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How to Highlight Text in Canva Docs – In 1 Click

June 9, 2025

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To highlight text in Canva Docs, type your content, select the desired text, click the “Highlight” option from the top menu, and choose any color — it works in just one click.

Highlighting text in your documents is one of the easiest ways to bring attention to important points.

Whether you’re drafting a blog outline, sharing feedback, or building a visual doc, you can now do it in one click in Canva Docs

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn exactly how to highlight text in Canva Docs.

How to Highlight Text in Canva Docs

This built-in feature is exclusive to Canva Docs, meaning it won’t work in Canva’s design tools like presentations or social media posts. Let’s walk through the process step-by-step.

Step 1: Log Into Canva and Open Docs

Visit Canva Docs and sign in to your Canva account.
On the homepage, go to the left-side panel and click Docs.
Click + Create a new doc or select an existing doc to edit.

Step 2: Add or Select Text

Type the text that you want to highlight.
Select the portion of text you want to emphasize.
Make sure only the specific part you want highlighted is selected, not the whole paragraph (unless that’s what you want).

Step 3: Click on the Highlight Color Tool

Once your text is selected, look at the toolbar at the top of the doc editor.
Click the Highlight icon — it looks like a small marker or color strip.
This opens the color options for highlighting.

Step 4: Choose Your Highlight Color

Select your preferred highlight color from the default palette or Brand Kit.
If you want a custom color, click the color wheel or “+” icon to add your own.
Your text will now appear with the selected background highlight.

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Step 5: Adjust or Remove Highlights (Optional)

To change the highlight color, reselect the text and pick a new color from the toolbar.
To remove the highlight completely, select the text and choose “None” or a blank color box.

That’s it! That’s how easy it is to highlight text in Canva Docs.

This is perfect for callouts, emphasis in collaborative docs, or quick editing notes.

Reminder: This one-click highlight option is only available inside Canva Docs.

If you’re working in Canva Presentations, Infographics, or Posts, you’ll need to use shapes or effects as a workaround.

Check out my full post on how to highlight text in Canva.

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