Changing Color of the Insertion Point

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 7, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Peter Hecht asked if there was a way to change the color used for the insertion point in Word. He changed his background colors, and the black insertion point doesn't contrast well with his chosen colors. Changing it to a lighter, brighter color (like orange) would be the best for him.

Unfortunately, there is no way that I could discover to change the insertion point. There certainly isn't a way in Windows, and in the Display Properties dialog box of Windows there isn't a way to do it, either. You can change the blink rate of the insertion point (using the Keyboard applet in the Control Panel) or you can change the size of the insertion point using Windows' accessibility features, but you can't change the color.

Sorry, Peter!

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (97) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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