As already mentioned in Chapter formatting, you can also change the background of the pages of a document using the ribbon command Layout | Chapter – for example, color via shading.
However, there is another command that offers significantly more options: the ribbon command Layout | Background (in the group Section).
FreeOffice: The command Background is not included in SoftMaker FreeOffice.
In this section, you will learn how to use these two commands and the differences between them.
Layout | Background
You can use the ribbon command Layout | Background to change the page background for the whole document. Use this command as follows:
| 1. | Choose the ribbon command Layout | group Section | Background  . |
| 2. | Use the dropdown list Fill type to select the type of fill for the page background. You can select either a solid color, a pattern, a picture (tiled) or different types of color gradients. |
| 3. | Change the desired settings and confirm with OK. |
For more information on this dialog box, see Object properties, Fill tab. It describes the "Fill" tab for objects, which is virtually identical to this dialog box.
Printing: Please note that this type of page background is only displayed on the screen by default – it does not appear in printouts. However, there is a document option that allows you to change this: If you enable the option Print page background in the dialog box of the ribbon command File | Properties (View tab), the page background will also be printed.
Layout | Chapter
The ribbon command Layout | Chapter works in a slightly different way:
You can use this command to change the page background for the current chapter (for its master page(s) to be more precise).
Use this command as follows:
| 1. | If you have divided your document into several chapters: Position the text cursor anywhere within the desired chapter. |
| 2. | Choose the ribbon command Layout | Chapter  . |
| 3. | Click on the Change button next to Borders and shading of master pages on the Chapter tab and select the type of master page(s) of the chapter which should be changed. |
| 4. | Switch to the Shading tab. |
| 5. | For Type, select the desired type of fill for the page background. With this command, only color shades and patterns are available. |
| 6. | Change the desired settings and confirm with OK. |
For more information on this tab, see Shading. It describes the dialog box "Shading" for text paragraphs, which is virtually identical to this tab.
Please note that if you have divided the document into several chapters, the above changes will only affect the current chapter. For more information, see also Dividing a document into chapters.
Printing: This type of page background always appears in printouts. The aforementioned document option Print page background has no effect here.