Computer Tips From A Computer Guy

How to Use Word 2010 Remove Background Tool

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 03:51 AM PST

One of the lesser known new features that Microsoft added to Word in its 2010 release is something called the Remove Background Tool. In short, it's a photo editing tool that replicates one of the features of high end applications such as Photoshop.

The Remove Background Tool does just what its name implies; it removes some or all of the background from images; something you might find comes in handy when placing photographs into Word documents.

To use the Remove Background tool, first go get yourself an image to work with, preferably one that you own the rights to, or get from a site that publishes photos in the public domain, such as stock.xchng.

Next, pull the image into Word by first clicking on the Insert option on the main Ribbon, then by clicking on the Picture icon, and then using the file manager to locate and retrieve your image. Below is a test example.

Next, if the Picture Tools menu is not showing, click once on your photograph to bring it up. It should look like this:

Notice on the far left side of the Picture Tools menu bar where it says Remove Background:

With the image still highlighted, click on the Remove Background icon, it should cause something like this:

Some of the background has changed color and a box was drawn, hopefully, around the main image in the picture.

At this point, you can accept what Word has automatically done for you by clicking on the Keep Changes icon,:

The result should look something like this:

If on the other hand, you find that the box that was drawn didn't quite cover the area you were hoping for you can change its size by grabbing the handles on the sides and corners and dragging them to where you want them to be; then if you are happy with what you've got, click the Keep Changes icon.

Or if you're still not happy with what Word has done to identify the part of the background you wish to have removed, you can use the Mark Areas to Keep or Mark Ares to Remove icons.

The Mark Areas to Keep icon allows you to draw straight lines using your mouse that will undue some of the background removal that was done automatically by Word. To see how it works, click on the Mark Areas to Keep icon, then move your mouse over the image.

Then click and hold down the left mouse button while moving to another place over the image; a dashed line should appear showing you the line that is being drawn. Then, let go of the mouse button. You should see something like this:

In the example, the red color came from the original background that was removed automatically; it was restored by using the Mark Areas to Keep icon.

To see how the Mark Areas to Remove icon works, once again click on it, than move your mouse to a place over the image, then once again hold the mouse button down as you draw a dashed line from one point in the picture to another. When you let go of the mouse button, you should get something that looks like this:

The addition of more purple means more of the image was removed.

After clicking Keep Changes, it looks like this:

Clearly adding and removing parts of your image using these two icons is an inexact science to say the least. The best approach is to use trial and error as you gradually come to see how the two icons "think."

Also, you can draw multiple lines; adding and removing till you think you have what you want; and along the way, you can use the Delete Mark icon to get rid of any of the lines you've drawn.

Just hit the Delete Mark icon and then double click on any line you don't like and it will disappear.

Or get rid of all the lines at once by clicking on the Discard All Changes icon:

When you're happy with your work, click the Keep Changes icon to save what you've done.

Finally, remember that the finished product is still an image, and therefore all of the other new photo editing features in Word 2010 can be used once you've removed the background, which means you might wind up with something that look like this:

Microsoft has clearly taken some giant steps with the addition of features such as the Remove Background tool, and now users who take advantage of them can make truly professional looking documents without having to resort to other applications for touching up photographs and other graphics.