Formatting Issues

Fix Missing Font and Cell Shading Colors in Word and Excel

Olivia Miller Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user is unable to see applied font colors and cell shading while editing documents or spreadsheets, despite the document printing with the correct formatting.

How to Fix Missing Font and Cell Shading Colors in Office

Product: Microsoft Office
Device & OS: Windows
Scenario: Applying text and cell formatting during document or spreadsheet editing.
Observed behavior: Selected font colors and cell shading appear completely invisible on the screen while working, but they show up perfectly when the document is printed.

Before you start

Verify that your monitor color profile is functioning correctly and check if the missing colors issue occurs across all documents or is limited to just one specific file.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Windows High Contrast Mode

High Contrast themes in Windows are designed for accessibility but can override application colors, making document backgrounds and text appear uniformly dark or light on screen.

When High Contrast mode is active, Windows forces applications to ignore manually applied formatting colors to improve text readability. This affects on-screen display only, which is why your documents still print with their original colors.

Open Windows Settings

Press the Windows Key + I on your keyboard to open the main Windows Settings menu.

Navigate to Accessibility

Click on 'Accessibility' (or 'Ease of Access' in older Windows versions) from the settings menu.

Turn Off High Contrast

Select 'Contrast themes' or 'High contrast' from the sidebar, and toggle the switch to 'Off' or select 'None' from the theme dropdown.

Restart Office Applications

Close and reopen Word or Excel to refresh the display rendering and confirm your colors are visible again.

Display Restored: Once disabled, your screen rendering should exactly match your print output.

Solution 2

Enable Live Preview in Office Settings

Live Preview allows you to see how a color or style will look on your text or cells before you actually click to apply it.

Solution 3

Use Ribbon Tools Instead of Dialog Boxes

Bypass legacy dialog boxes that do not support modern on-canvas color previewing.

Seamless Formatting Solutions

Accurately Apply and Preview Colors with WPS Office

If you are frustrated by complex Windows display overrides and hidden settings affecting your document rendering, WPS Office provides a streamlined WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing experience. You can easily view and manage your font colors and cell shading in a familiar interface.

1. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Writer or WPS Spreadsheets and open your existing file.
2. Highlight Your Content: Use your mouse to select the text or cells that need color adjustments.
3. Use the Home Ribbon: Navigate to the 'Home' tab to access straightforward formatting tools without relying on hidden dialog boxes.
4. Apply Color Formatting: Click the 'Text Color' or 'Fill Color' icons to select a hue from the palette. WPS Office renders the color changes instantly on your screen.

Real-time, accurate formatting previews ensure your screen matches your final printed document perfectly.100% compatibility with Microsoft Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx) formats, keeping all original colors intact.Intuitive Ribbon design that simplifies applying font colors, highlights, and spreadsheet cell shading.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my document colors print perfectly but look invisible on my monitor?

This is almost always caused by a Windows accessibility feature known as High Contrast mode. It intentionally overrides document formatting on your screen with a uniform, high-visibility color scheme (often black or white backgrounds) to assist users with vision impairments, but it does not affect how the printer interprets the actual file data.

Does the Font settings dialog box show color previews on the document?

No, the classic Font dialog box typically only shows a small preview within the dialog window itself. To see colors render directly onto your document canvas in real time, you should use the formatting dropdown menus located on the main Home ribbon.

How do I know if Live Preview is turned off in my settings?

If you hover your mouse cursor over different font styles, sizes, or colors in the ribbon menus and your selected text does not temporarily change to reflect that style, Live Preview is disabled. You can reactivate it by navigating to File > Options > General.

Document & File Issues