Watermarks in Word Documents

• May 07, 2021
• 3 minutes to read

A watermark is a faded background image or text displayed behind document content. Word Processing Document API allows you to create and remove watermarks in DOCX, DOC, and RTF documents. You can also print and export documents with watermarks to PDF.

Run Demo: Word (RTF) Watermarks

Create a Watermark

A watermark is located in the section header. If the document does not contain headers, you cannot add a watermark. Refer to the following article for an example on how to create headers: Headers and Footers.

If the document has multiple sections, the WatermarkManager adds the same watermark to each section and to each available header type (first, primary, odd, or even).

The WatermarkManager.Type property indicates whether the document has watermarks. The property returns WatermarkType.None if the document does not contain watermarks.

Example: Create a Text Watermark

The code sample below adds a text watermark:

C#

using (RichEditDocumentServer wordProcessor = new RichEditDocumentServer())
{
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("DocumentProtection.docx");

    // Check whether the document sections have headers:
    foreach (Section section in wordProcessor.Document.Sections)
    {
        if (!section.HasHeader(HeaderFooterType.Primary))
        {
            // If not, create an empty header
            SubDocument header = section.BeginUpdateHeader();
            section.EndUpdateHeader(header);
        }
    }

    TextWatermarkOptions textWatermarkOptions = new TextWatermarkOptions();
    textWatermarkOptions.Color = System.Drawing.Color.LightGray;
    textWatermarkOptions.FontFamily = "Calibri";
    textWatermarkOptions.Layout = WatermarkLayout.Diagonal;
    textWatermarkOptions.Semitransparent = true;

    wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager.SetText("CONFIDENTIAL", textWatermarkOptions);
    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("DocumentProtection_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml);
}

VB.NET

Using wordProcessor As New RichEditDocumentServer()
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("DocumentProtection.docx")

    ' Check whether the document sections have headers:
    For Each section As Section In wordProcessor.Document.Sections
        If Not section.HasHeader(HeaderFooterType.Primary) Then
            ' If not, create an empty header
            Dim header As SubDocument = section.BeginUpdateHeader()
            section.EndUpdateHeader(header)
        End If
    Next section

    Dim textWatermarkOptions As New TextWatermarkOptions()
    textWatermarkOptions.Color = System.Drawing.Color.LightGray
    textWatermarkOptions.FontFamily = "Calibri"
    textWatermarkOptions.Layout = WatermarkLayout.Diagonal
    textWatermarkOptions.Semitransparent = True

    wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager.SetText("CONFIDENTIAL", textWatermarkOptions)
    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("DocumentProtection_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
End Using

Example: Create an Image Watermark

The code sample below adds an image watermark:

C#

using (RichEditDocumentServer wordProcessor = new RichEditDocumentServer())
{
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("DocumentProtection.docx");

    // Check whether the document sections have headers:
    foreach (Section section in wordProcessor.Document.Sections)
    {
        if (!section.HasHeader(HeaderFooterType.Primary))
        {
            // If not, create an empty header
            SubDocument header = section.BeginUpdateHeader();
            section.EndUpdateHeader(header);
        }
    }

    ImageWatermarkOptions imageWatermarkOptions = new ImageWatermarkOptions();
    imageWatermarkOptions.Washout = false;
    imageWatermarkOptions.Scale = 1.5;
    wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager.SetImage(Image.FromFile("DevExpress.png"), imageWatermarkOptions);
    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("DocumentProtection_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml);
}

VB.NET

Using wordProcessor As New RichEditDocumentServer()
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("DocumentProtection.docx")

    ' Check whether the document sections have headers:
    For Each section As Section In wordProcessor.Document.Sections
        If Not section.HasHeader(HeaderFooterType.Primary) Then
            ' If not, create an empty header
            Dim header As SubDocument = section.BeginUpdateHeader()
            section.EndUpdateHeader(header)
        End If
    Next section

    Dim imageWatermarkOptions As New ImageWatermarkOptions()
    imageWatermarkOptions.Washout = False
    imageWatermarkOptions.Scale = 1.5
    wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager.SetImage(Image.FromFile("DevExpress.png"), imageWatermarkOptions)
    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("DocumentProtection_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
End Using

Remove the Watermark

The code sample below checks the watermark type and removes it:

C#

using (RichEditDocumentServer wordProcessor = new RichEditDocumentServer())
{
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("FirstLook.docx");
    WatermarkManager watermarkManager = 
        wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager;
    if (watermarkManager.Type == WatermarkType.Image)
    {
         watermarkManager.Remove();
    }

    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("FirstLook_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml);
}

VB.NET

Using wordProcessor As New RichEditDocumentServer()
    wordProcessor.LoadDocument("FirstLook.docx")
    Dim watermarkManager As WatermarkManager = wordProcessor.Document.WatermarkManager
    If watermarkManager.Type = WatermarkType.Image Then
        watermarkManager.Remove()
    End If

    wordProcessor.SaveDocument("FirstLook_new.docx", DocumentFormat.OpenXml)
End Using

Limitations

The following features are not available:

• Edit an existing watermark. Recreate the watermark with new parameters to change it.

• Add different watermarks to document sections. Insert regular shapes (TextBox or Image) in the headers of the separate sections. Refer to the following example:

  View Example: How to add a watermark with a text or image to the document