Can't change text color in Microsoft Word 2010

windows microsoft-word microsoft-office microsoft-word-2010

37,499

Solution 1

A re-install of office should theoretically pretty much rule out any problem in the install.

Instead what you probably need to be looking at something related to the users profile.

This could be in few different areas

Something about a per-user default template
Something in the Current User hive of the registry for that user
Some other file or setting stored in the AppsData portion of the users profile.

Usually a quick test to rule out an issue with the profile is simply to login as a separate user on same system and see if you can duplicate the problem. If a separate account works fine, then you need to narrow down where the problem is. You do this by deleting(moving) various likely things in the profile. If the user can live with some loss of settings and configuration, then simply backup any data and nuke the profile and restore data. Issues with the profile and per-user settings can be pretty difficult to trouble-shoot.

Solution 2

One of the common issues that is seen with Microsoft Word, and the latest versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, is the accessibility issue. This issue is rather simple to replicate:

Change your 'Theme' if you will, to any of the High Contrast themes. You can then of course modify those themes to be whatever you want.
Open word, and change the color of text; you'll notice that the text doesn't change color.

When using any of the high contrast themes, even if the user has modified the theme to give them a better look than pure white on black, or black on white (like many of our users, who use black with green text), Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, any of the Office Suit will not actually color the words. This is due to how Microsoft Office reads the display settings within windows, and gleans what color to use for 'Automatic' text, highlight text, and 'normal' text; on High Contract Themes, this functionality is fixed, not dynamic.

Solution: If user still needs a high contrast theme, set the user to Windows 7 Basic (or Windows Basic for Vista), and then modified the Windows Color options to be what they want; this way, high contrast can still be obtained, but NOT affect the actual performance of the Office Suite.

Solution 3

Try uninstalling Microsoft Office then reboot.

Afterwards, to make sure every trace has been removed, delete the following folders (if present)

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Office14
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Office
%AppData%\Microsoft\Office

Then delete the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office

Reboot once again and then reinstall the Office Product.

Solution 4

I have 3 things for you to try.

Go to the 'File' tab, click on 'Options' and go to the 'Advanced' page. Scroll down until you find the option 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration' in the 'Display' section. Check this (or uncheck it), and see if that helps.
Update your video driver. Since word tries to use your video card for display, this could be an issue with the driver.
Check the setting for Accessibility Options that is mentioned in this KB article

Hope this helps

Solution 5

You can also go back to the basic windows theme colors. This fixes the problem. You can then modify the Theme based on your preferences without the corruption.

Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Personalization

View more solutions

37,499

Author by

Wesley

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Wesley over 1 year

I have Microsoft Office 2010 32-bit running on Windows 7 32-bit. When text is highlighted and a color is selected from the mini-toolbar or the ribbon, the text does not change color. If I change the color for multiple words, and select a different color for each word, the toolbar and ribbon will reflect each of the different colors that I chose, however it is not displayed in the document. So it appears that Word is aware of the text color and not as if it is simply not applying the change.

What may be causing this inability to view text colors and how might I fix it?

My only troubleshooting attempt so far has been to perform a repair installation of Office.

EDIT 1

I created a document, typed a word, selected it and changed the color. I then saved the document as HTML. The text did not change color. This is the HTML in the document:

<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml"
xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word"
xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document>
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14">
<meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 14">
<link rel=File-List href="Document_1_files/filelist.xml">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:DocumentProperties>
  <o:Author>Name</o:Author>
  <o:LastAuthor>Name</o:LastAuthor>
  <o:Revision>2</o:Revision>
  <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
  <o:Created>2012-01-05T21:43:00Z</o:Created>
  <o:LastSaved>2012-01-05T21:43:00Z</o:LastSaved>
  <o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
  <o:Characters>5</o:Characters>
  <o:Company>Microsoft</o:Company>
  <o:Lines>1</o:Lines>
  <o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
  <o:CharactersWithSpaces>5</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
  <o:Version>14.00</o:Version>
 </o:DocumentProperties>
 <o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
  <o:AllowPNG/>
 </o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<link rel=themeData href="Document_1_files/themedata.thmx">
<link rel=colorSchemeMapping href="Document_1_files/colorschememapping.xml">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <w:WordDocument>
  <w:SpellingState>Clean</w:SpellingState>
  <w:GrammarState>Clean</w:GrammarState>
  <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
  <w:TrackFormatting/>
  <w:PunctuationKerning/>
  <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
  <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
  <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
  <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
  <w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
  <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
  <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
  <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
  <w:Compatibility>
   <w:BreakWrappedTables/>
   <w:SnapToGridInCell/>
   <w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
   <w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
   <w:DontGrowAutofit/>
   <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
   <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
   <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
   <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
  </w:Compatibility>
  <m:mathPr>
   <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
   <m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
   <m:brkBinSub m:val="&#45;-"/>
   <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
   <m:dispDef/>
   <m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
   <m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
   <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
   <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
   <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
   <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
  </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
  DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
  LatentStyleCount="267">
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
   UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
  <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
 </w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
 /* Font Definitions */
 @font-face
    {font-family:Calibri;
    panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;
    mso-font-charset:0;
    mso-generic-font-family:swiss;
    mso-font-pitch:variable;
    mso-font-signature:-520092929 1073786111 9 0 415 0;}
 /* Style Definitions */
 p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
    {mso-style-unhide:no;
    mso-style-qformat:yes;
    mso-style-parent:"";
    margin-top:0in;
    margin-right:0in;
    margin-bottom:10.0pt;
    margin-left:0in;
    line-height:115%;
    mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
    font-size:11.0pt;
    font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
    mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
    mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
span.GramE
    {mso-style-name:"";
    mso-gram-e:yes;}
.MsoChpDefault
    {mso-style-type:export-only;
    mso-default-props:yes;
    font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
    mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
    mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoPapDefault
    {mso-style-type:export-only;
    margin-bottom:10.0pt;
    line-height:115%;}
@page WordSection1
    {size:8.5in 11.0in;
    margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
    mso-header-margin:.5in;
    mso-footer-margin:.5in;
    mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
    {page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
 /* Style Definitions */
 table.MsoNormalTable
    {mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
    mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
    mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
    mso-style-noshow:yes;
    mso-style-priority:99;
    mso-style-parent:"";
    mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
    mso-para-margin-top:0in;
    mso-para-margin-right:0in;
    mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
    mso-para-margin-left:0in;
    line-height:115%;
    mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
    font-size:11.0pt;
    font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
    mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
    mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
    mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
    mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
 <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
  <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/>
 </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>

