WPS Background helps you add character shading, shading color, and text highlighting in WPS Writer on Windows; this guide covers 4 core tasks, with 4 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.
At a Glance
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core tasks | 4 | Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index |
| Available without membership | 4 | Matches the number of Free rows in the index |
| Membership-related items | 0 | Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index |
About This Feature
Overview
Background in WPS Writer is a text-marking and background-formatting feature for emphasizing key content, separating information levels, and improving document readability.
Core capabilities include:
- Character shading: Add a gray shading effect to selected text.
- Shading color: Apply a visible background color to text or paragraphs.
- Highlighting: Mark important content with a marker-style highlight effect.
- Batch apply and clear: Combine highlighting or shading work with find, reselection, or clear formatting actions.
This feature is useful for document review, teaching materials, policy files, project notes, and other text emphasis scenarios.
System Requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating system | A Windows device that can run WPS Office normally |
| App version | It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office |
| Network | Local shading and highlighting do not require a constant network connection; download, installation, and account-related actions require network access |
| Other | You need to open WPS Writer documents and have basic editing permission |
Download & Installation
Before using Background, install WPS Office for Windows.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official download | WPS Office Free Download |
| Check after installation | Open WPS Writer and confirm that character shading, shading color, or highlighting options are available on the Home tab |
Source: WPS download page
Compare with Alternatives
| Dimension | WPS | Microsoft | Notion | Adobe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability Summary | Supports character shading, shading color, highlighting, and clearing related formatting in a document editing workflow. | Word supports shading for words or paragraphs and distinguishes shading from highlighting; shading can update with document theme colors. | Google Docs supports text color, highlight color, and custom colors through HEX, RGB, or an eyedropper tool. | Notion supports text color and color highlight for selected text, and also supports block-level color and background color styling. | Acrobat focuses on PDF markup and supports highlighting text, changing highlight color, and adding notes to highlighted content. |
| WPS Advantages | Advantage: WPS brings character shading, shading color, and highlighting together in one Writer workflow for document editing and review. | Compared with WPS: Word clearly separates shading and highlighting, but the referenced page focuses on a narrower shading workflow. | Compared with WPS: Google Docs offers custom color creation, but the workflow is centered on browser-based document editing. | Compared with WPS: Notion is more focused on page styling and block-based content rather than traditional document layout. | Compared with WPS: Acrobat is more suitable for PDF review and annotation than body-text formatting in a word processor. |
| Official Source | — | Apply shading to words or paragraphs | Change the color of text, objects, and backgrounds | Style and customize your page | How to highlight a PDF |
Overall Conclusion: If you need to manage character shading, background color, and highlighting in one Windows document editor, WPS keeps these actions in a more concentrated workflow. If your work is mainly browser-based collaboration or PDF review, Google Docs, Notion, or Adobe Acrobat may fit those document types more directly.
Use Cases
| No. | Scenario | Suitable Users | Main Pain Point | Solution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark key contract clauses | Office staff, legal assistants | Important clauses are hard to locate quickly | Use highlighting to mark key sentences and sections |
| 2 | Separate levels in teaching materials | Teachers, trainers | Different knowledge levels are not visually clear | Use shading color to separate content blocks |
| 3 | Standardize formal document marks | Administrative staff | Formal files need a consistent shading effect | Use character shading for quick gray text shading |
| 4 | Review repeated keywords in batches | Editors, proofreaders | Repeated content needs centralized marking | Combine find actions with highlighting or clearing |
| 5 | Remove review marks before delivery | Document coordinators | Marked text needs to be cleaned before submission | Clear formatting or remove highlight effects |
Membership & Benefits
Free vs WPS Premium
| Capability | Free Users | WPS Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Character shading, shading color, and highlighting | Available | Available |
| Basic document editing | Available | Available |
| Advanced PDF tools, more templates, and extended office features | Partially limited | Broader access |
| Cloud storage | 1 GB | 20 GB |
Source: WPS Office pricing page
Recommendations
| Usage Scenario | Recommended Plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Daily text marking, study notes, and standard review work | Free | The feature itself is available for regular document editing |
| More cloud storage, templates, or broader office features | WPS Premium | Suitable if you also need additional office capabilities beyond this feature |
How to Subscribe
- WPS membership center: Subscribe now
Source: WPS Office pricing page