How to Remove the Background of an Image in a MS Word 2010 Document

© Ugur Akinci
MS Word 2010 has a fantastic tool to remove the background of images without the need for Photoshop.
Fire up your MS Word 2010. Create a Word document. Insert an image and follow these steps:
1) Select the image to dynamically display the Picture Tools tab:

2) Click the Format link to display the picture formatting tools:

3) Click the Remove Background button to display the Background Removal tools.
NOTE: MS Word displays all pixels that will be deleted in PURPLE, surrounded by a SELECTION GRID.

4) Click the Keep Changes button to delete all the purple-selected background pixels:

As you can see, the first result may not always be satisfactory. Here for example the feet of the penguins are gone.
5) To restore the feet, click Ctrl+Z (undo) and go back to Step 3. Drag and adjust the selection grid to include the feet. And then click Keep Changes:

This is better even though a part of the neck of the penguin on the left is gone, unfortunately. When the color of the background and image are very close to each other, MS Word 2010 will delete that part as well. So you have to be careful. But we can still fine-tune the area in between the animals’ feet.
6) Click Remove Background button once again and display the PURPLE pixels. Then click Mark Areas to Remove for a more detailed removal job.
7) This will turn the cursor into a PENCIL. Drag the pencil across areas that you’ll like to delete, to create a WHITE DOTTED LINE with a CIRCLE in the middle. Those pixels will also turn purple. When you click Keep Changes, that section will be deleted as well.

Here is the result:

Play around with the PENCIL tool until you get the refinement you like. Once you are done, click outside the Selection Grid and your image is ready!
8) To restore the original image, click the Discard All Changes button any time you like.