Gradient Text in Microsoft Word 2010

A Gradient is a beautiful effect that combines 2 or more Colors together. This mini tutorial shows you how easy it is to apply a Gradient Fill to your Text in Microsoft Word 2010. 

Assuming you already have Text on your document, select it, then click on the Arrow on the Bottom Right side of the Font Group. 

This will open the Font Dialog Box. Select the Text Effects Button at the bottom of this window. 

This then opens the Format Text Effects Window.

In the Text Fill Tab select the Gradient Fill Button. You'll immediately notice a change to the options in this Tab. 

If you select the Preset Colors Icon, you can choose from 24 Preset Gradients.

Choosing any Gradient changes the Gradient Stop Colors. The Gradient represented here is Rainbow. I'll elaborate more on these Gradient Stops further down in this tutorial.

To apply this Gradient to the Text, click Close at the bottom of the Format Text Effects Window. Then click OK at the bottom of the Font Window.

Under the Preset Colors is an option for Gradient Type. The Gradient Type in the above example is Linear. 

The Type Box has options for Linear, Radial, Rectangular and Path. 

This is the Radial Type.

This is the Rectangular Type.

This is the Path Type.

There are many things that you can change to customize your Gradient. Let's change the Angle of the Rainbow Linear Gradient from 90 Degrees to 250 Degrees. Notice the difference.

It would be nice if there was a Preview of the Text as you made each change, but there isn't for this feature :( 

For 3 of the Gradient Types, there is also some Preset Directions below. So if you select a Linear Gradient Type, and then select Direction below, you will see 8 Linear Presets.

A Radial Gradient Type gives you 5 Radial Presets.

A Rectangular Gradient Type gives you 5 Rectangular Presets.

There is no Direction Presets for the Path Gradient Type.

Each Gradient Stop represents a Color on the Gradient. You can make changes to 1 Gradient Stop at a time. Adjustments can be made to each Stop's Color, Position, Brightness and Transparency. 

You'll know which Stop is selected since an Orange Border appears around it. Also the color of the Color Icon changes. 

Purple Gradient Stop selected.

Blue Gradient Stop selected.

You can also slide the Stops on to different positions on the Bar.

You may be wondering what happens if you have too many or too little Colors in your Gradient. If you want to Add a New Color to the Gradient, select the Add Gradient Stop Icon. 

If you wish to Remove a Color, select the Remove Gradient Stop Icon. 

With all of these options, you can make an endless array of Gradients. 

For a step by step illustrated Tutorial that demonstrates how to create a Flyer with a Gradient Filled Title and Object in Microsoft Word 2007 visit FlyerTutor.com. 

If you'd like to learn how to create other great Text Effects you can view the mini tutorial on Outline, Shadow, Reflection and Glow. As always, have fun exploring and creating new things and do feel free to leave a comment below. 

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4 Beautiful Microsoft Word Text Effects - Outline, Shadow, Reflection and Glow

You've seen them.

Dazzling Text Effects in Flyers. Brochures. Reports. And you want them.

Did you know you can easily recreate these effects yourself using Microsoft Word?

This Tutorial will show you how you can create 4 Beautiful Effects:

• Outline
• Shadow
• Reflection
• Glow

Let's Begin.

Type some text in your Microsoft Word document.

Select the Text by dragging your cursor over it.

In the Home Tab of the Ribbon, you need to find the A Icon that glows Blue. It's located in the Font Group. Select this Text Effects Icon. 

A drop down menu with pre-made Text Effects and Options for Outline, Shadow, Reflection and Glow appears.

Select a pre-made Text Effect, say the 3rd Effect on the 4th row. You'd get text that now has a Black Gradient Fill, a White Outline and an Outer Shadow. 

Cool and quick. Great right?

But what if you want to create your very own Text Effect? Not the same ones that everybody else is gonna have.

Here's a breakdown of each option below.

Outline

The Outline Menu gives options for Colors, having No Outline, More Outline Colors, Outline Weight, and Outline Dashes.

Colors

Colors are broken down into Theme and Standard Colors. Moving your cursor over any of these Colors allows you to see the effect in real time on the page. 

So if we were to select the color Red, the Text would then have a Red Outline.

No Outline

If you select No Outline, well the Text Outline will be removed.

More Outline Colors

More Outline Colors allows you to choose from two Tabs. 

Standard Colors gives you more choices for each particular color. After selecting a Color, click the OK button to see the change applied to the Text.

Custom Colors allows you to create your own custom colors by setting values for Red, Green and Blue. 

After the New Color is set, click the OK button to see the change applied to the Text.

So if you set Red to 255, Green to 78, and Blue to 49, you'd create a new color that's most likely not in the Theme or Standard Colors section. 

Weight

Weight allows you to set the thickness of the Outline. You can do this by selecting from the Weight Menu, e.g. 3pt. 

However, if you would like to set your own custom value, select More Lines at the bottom of this menu. 

This opens a Format Text Effects Window. In the Outline Style section, type in your value for Width. 

Here's an example of a Green Text Outline with a Width of 3pt.

Dashes

Dashes allows you to change the Dash Type of the Outline, be it Solid, Dash Dot, Long Dash, etc. Curious as to what this looks like, I certainly am.

Here is the Text with a Square Dot Outline. 

If you select More Lines, it will reopen the Format Text Effects Window. There you can also make changes to the Compound, Cap and Join Types.

Shadow

Shadow allows you to apply a Drop Shadow to your Text. When you select Shadow, you will see Preset Shadow Effects, that is, Outer, Inner, and Perspective Shadows. 

To create your own Custom Shadow, select Shadow Options from the bottom of the Shadow Menu. 

This opens the Format Text Effects Window where you can make adjustments to Presets, Color, Transparency, Size, Blur, Angle and Distance. 

In the Presets Menu if you select the 1st Shadow in the Outer section, Offset Diagonal Bottom Right, you'll immediately see the effect applied to the Text.

Reflection

Selecting Reflection will give you Preset Reflection Variations, namely Tight Reflection, Half Reflection and Full Reflection. 

If you want to create a Customized Reflection, select Reflection Options at the bottom of the menu. 

This opens the Format Text Effects Window where you can make adjustments to Presets, Transparency, Size, Distance, Blur. 

This Reflection is the Preset Tight Reflection, 8pt Offset.  

Glow

Glow adds a Colored Blur around the Text. Selecting Glow will give you Preset Glow Variations, More Glow Colors and Glow Options. 

To create your own Custom Glow, select Glow Options at the bottom of the Glow Menu. This opens the Format Text Effects Window where you can make adjustments to Glow Presets, Color, Size and Transparency. 

Here's an example of the Glow Variation - Red, 8pt Glow, Accent Color 2 applied to Text.

So what's the take away?

You can really get some beautiful Text with these Microsoft Word Text Effects.

Here are some examples of Flyers created with some of these Effects.

You can download these and many other Free Flyer Templates for Microsoft Word at FlyerTutor.com. 

And remember, don't overdo Text Effects in your documents as that would go against Basic Design Principles.

Have fun trying them out!