How To Highlight Text in Canva Easily (3 methods)

How to highlight text in Canva?

As a content creator, highlighting text in Canva is a basic function we need to know since it’s a quick and great way to underline a specific point in your Canva design.

However, highlighting text in Canva isn’t as straightforward as one would think. Therefore, this blog post will show you different methods to highlight text in a few simple steps.

The good news is that none of these steps or methods requires you to have a pro Canva account, and can be done with the free version.

How to highlight text boxes in Canva?

Step 1 – Add text

The first step is to add text to your Canva design.

This is done by clicking the “text option” to the left followed by choosing a headline.

Instead of just picking one of the default ones, you can also use the search bar to search for a specific headline.

Pro tip: A shortcut to add text is to hit “T” on your keyboard and a text box like the one above will appear.

Step 2 – Choose the font styles and font size

With the text added, you might wish to change the font type and adjust the size to something that’s aligned with your thoughts.

Tap the drop-down menu, and you’ll have hundreds of fonts to choose from.

Pick one and then adjust the size using the + and – symbols next to the font drop-down menu.

You can also select the size number between the + and – symbols to delete the current size and type in the size you wish by yourself.

Pro tip: Always pick the font before adjusting the size since some fonts are bigger and smaller than others and therefore, you’ll have to adjust the size once again if you don’t pick the font as the first thing.

Step 3 – Highlight the text in 4 small steps

Select the text box or text boxes (if you have more than one).

Then click on “Effects”, whereafter you should choose “Background” in order to get what looks like highlighted text.

Canva will by default have some pre-settings, but these can be adjusted as you like. Maybe you wish for a more transparent background, a different color, or less roundness, then use the effects panel to change these.

That’s the first method, but there are different ways to achieve similar or even slightly better results.

How to highlight only a portion of text in Canva?

So depending on your Canva projects or the social media you want to upload your design to, you might not want to highlight a whole text box. In addition, here you have other text highlight Canva tips to only highlight a portion of the text.

I’m not going to cover how to add text to Canva again since we just covered that above, therefore I assume you’ve already added text.

Step 1 – Go to elements

The first step is to go to the elements section, which can be found on your left side on your “Canva dashboard”.

Step 2 – Pick your shape

Now under the “line and shapes” section you can do two things; either you just pick the square by clicking on it, or you click the “see all” button if you want another shape to function as your highlighter.

Many people prefer the square, but choose whatever shape you’d like.

Step 3 – Customize your shape

In step 3 we customize and adjust our shape as we would like.

The first thing I use to do is to match the color of my shape and the highlight color I would like to be applied to my text.

After, I adjust the size of the shape by pulling it in different directions with my mouse until I’m satisfied.

Step 4 – Positioning the shape correctly

To get the highlight effect we want, the last step is to drag the shape on top of our text (if it’s not already behind the text), then click the three dots –> position –> and choose backward.

Now the text should be behind the text just like before, but it’s only highlighting the portion of the text we want.

How to use an image to highlight text in Canva

Since Canva contains a variety of tools, the two methods above are not the only ways to highlight text in Canva. In fact, you can use images as highlighters as well.

Step 1 – Find frames and grids under elements

Just like before the first step is to click on the elements tab, then scroll down until you see some sections called “frames” or “grids”.

Step 2 – Add the frame or grid

Click on the frame or grid you’d like to contain your image. It will then be added to your Canva.

Step 3 – Upload the image to Canva

Before we can use an image to highlight text, we’ll need to upload the image we want to use.

This is done by clicking the “upload” button to the left and then hitting the “upload files” rectangle.

Now you’ll be able to upload the image you want from your files.

Pro tip: You can also drag and drop the image into your Canva

Step 4 – Drag the image into your frame or grid

Now use the mouse to drag the image on top of the frame or grid, Canva will then automatically fit your image into the grid/frame.

As we did before, you’ll now adjust the shape, before sending it backward.

Step 5 – Edit the image

Right now, it just looks like your own image is behind the text, and that’s not what we want.

Therefore, you should now click “edit image”, and pick “adjust” in the window to the left.

Doing so will open up the adjust panel with its default settings and which you can play around with until it looks more like a highlighter than an image.

Also, you might want to change the color of the text to achieve an even better highlighter effect.

Other frequently asked questions

Do I need a pro account to highlight text in Canva?

No, you do not need to have a Canva Pro Account to highlight text in Canva. It can all be done with the free version.

How do I change the text color in Canva?

Select your text box/text and click on the “A” with a rainbow line below it. Here you’ll be displayed with a color palette which you can choose from.

Add a new text box and change the color within that text box as well, if you want to have different colored text.

How do I make a video ad in Canva?

Canva has a lot of templates, stock photos, and premade animations that can help you make an awesome video ad. I’ve made a whole article on the topic here.

How to highlight text in Canva – Conclusion

The design tools and graphic elements in Canva are many, and highlighting text isn’t straightforward.

However, the three methods above should be enough for you to get started with highlighting text in Canva