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Custom Bullets Transparency Issues
So I've been using custom bullets for years, in January 2025 there was no issue. I was unable to work on my document since then because of issues with my PC.
Yesterday when I opened my document, my bullets no longer had transparency. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem because the background is also white, but in this document, I have background images as well. As you can see the background on the bullets stand out. The file is a PNG with a transparent background. I have tried replacing it more than once, I have 2 different bullets in this document and they are both doing it.
I checked another document that was fine in the past and it too is having the issue. I opened a brand new doc and changed the background color of the doc and it does the same thing.
I contacted M365 support, it was painful they didn't even know how to do a custom bullet, they were looking for picture settings... Hehe. Anyway, they told me to post here. To me it's something in Word itself because it was working before.
The doc is NOT in compatibility mode or anything like that. I can't find anything on the Internet and its frustrating me to no end. Of course I could take the custom bullets out but this is going to be a publish book, that little extra flair is everything, and this is the 4th book in the series, and having it differ from the first three.... Again it's in the details, readers might not care, but I care.
Take this:
- Verify Image Format Compatibility – While PNG files support transparency, Word may process them inconsistently. Consider converting the PNG to an alternative format (e.g., GIF or SVG) and reinsert it as a custom bullet point.
- Alternative Insertion Method – Rather than applying the PNG directly as a bullet, insert it as an inline image and manually align it adjacent to the text for better control.
- Test in Safe Mode – Launch Word in Safe Mode (via winword /safe in the Run dialog) to determine whether an add-in or configuration setting is causing the issue.
- Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration – Navigate to File > Options > Advanced, locate the Display section, and enable "Disable hardware graphics acceleration" to assess if rendering performance affects transparency.
- Roll Back to a Previous Word Version – If the issue emerged following a recent update, reverting to an earlier version of Word (where transparency functioned correctly) may resolve the problem.
6 Replies
You may have to edit the "picture bullet" in an image editing program to make it truly transparent (without a background).
yes it is truly transparent, edited in photoshop, saved as PNG, like I said its been fine for years, and it's not just a single bullet image, I have a different one for the 2nd list level and it too has a transparent background in PNG and showing white in Word, it is a new issue 3 months ago these same bullets were showing transparent. It's definitely something in a recent Word update, it happens on more than 1 PC.
Report this directly to Microsoft using the Help > Feedback facility. You can also post in the feedback forum at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fb6d67e3-301c-ec11-b6e7-0022481f8472.
Take this:
- Verify Image Format Compatibility – While PNG files support transparency, Word may process them inconsistently. Consider converting the PNG to an alternative format (e.g., GIF or SVG) and reinsert it as a custom bullet point.
- Alternative Insertion Method – Rather than applying the PNG directly as a bullet, insert it as an inline image and manually align it adjacent to the text for better control.
- Test in Safe Mode – Launch Word in Safe Mode (via winword /safe in the Run dialog) to determine whether an add-in or configuration setting is causing the issue.
- Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration – Navigate to File > Options > Advanced, locate the Display section, and enable "Disable hardware graphics acceleration" to assess if rendering performance affects transparency.
- Roll Back to a Previous Word Version – If the issue emerged following a recent update, reverting to an earlier version of Word (where transparency functioned correctly) may resolve the problem.
I figured out how to rollback to Dec and that fixed the issue. Thanks! I'm reporting to MSFT feedback forum!
- PNG has always worked however, I did save as a GIF and a SVG just to try it, and still the same, the transparent background is showing white in Word.
- This file is 96 pages long and there is bullets on at least 30% of the pages, that would take me forever to do. It is NOT a feasible option.
- Still the same problem.
- Yeah support already did that, nothing.
- Can you roll back 365? I thought that auto updated.
Also this is the 4th book in a series of books where the first 3 have already been published, so I could just use standard bullets and be done with it. However, this is for a table top RPG so every little detail matters, since the other 3 books have these bullets with no issues then this book also needs those bullets.
