Highlight text in Word – easier and smarter than ever
Learn how DocTools HighlightManager can help you
DocTools HighlightManager can help you save a lot of time if you often highlight text in Word. You can highlight text with any highlight color with a single click. You can also remove highlight with a single click. You can apply or remove the highlight via a dialog box that can remain open as you work. You can also apply or remove highlight via customizable keyboard shortcuts. The add-in includes other unique features.
DocTools HighlightManager works with Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019, Word for Office 365 on PC.
The add-in works with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Office.
Read on to learn how DocTools HighlightManager can help you.
Pricing and general information
Version number:
Release date:
Supported Word versions:
Licensing per computer:
Free trial - try before you buy:
Volume discount:
Updates:
2.21 (see Changelog for info about versions and changes)
January 14, 2019
Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019, Word for Office 365 on PC
One license per computer is required (see License Terms)
15 days
Applies to licenses purchased on a single order
Minor updates within 12 months for free
Save 50% on upgrade licenses for later full number versions
Number of licenses | Per license price in Euro* |
|---|---|
1-4 licenses | 15 Euro |
5-9 licenses | 13 Euro |
10-24 licenses | 11 Euro |
25-49 licenses | 9 Euro |
50-99 licenses | 7 Euro |
100 or more licenses | 5 Euro |
* Prices do not include applicable taxes
Introduction to DocTools HighlightManager features
Examples of highlight in Word
The text to the left shows examples of highlighted text.
Applying highlight is a useful way to make content stand out. Highlight can be practical both during the editing process of documents and in final documents.
DocTools HighlightManager adds a tab, DocTools, with a group, Highlight, to the Ribbon. If the DocTools tab already exists, the Highlight group will be added to it.
Note that the built-in highlight functionality will function as normally and can still be used.
| The Apply Highlight command opens the dialog box shown to the right. |
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| The Define Shortcuts command lets you define shortcuts for different highlight colors and for removing highlight. In addition, you can define keyboard shortcuts to the Find command and the Apply Highlight command. |
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| The Find command lets you quickly search for highlight in a document. |
Note that the built-in highlight functionality will function as normally and can still be used.
The user-interface (i.e. screen texts in the Ribbon, dialog boxes, help, etc.) of DocTools HighlightManager is in English but the add-in can be used with any language version of Word.
DocTools HighlightManager is easy to use. You can start using it immediately but it is recommended to spend time on familiarizing with the functionality in order to take full advantage of the features.
You will find more details about the highlight features below.
The Highlight group in the DocTools tab in the Ribbon
The Apply Highlight dialog box
The dialog box lets you select from the highlight colors supported by Word.
More details about the highlight features
Background
I use highlight colors a lot and have always found the built-in highlight functionality in Word unpractical to work with if you constantly need to switch between different highlight colors. For years, I have been using a small add-in I created that lets me use different keyboard shortcuts to quickly apply the few highlight colors I use most often.
I know from questions in misc. Word forums that many Word users would like a smarter way to work with different highlight colors. Therefore, I decided to develop a smart add-in that is flexible and customizable and that lets you quickly apply any highlight color either by using a keyboard shortcut or, alternatively, by clicking a color in a dialog box that can be available all the time. In addition, I decided to add some extra tools to make it fast and easy to remove highlight and to find highlight in a document. The result is the DocTools HighlightManager add-in.
About the functionality of DocTools HighlightManager
You have access to the functionality of the add-in via the Highlight group in the DocTools tab in the Ribbon:
The Highlight group in the DocTools tab
TIP: You can add any of the commands to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) if you want. To do this, right-click the desired command and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
Help and tips are built into the add-in
If you hover the mouse over a command, you will see a short description of the command. When you select a command that opens a dialog box, the dialog box will show information about what to do. In addition, the Help on DocTools HighlightManager command in the Help menu provides all the help you need:
About the Apply Highlight command
The Apply Highlight command opens the dialog box shown to the left. Brief information about the functionality is shown in the balloons.
The dialog box can remain open as you work, always ready for use.
You can place the dialog box where you want. The position will be remembered.
You do not need to have the dialog box open. You can assign keyboard shortcuts to the colors and simply press the shortcut to apply the highlight color.
If a keyboard shortcut has been assigned to a Remove button or a color, you will see a letter to the right of the button/color. The assigned keyboard shortcut is:
- Alt+Ctrl+Shift+[the letter]
Example: Alt+Ctrl+Shift+P has been assigned to pink highlight
The illustration to the left shows the keyboard shortcuts that have been assigned by default.
Remove highlight - how the commands work
Remove from Selection | Removes highlight from the selection only. | ||
Remove from Paragraph(s) | Removes any highlight from the start of the first paragraph in the selection to the end of the last paragraph in the selection. This means that you can remove all highlight from a single paragraph simply by clicking anywhere in the paragraph before using the command. | ||
Apply highlight - how the commands work
When you click a color or press the assigned keyboard shortcut, if any, the selected color is applied as follows:
If text is selected | Highlight is applied to the selection. | ||
If no text is selected | Highlight is applied to the entire paragraph in which the insertion marker is positioned. | ||
Defining keyboard shortcuts to highlight colors etc. - about the Define Shortcuts command
The Define Shortcuts command opens the dialog box shown to the left.
The illustration shows the keyboard shortcuts that have been assigned by default. You can modify, add or remove shortcuts as you wish.
See the information in top of the dialog box for details.
Overview of the commands in DocTools HighlightManager
You can see an illustration of the Highlight group close to the top of this page. Below is a short description of the commands:
Command name | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
Apply Highlight | 
| Opens a dialog box that let you apply specific highlight colors and remove highlight, and more. |
Define Shortcuts | 
| Lets you define shortcuts for different highlight colors and for removing highlight. In addition, you can define keyboard shortcuts to the Find command and the Apply Highlight command. |
Find | 
| Searches forward in the active document to find the next occurrence of highlight, if any. The command will search for any highlight color. |
Help menu | 
| The menu includes two commands: Help on DocTools HighlightManager opens a dialog box with help and tips related to the add-in. About DocTools HighlightManager opens a dialog box with information about the add-in (version number, rights, etc.). |
FREE TRIAL - Try Before You Buy If you want to try out the add-in before you buy, click the Free Trial button and follow the instructions. 
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