How to Remove ‘Draft’ Watermark from Word Documents: A Step-by-Step Guide

Have you ever found yourself stuck with a pesky ‘DRAFT’ watermark plastered across your Word document? This watermark, often automatically inserted during document creation or printing, can be distracting and unprofessional, especially when you need a clean final copy. Thankfully, removing it is a straightforward process. This guide provides detailed steps to help you banish that draft watermark and reclaim your pristine document.

Understanding Why the ‘Draft’ Watermark Appears

Before diving into the how-to, it’s helpful to understand why the ‘Draft’ watermark is there in the first place. Typically, it’s added automatically by Microsoft Word in these situations:

• When you set the document properties to ‘Draft’ mode. This is common during the initial stages of writing or reviewing.
• When printing and a ‘Draft’ quality setting is selected. This setting might automatically add the watermark on printed pages.

Method 1: Removing a Watermark from the Design Tab

This is the most common and straightforward method to remove a watermark applied via the Design tab:

1. Open Your Word Document: Launch Microsoft Word and open the document containing the watermark you want to remove.
2. Navigate to the Design Tab: Locate the ‘Design’ tab on the Word ribbon at the top of the screen. It’s usually located after the ‘Layout’ tab.
3. Click on ‘Watermark’: Within the ‘Page Background’ group, you’ll find the ‘Watermark’ option. Click on this.
4. Choose ‘Remove Watermark’: A drop-down menu will appear. Select the option that says ‘Remove Watermark’. The draft watermark should now disappear from your document.

Method 2: Removing a Watermark Applied as a Header or Footer

Sometimes, the watermark is placed within the header or footer section of a Word document. Here’s how to remove it in that case:

1. Open Your Word Document: Open the document containing the ‘Draft’ watermark.
2. Double-Click on the Header or Footer: Double-click anywhere within the top margin (header area) or bottom margin (footer area) of your document. This will activate the header/footer editing mode.
3. Select the Watermark: Click directly on the ‘Draft’ watermark text. You might need to click multiple times to select it specifically.
4. Delete the Watermark: Once selected, press the ‘Delete’ key on your keyboard. The watermark will vanish.
5. Close Header/Footer Mode: Double-click anywhere in the main body of your document to exit header/footer editing mode.

Method 3: Removing a Custom-Created Watermark

If you or someone else added a custom watermark (text or image), you’ll follow a similar process as Method 1, but it may involve more selection steps.

1. Open Your Word Document: As always, open the file in question.
2. Navigate to the Design Tab: Go to the ‘Design’ tab.
3. Click on ‘Watermark’: Click the ‘Watermark’ button as before.
4. Select Custom Watermark: Choose the ‘Custom Watermark…’ option.
5. No watermark: In the ‘Printed Watermark’ dialog box select the option ‘No watermark’. Then Click ‘OK’.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Watermark Persists: If the watermark remains after following these steps, check if it’s in the header or footer (Method 2). Also try toggling print layout view to see if this helps.
• Multiple Watermarks: Sometimes, you might accidentally have overlapping watermarks. Ensure you’ve removed all instances by thoroughly checking each section.
• Watermark in an Image: If the watermark appears to be embedded in an image, you’ll need to edit the original image file to remove it, not within Word itself.

Conclusion

Removing the ‘Draft’ watermark from your Word documents is a simple process once you understand the methods involved. Whether it’s a standard watermark from the Design tab or a more elusive header/footer insertion, this guide equips you with the necessary steps to ensure your documents are clean, professional, and free of unwanted text. Now you can confidently finalize your work and share polished documents without distraction.