Background Shading for Text Boxes

Rectangles filled with color or grayscale shading can be placed behind text boxes. You can create effective titles for your form sections, table headers, or just simply add background to text boxes that need to stand out. Below is an example of grayscale shading applied behind a section heading:

Note:

Although you can use any color you want for your background, keep in mind that if your form is printed to a grayscale printer, colors that display well on screen may be close to the same shade as your text when grayscaled. In general, it is best to stick to lighter background colors to ensure that your text shows up. Be sure to test print.

To place background shading behind text

1. Draw a rectangle that is a little larger than your text box.

2. Select Solid or Grayed as the fill style. Then select your background color:

3. If you want a border as well as a background color, select the line color and thickness you want for your border. Otherwise, select Transparent as the line style.

4. Position the rectangle behind the text box. For exact centering and align­ment, use the align­ment buttons on the tool bar:

5. Adjust the size and position of the rectangle to get the effect you want.