
click "contents" and then "resources"
Now, the two relevant files are there: 1. Page Layout View Background Rest
2. Page Layout View Background Top
Change the contents of these files with images you choose. (if they do not work, pay attention to the pixel size of the original files and adjust your chosen images accordingly [using e.g. Preview]).
That's it for 2008.
----
But for Word 2011: I have tried a lot to find the relevant files to change the background, but to no avail. So, I second Shado's question... anyone?
Last edited:
Me again:
In case any one considers that: It seems you can do the same for Power Point (just choose the slide background png files in contents> resources) in both the 2008 and 2011 versions of PowerPoint.
--Still no progress in Word 2011 though.
(the relevant files might be in contents> resources again: in the file with the name: DocWindowImages.bin. But I could not find a way to open the .bin file so as to reach the images in there)
In case any one considers that: It seems you can do the same for Power Point (just choose the slide background png files in contents> resources) in both the 2008 and 2011 versions of PowerPoint.
--Still no progress in Word 2011 though.
(the relevant files might be in contents> resources again: in the file with the name: DocWindowImages.bin. But I could not find a way to open the .bin file so as to reach the images in there)
Replacing png with image?
Hi,
Can anyone help me by telling me how exactly to replace a png file with an image? I'm trying to change the grey background in Word 2008 for Mac. I've accessed the contents->resource files and then I drew a blank. I've tried renaming the image I want to use as Page Layout View Background Rest with png extensions and that leaves me with a blank white background. I can't really think of any other way to replace these with the desired image (and I clearly have no sort of programming or computer background!) Any help would be greatly appreciated, that grey is driving me crazy!
Hi,
Can anyone help me by telling me how exactly to replace a png file with an image? I'm trying to change the grey background in Word 2008 for Mac. I've accessed the contents->resource files and then I drew a blank. I've tried renaming the image I want to use as Page Layout View Background Rest with png extensions and that leaves me with a blank white background. I can't really think of any other way to replace these with the desired image (and I clearly have no sort of programming or computer background!) Any help would be greatly appreciated, that grey is driving me crazy!
I forgot about this thread...
moofe1, if you have not found the solution in the mean time, see above: it's there...
As for MW 2011, the solution is most probably changing the DocWindowImages.bin file under "Resources" in "Package Contents" for Word.
This can be modified with Hex editors. I tried to change some values without any knowledge of hex editing, and indeed noticed tiny changes on the page background... Now, someone skilled in hex editing can probably provide the solution easily...
(see the last post here as an example: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/112474-can-anyone-help-me-editing-setupldrbin-in-order-to-change-a-color/ )
moofe1, if you have not found the solution in the mean time, see above: it's there...
As for MW 2011, the solution is most probably changing the DocWindowImages.bin file under "Resources" in "Package Contents" for Word.
This can be modified with Hex editors. I tried to change some values without any knowledge of hex editing, and indeed noticed tiny changes on the page background... Now, someone skilled in hex editing can probably provide the solution easily...
(see the last post here as an example: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/112474-can-anyone-help-me-editing-setupldrbin-in-order-to-change-a-color/ )
Last edited:
This needs someone with "hex editing" skills...Background Color for Word 2011
The only place I know to change the background color is in the Layout Ribbon. s/b the second tab. Then background on the right, click the down arrow to choose and choose more colors (if you want a greater selection) from your color pallets.
I chose the color wheel. The magnifying glass allows you to choose what ever color that you have on your screen. I imagine the other pallets work similar.
The only place I know to change the background color is in the Layout Ribbon. s/b the second tab. Then background on the right, click the down arrow to choose and choose more colors (if you want a greater selection) from your color pallets.
I chose the color wheel. The magnifying glass allows you to choose what ever color that you have on your screen. I imagine the other pallets work similar.