PowerPoint Text Highlight Color: How to Apply and Remove

You want to mark key phrases in your PowerPoint slides with a bright background color so they stand out during a presentation. The highlight text feature works differently in PowerPoint than in Word because PowerPoint does not have a permanent highlight tool for text in slides. This article explains how to apply a highlight-like effect using the Text Highlight Color button in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 or Windows 11. It also covers how to remove the highlight and what to do when the button is missing or grayed out.

How the Text Highlight Color Feature Works in PowerPoint

The Text Highlight Color button is located in the Font group on the Home tab. It appears as a marker pen icon with a colored bar underneath. When you select text and click this button, PowerPoint applies a solid background color behind the letters. This is different from the text fill color or shape fill because it only covers the text characters, not the entire bounding box.

This feature is available only in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 and later versions. If you use PowerPoint 2016 or an older perpetual license, the Text Highlight Color button may not appear on the ribbon. In that case, you must use other methods such as a shape fill or font color change to simulate a highlight.

The highlight color stays with the text when you copy and paste it within PowerPoint or into other Office applications that support the same feature. However, if you paste the text into a plain text editor or an application that does not support rich text formatting, the highlight is lost.

Steps to Apply Text Highlight Color in PowerPoint

Follow these steps to add a highlight color to text on a slide. This method works in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 or 2021 on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

1. Select the text you want to highlight
   Click and drag your cursor over the text on the slide. You can select a single word, a phrase, or multiple paragraphs. The text must be inside a text box, shape, or placeholder.
2. Locate the Text Highlight Color button
   Go to the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Font group, look for the icon that looks like a marker pen with a colored bar. The default color is usually yellow, but the bar shows the last color used.
3. Apply the highlight color
   Click the Text Highlight Color button directly to apply the currently shown color. To choose a different color, click the small arrow next to the button to open the color palette. Select one of the 15 available colors. The highlight is applied instantly to the selected text.
4. Continue highlighting additional text
   If you need to highlight multiple separate sections, double-click the Text Highlight Color button. This locks the tool in the on state. Then select each section of text one after another. Press the Escape key or click the Text Highlight Color button again to turn off the tool.

After you apply the highlight, you can change the font color, size, or other formatting without affecting the highlight background. The highlight remains behind the text.

Steps to Remove Text Highlight Color in PowerPoint

Removing the highlight is as simple as applying it. Use one of the following methods depending on whether you want to remove the highlight from a specific section or from all text at once.

Remove Highlight From Selected Text

1. Select the highlighted text
   Click and drag over the text that has the highlight color.
2. Open the color palette for Text Highlight Color
   On the Home tab, click the arrow next to the Text Highlight Color button in the Font group.
3. Choose No Color
   At the bottom of the color palette, click the option labeled No Color. The highlight disappears from the selected text immediately.

Remove All Highlights From a Slide

PowerPoint does not have a single command to remove all highlights from a slide at once. To remove highlights from the entire slide, you must select all text boxes and then apply No Color. Press Ctrl+A to select all objects on the slide. Then press Ctrl+A again to select all text inside the selected objects. Finally, apply No Color from the Text Highlight Color palette.

Common Issues When Using Text Highlight Color

Text Highlight Color Button Is Grayed Out or Missing

If the Text Highlight Color button appears grayed out on the ribbon, the selected object does not support the feature. The highlight tool works only on text inside text boxes, shapes, and placeholders. It does not work on text inside tables, charts, SmartArt graphics, or headers and footers. To highlight such text, convert the content to a text box first.

If the button is completely missing from the ribbon, you are using an older version of PowerPoint that does not include this feature. PowerPoint 2016 and earlier versions do not have the Text Highlight Color button. Upgrade to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 or use an alternative method such as drawing a rectangle shape with a fill color and sending it behind the text.

Highlight Color Does Not Print or Appear in Presenter View

The highlight color is a screen-only effect in some older versions of PowerPoint. In PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, the highlight does print when you select the Color or Grayscale print option. If you print in Pure Black and White, the highlight may not appear. To ensure the highlight prints, use a shape fill behind the text instead of the Text Highlight Color tool.

Highlight Disappears When You Paste Text Into Another Application

When you copy highlighted text from PowerPoint and paste it into Word or Outlook, the highlight should remain if the destination application supports the Text Highlight Color format. If you paste into a plain text field such as Notepad or a web browser form, the highlight is stripped. Use the Keep Source Formatting paste option in Word to preserve the highlight.

Text Highlight Color vs Shape Fill Method

Item	Text Highlight Color	Shape Fill Behind Text
Availability	PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and 2019+	All versions of PowerPoint
Ease of application	Select text, click button	Draw shape, adjust size, send behind text
Text reflow	Highlight moves with text	Shape stays in place, text may overflow
Print behavior	Prints in color or grayscale	Prints as shape fill
Copy to other apps	Preserved in Word and Outlook	Not preserved as highlight

The shape fill method works in all PowerPoint versions. Draw a rectangle shape, set its fill color to a light yellow or another highlight color, and then right-click the shape and select Send to Back > Send Behind Text. Position the shape behind the text box. This method does not adjust automatically if you edit the text, so you must resize the shape manually.

You can now apply and remove text highlight color in PowerPoint using the Text Highlight Color button on the Home tab. For older versions without this button, use a shape fill behind the text as a workaround. Try the shortcut Alt+H then F then C to open the Font dialog and access text effects if the ribbon button is unavailable.