How can I highlight text in MS Word

John Schwager 40 Reputation points
2026-10-30T19:50:25.0233333+00:00

I want to highlight a paragraph in MS Word, so I click and drag my mouse over the paragraph. The "backlight" on the first line lights up just fine, but on subsequent lines it is very faint, virtually invisible. I cannot see how many lines I have highlighted. HELP!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Hendrix-V 20,785 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-10-31T02:44:19.4166667+00:00

Hi John Schwager,

Since the problem is specifically with the visibility of selected text across multiple lines, rather than Word’s permanent highlighting feature, I’d suggest checking whether this is isolated to Word or affects Windows text selection more generally.

Please try these two quick tests:

  • Open Notepad, type several lines, then drag across them to select the text.
  • In Word, start Word in Safe Mode by pressing Win + R, entering winword /safe, and testing the same selection again.

If the selection looks normal in Notepad but is still faint in Word Safe Mode, please let us know your Word version/build from File > Account > About Word, along with whether the issue occurs in a newly created blank document.

I hope this helps narrow down the cause, and please share the results if the behavior continues.

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AI answer

2026-10-30T19:51:06.8733333+00:00

Change Word’s Office theme first, because a faint multi-line selection is commonly a display-color/rendering problem rather than a failure to select the paragraph.

Restore visible text selection

  1. In Word, open File → Account.
  2. Under Office Theme, switch to a different theme, such as Colorful, White, or Dark Gray.
  3. Return to the document and drag across several lines again.

A closely matching Word case—where the first selected line was visible but subsequent lines were effectively invisible—recommends changing the Office theme before moving to graphics-driver troubleshooting.^1^

Also check Windows:

  1. Open Settings → Accessibility → Contrast themes.
  2. If a contrast theme is enabled, temporarily select None and apply it.
  3. Test Word again.

Contrast themes control the foreground and background colors used for selected text, so an unsuitable combination can make selection difficult to see.^2^

If the selection remains faint

Update the display driver:

  1. Right-click Start, then select Device Manager.
  2. Expand Display adapters.
  3. Right-click the listed adapter and select Update driver.
  4. Restart Windows and test Word.

If the issue began immediately after a driver update, open Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver instead. If updating or rolling back does not help, Microsoft also documents uninstalling the adapter from the Driver tab and restarting Windows so that Windows attempts to reinstall it. Administrator permission is required for rollback or removal.^3^

If Device Manager identifies an AMD graphics adapter: a matching Word case was resolved by completely removing the AMD driver with AMD Cleanup Utility, restarting, and then installing a compatible driver.^4^ Use that vendor-specific cleanup only after confirming the computer has AMD graphics.

Apply permanent highlighting

The blue/gray “backlight” shown while dragging is only the temporary selection indicator. To leave a colored highlight on the paragraph:

  1. Select the paragraph.
  2. Open Home.
  3. Select the arrow beside Text Highlight Color.
  4. Choose a color.

To remove it later, select the text and choose Text Highlight Color → No Color.^5^

References

  1. Word Can't Select Between Lines - Microsoft Q&A
  2. Contrast themes
  3. [Windows 10](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/display-graphics/troubleshoot-screen-flickering-in-windows#fix-your-display-driver)
  4. Can't see the selected text - Microsoft Q&A
  5. [Windows](https://support.microsoft.com/word/apply-or-remove-highlighting)
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  1. Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-11-01T10:35:50.5633333+00:00

    Restart your PC and see if that improves the situation.

    You may need to install an updated video driver from the PC manufacturer, if the problem remains consistently across different apps.

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