When I create or view a document in Windows 2013, I find that the layout is hard for me to read. The foreground document is pure white (FFFFFF) but the screen background color is a very very pale gray (F4F4F4). I almost can't distinguish between these colors.

Is there any way for me to change the background to a darker gray, or some other darker color, similar to that feature in Adobe Illustrator CS6?

I'm switching from Word 7 to 2013; I'm also switching from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1. So I may be asking some very basic questions.

These kinds of setting should be controlled through the window display options in the Windows Control Panel. Under:
Control Panel>Appearance and Personalization>Personalization>Window Color and Appearance>Advanced settings
you can change the 'Window' colour (and others) to something more to your liking and this will apply to all programs.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Thanks, Paul. But that's not the window I'm trying to change. This is the background panel within the Word 2013 program itself. Up top is the ribbon, down the left side is Navigation, then there's the "background" in the palest of grays, and then there's the document itself, which is bright white.

Presumably, you'll need to change the 'Application Background' colour. Do note that these settings only apply when you're using a Windows Basic theme (not Aero) or an 'Ease of Access' theme.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Thanks, Paul -- but what I see under Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization is "Change the visual and sounds on your computer" which allows me to deal with themes, either my own or Dells. I do see a Display option, but it deals with screen size and multiscreens and color calibration.

I don't see any "Window Color and Appearance>Advanced settings", and, sadly, I don't see any 'Application Background' colour. Application Background color sounds exactly what I'm looking for, but didn't know what to call it.

I think we might be having version differences -- different versions of Windows, I mean, not different versions of Word.

I'm running Windows 8.1, and in my struggles to learn it, I've found many cases where the W8.1 people have removed some useful function from the users control, and have done something invisibly hidden away from the user's view.

I don't have Windows 8 to test with, but I'm surprised the function isn't in the same place as on Windows 7.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

I've been looking for a machine with Windows 7, but no luck so far; I'll keep looking. Meanwhile, here's what I see:

I haven't tried yet posting a screen shot here, so I hope it works. At the bottom of the screen is a square called "color" but this refers to the color of the task bar.

I also tried changing my desktop them to one of the Windows basic themes rather than mine, but nothing new happened.

Well, that didn't work ...

It does indeed seem that Microsoft has removed this feature from Windows 8! See: http://www.pallareviews.com/1109/adv...ndows-8-and-7/ and http://www.eightforums.com/customiza...ackground.html for possible workarounds.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Sigh. But thank you so much for your help, Paul. I will check out those links.

Lyell

Paul, I have found a workaround I can sort of live with, but it is for Word only, not the apps. In the Word Design tab, I can set the document page itself to a different color. Useful for drafts, any way.

Regards, Lyell