Support Your Tech

Instructions and tutorials to help you get the most from your applications and devices

You are here: Home / Google / Docs / How to Change Background Color in Google Docs

How to Change Background Color in Google Docs

By

Use these steps to change the background color of a document in Google Docs.

  1. Sign into Google Drive and open the document.

    Go to https://drive.google.com to view Google Drives files.
    sign into Google Drive and open your document

  2. Select the “File” tab at the top left of the window.

    click the File tab

  3. Choose the “Page setup” option at the bottom of the menu.

    click on Page setup

  4. Click the “Page color” button, then choose the desired background color.

    how to change background color in Google Docs

  5. Click the “OK” button to apply the background color to the document.

    click the OK button

The steps above were performed on a Windows 10 laptop using the Google Chrome Web browser. These steps will also work in other desktop or laptop Web browsers like Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

You will note that there is a Set as default button on the Page setup menu. If you make any changes to the settings on that menu, then click the Set as default button, all future new documents will include those settings. It won’t affect existing documents.

After changing the background color in Google Docs it is entirely likely that the text on the page will be difficult to read. You can change the font color for the entire document by clicking inside the document, pressing Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select everything, then clicking the Text color button in the toolbar and choosing a new font color.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get rid of background color in Google Docs?

You can remove the background color in Google Docs the same way you add one. Go to File > Page setup > Page color and select the white option at the top-right of the color picker.

How do you make the page a different color in Google Docs?

The page color in Google Docs is something that can be adjusted at any time. You can always go to the Page setup menu and select one of the available options, or click the Custom button and choose from additional colors.

How do you change the background color?

The background color and the Page color are the same thing in Google Docs. By changing the Page color on the File > Page setup > Page color screen you are changing the color of the background on each of the pages in your document.

How do I change my background to black?

You can change the background color to black in Google Docs if it’s something that you need for your page design. The black background setting is found at File > Page setup > Page color and the black option is at the top-left of the listed colors.

Will Google Docs print my document with the background color?

Yes. Unlike Microsoft Word, Google Docs prints documents with the background color if one is set.

See also