Formatting Issues

How to Remove White Background Behind Text in Word Table Cells

Camila Milosovich Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to remove an unwanted white box or background that appears directly behind text when placed inside a colored table cell in Microsoft Word.

How to Remove White Background Behind Text in a Colored Word Table Cell

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Formatting text inside a shaded or colored table cell to ensure the background remains uniform.
Observed behavior: The text retains a white background or highlight that overrides the colored background of the table cell.

Before you start

Before starting, click inside the affected table cell and press Ctrl+Space to clear any direct manual formatting. If the white background persists, it is likely caused by text highlighting or character-level shading.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove Text Highlight Color

The most common cause of a white background behind text is the Text Highlight tool. Setting it to 'No Color' usually resolves the issue quickly.

Text highlighting acts like a digital marker pen over your text. Unlike paragraph or cell backgrounds, highlighting sticks to the characters themselves and will override the table cell's shading color.

Select the affected text

Click and drag your cursor over the text inside the colored table cell that has the unwanted white background.

Locate the Text Highlight tool

Navigate to the 'Home' tab on the Microsoft Word ribbon. Look for the 'Text Highlight Color' icon (usually represented by an 'ab' with a marker pen) in the Font group.

Set to No Color

Click the drop-down arrow immediately next to the highlight icon and select 'No Color' from the menu. The white background should disappear.

Solution 2

Clear Character-Level Text Shading

If removing the highlight does not work, the text might have specific shading applied to the characters through the Borders and Shading menu.

Solution 3

Clear All Formatting

If multiple formatting layers are causing the white background, clearing all formatting resets the text to its default style, stripping away any hidden backgrounds.

Advanced Word Processing

Fix Table Formatting Issues Easily with WPS Office

WPS Writer provides an intuitive and highly visual interface for managing table formatting, cell shading, and text highlights, making it incredibly easy to create clean, professional documents without wrestling with hidden formatting layers.

1. Open your document: Launch WPS Writer and open your document. Select the text inside the table cell that has the white background.
2. Remove highlight: Go to the 'Home' tab, click the 'Text Highlight Color' drop-down in the font settings, and choose 'No Color'.
3. Remove shading: If the background persists, click the 'Shading' icon in the Paragraph section, and set it to 'No Color' to clear character-level shading.

Easily identify and remove unwanted text backgrounds and shading in table cells.Fully compatible with Microsoft Word document formats (.doc, .docx) to ensure your layouts stay intact.Intuitive ribbon interface for quick access to borders, shading, and formatting tools.Free and lightweight alternative to Microsoft Office for everyday document tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my text have a white background when pasted into a table?

When pasting text from a web page, PDF, or another document, it often carries over its original formatting, which can include hidden character backgrounds or HTML shading. To prevent this, right-click and paste the text using the 'Keep Text Only' option.

What is the difference between text highlighting and text shading in Word?

Text highlighting applies a fluorescent marker effect directly over the text characters, while text shading applies a solid background color. Shading can be applied to either the selected characters or the entire paragraph block, whereas highlighting is strictly character-based.

Can I change the table cell color without affecting the text formatting?

Yes. You can change the cell background by clicking inside the cell, navigating to the Table Design tab, and choosing a color from the Shading menu. As long as the text itself has no specific highlight or character shading applied, it will seamlessly blend with the new cell background color.

How do I remove a white background from an image placed in a Word table?

If you are dealing with an image rather than text, select the image, go to the Picture Format tab, and use the 'Remove Background' tool. Alternatively, you can click 'Color' and choose 'Set Transparent Color', then click on the white area of the image to make it transparent.

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