<body lang=EN-US style='tab-interval:.5in'>

<div class=WordSection1>

<p class=MsoNormal><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><span class=GramE><span style='color:red'>blah</span></span><span
style='color:red'><o:p></o:p></span></p>

</div>

</body>

</html>

EDIT 2

I recorded a macro and did the following:

Typed a word
Selected the word
Changed the color.

Oddly, I had some strange issues while the macro was recorded. I could not select text with my cursor. I had to select the text with control a and then apply the color change. I then couldn't deselect the selected text.

Nonetheless, the text showed that it had a different color in the toolbar, but the color did not display in the document. Here's the macro:

Sub Change_Text_Color()
'
' Change_Text_Color Macro
'
'
    Selection.TypeText Text:="Test Text"
    Selection.WholeStory
    Selection.WholeStory
End Sub

EDIT 3

I opened WordPad and created some text and was able to successfully change the color. If I copy and paste the colored text into a Word 2010 document, the color is lost. However, if you place the I-beam in the text and then look at the color selection drop-down menu on the ribbon or mini-toolbar, you can see that the proper color that the text should be in is highlighted.

Edit 4

I uninstalled the entire Office 2010 Suite, rebooted and then reinstalled the suite. No change in behavior.

Edit 5

Text cannot be colored in Excel either.

Admin over 12 years

Does this happen to just one file or to all of them? Did you try to type the text manually, or did you paste it from an external program?
Wesley over 12 years

@gry This happens to all files, both new and old. I've tried typing text manually, but not pasting it in.
Admin over 12 years

Do you mean textboxes or regular paragraph text? Can you save the file as HTML, open it in Notepad, and paste into your question?
Admin over 12 years

Are you able to change the size?
Wesley over 12 years

@gry Regular paragraph text. I haven't attempted any text boxes. I am able to change the text size and any other aspect of the text. I will try to save the file as HTML, etc. tomorrow.
Kris over 12 years

Better still, start macro before applying the color attribute, stop recording after applying and check yourself/provide that macro here for review. That could be of some help I hope.
soandos over 12 years

Do you have any addins?
Wesley over 12 years

@soandos I don't believe so, since I just reinstalled Office Professional from the disc and didn't perform any additional operations except to install the latest Office updates.
Chris S over 12 years

Try opening regedit and renaming the following key with a .old or something: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word. Restart word and see if the coloration works.
Wesley over 12 years

@ChrisS Since this also affects Excel, do you think it might be better to go up a branch and rename 14.0?
zackrspv over 12 years

Quick question; are you able to add color to text using Wordpad?
user377178 over 12 years

This b/w view is in effect is seen in all document vew layouts, isn't it?
user377178 over 12 years

what about the printer, word in certain situations uses printer settings for display. Have you tried changing the printer to the other one (some virtual PDF printer e.g.).
Wesley over 12 years

@zackrspv Yes, I can add color to words in Wordpad?
Wesley over 12 years

@user377178 IT is seen in all document view layouts that I know of. I'll check the printer next time I'm at the client.
Ahmed Bilfaqih over 12 years

This only happens if something wrong happens with the installation files or software tampering. Uninstall and reinstall Microsoft Office
Alex Essilfie over 12 years

@WesleyDavid: Try repeating the procedure in a different user account, prefersa a new one and let's see if the issue persists.

Wesley over 12 years

Would this be in effect for all applications or just word? Remember, Wordpad can color text successfully.
zackrspv over 12 years

@WesleyDavid, this mainly affects the Office Suite. Most of the other programs on the computer should be fine.
zackrspv over 12 years

@WesleyDavid, did you try just resetting their theme to the normal one, or to basic just to ensure that nothing wonky is happening? We've seen the high contrast theme settings in Windows become 'stuck' if you will in the past, which frequently causes this issue.
daxlerod over 12 years

Did you try enabling and disabling the high contrast mode within accessibility settings? Changing the theme back to normal can sometimes leave some things in high contrast mode. Enabling high contrast mode by the shortcut Left Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen was something we did to people who didn't lock their screen at an old job.
dwolters over 12 years

@wesleydavid Have you had any luck getting this fixed yet?
Wesley over 12 years

Client hasn't responded to me for a meeting in spite of repeated calls. =|
Wesley over 12 years

I've awarded the bounty to this answer as it seems like the most logical way to proceed. Other answers seem to be a little more obscure. Sadly, my client has not responded to my repeated attempts at scheduling time with him. I cannot be sure if this is the answer, and yet the bounty period will run out before I can meet with him. I will accept the correct answer and consider making a second bounty if the accepted answer is different from this one.
Wesley over 12 years

Update. I did all of this and it didn't solve the problem.
Wesley over 12 years

This was apparently not the problem. It was a user profile issue.
Wesley over 12 years

This ended up being the culprit. I didn't narrow down the ultimate cause though.