Background Pictures in "Excel"

Hi John,

The short answer is: you can't.

But you can set an image to be the background of a sheet. The bad news is the image is tiled and, once it is in place, you have to change the master image if it doesn't look the way you want it.

Still, with some effort, you can produce something that resembles the effect you can achieve with Word.

Hi there,
Sorry Jo, Grant is right. You cannot insert a picture into an Excel spreadsheet, move it to the background, and have it print as a watermark. The only way you might get a watermark that will print depends on your PRINTER DRIVER. Someprinter drivers allow you to define any watermark you desire regardless of whether the program does or not. Go to File|Print|Properties and look around the various options offered there or refer to the manual that came with the printer.
If youjust want a picture to be a background on your spreadsheet and not have it print go to Format|Sheet|Background and select the picture you want. Again, it will not print.
Going Insert|Picture will allow you to display a picture. Right click|Format Picture|Picture tab, under Image Control select the "Color" down arrow and pick "Watermarks". It will print but it hides all the text underneath it. No good.
You can create a text watermark that will print, by using the Word Art feature, going into Word Art properties selecting the "Colors and Lines" tab and using combinations of "No Fill", and "Semitransparent", and light colors. Play with these settings until you get the effect you want.

Luck,
Mike

Resubmission, my ISP cut me off.
Hi there,
Sorry Jo, Grant is right. You cannot insert a picture into an Excel spreadsheet, move it to the background, and have it print as a watermark. The only way you might get a watermark that will print depends on your PRINTER DRIVER. Some printer drivers allow you to define any watermark you desire regardless of whether the program does or not. Go to File|Print|Properties and look around the various options offered there or refer to the manual that came with the printer.
If you just want a picture to be a background on your spreadsheet and not have it print go to Format|Sheet|Background and select the picture you want. Again, it will not print.
Going Insert|Picture will allow you to display a picture. Right click|Format Picture|Picture tab, under Image Control select the "Color" down arrow and pick "Watermarks". It will print but it hides all the text underneath it. No good.
You can create a text watermark that will print, by using the Word Art feature, going into Word Art properties selecting the "Colors and Lines" tab and using combinations of "No Fill", and "Semitransparent", and light colors. Play with these settings until you get the effect you want.

Luck,
Mike