every slide in a powerpoint presentation has a background

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November 12, 2024

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What are the steps to add different background for every slide in PowerPoint Template?

I need different background for every slide using PowerPoint Template.

These backgrounds

Speedup my visual check of monthly PowerPoint document.

Highlight content of slide to be visually checked.

Slides will be re-colored for transparency to allow visibility of backgrounds

Location of content differ for each slide but consistent for each PowerPoint Document.

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• Microsoft Agent |

Dear panes-rubrics.0l_icloud.com

Thank you for your quick response.

If you mean that you want to have a template can make each slides have different background when you create a new PowerPoint document. If my understanding is correct. First, you can follow the instructions in Create and save a PowerPoint template (microsoft.com) to create a PowerPoint template first.

pen a blank presentation:  File  >  New  >  Blank Presentation

On the  Design  tab, select  Slide Size  >  Custom Slide Size  and choose the page orientation and dimensions you want.

On the  View  tab, in the  Master Views  group, choose  Slide Master .

Select Background styles>Format Background >then click Insert in Picture resource to select the background you want.

After you finished the template, follow the detailed steps mentioned in the article to save it. On the  File  tab, click  Save As  (or  Save a Copy , if you are using Microsoft 365)> Under  Save , click  Browse  to open the  Save As  dialog box.... We kindly suggest you save the template in C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

Then apply the template to your presentation, you can refer to Start with a template (microsoft.com) . If you can't find the template in Personal  tab. Go to the new presentation you create> Design >click the Theme drop down list> Browse for themes

Then find the template you created and saved location on your computer to apply.

Then, in the new presentation, you can select the different background from the template for your new presentation as the screenshot below:

The left is the new presentation slides, the right is the PowerPoint template

If my understanding is correct, please come to back let us know and we'll continue to help you all the time!

Really appreciate your patience and understanding.

Stacey | Microsoft Community Moderator

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2 Easy Ways to Change the Background on PowerPoint Slides

Last Updated: June 3, 2024 Fact Checked

Using PowerPoint

Using google slides.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly . Rain Kengly is a wikiHow Technology Writer. As a storytelling enthusiast with a penchant for technology, they hope to create long-lasting connections with readers from all around the globe. Rain graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 460,784 times. Learn more...

Microsoft PowerPoint contains built-in tools that allow you to customize the backgrounds of your slides with vibrant colors, patterns, photos, and gradients. You can also upload your PPT to Google Drive to edit it in Slides. Here's how to change the background on PowerPoint Slides using your Windows or Mac computer.

Changing the Background in PowerPoint

• Select the slide you want to change and click the Design tab. Click Format Background and click Fill .
• You can change the background to Solid , Gradient , Picture or Texture or Pattern .
• To apply the background to all slides, click Apply to All .

• PowerPoint is available to download for Windows and Mac . You can also use PowerPoint online at https://www.office.com/ .

• Use the Direction menu to view different gradient pattern options. Use the Gradient stops slider to adjust where each color begins and ends.

• Click File to select the location of your custom image. Or, if you prefer, choose one of the preset textures from the list.
• You can move the Transparency slider to adjust how opaque the image or texture will appear. If you choose a “busy” image or pattern, you may want to raise the transparency so the text on your slide remains easy to read.

• Modify the colors in these patterns with the Foreground and Background menus beneath the pattern palette.

• If you only want the new background to appear on the current slide, click Close to save the changes.
• If you want every slide in your presentation to have the new background, click Apply to All .

• Once the upload is complete, a confirmation will appear at the bottom of the screen. Double-click the name of your PowerPoint file in that box to launch it in the viewer.
• When the preview of your presentation appears, click “Open with” and select “Google Slides.” It may take a few moments for the slide data to appear.

• If your desired background image is on your computer, click Upload , then click Choose an image to upload . Go to the image location, click Open , then Select .
• To use an image from your Google account, click Google Drive and navigate to the location of your desired background image. You can search for the image name in the search box if you’re not sure where it’s located. Once you find it, double-click it to save the selection.

• If you don’t like your background selection, click Reset Theme to try again.

Community Q&A

• If all of your slides are similar in format aside from the background (e.g., headers, footers, watermarks), consider creating a template or “slide master” . With a slide master, changes you make to the master slide will propagate to the rest of the slides, eliminating the need to edit these details in each slide manually. [2] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Editing a Microsoft PowerPoint document in Google Slides may slightly change other formatting details in your presentation. Make sure to browse through all of your slides to be sure they look how you want them to. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-the-background-of-slides-3ac2075c-f51b-4fbd-b356-b4c6748ec966#OfficeVersion=windows
• ↑ https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Apply-a-built-in-theme-to-a-slide-master-1e67f3ec-8838-4884-93ac-796b2bf0f035?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

About This Article

To change the background on one or more PowerPoint slides, start by selecting the slides you want to change in the left panel. To select multiple slides, just hold down the Control key on a PC or the Command key on a Mac as you click each slide. Next, click the ""Design"" tab and select ""Format Background"" in the ""Customize"" section of the toolbar. The Format Background panel will open to the ""Fill"" tab, which gives you several options for changing the background. Choose a ""Solid fill"" to make the background a single color, or ""Gradient Fill"" to customize a gradient blend of two or more colors. If you'd rather use a pattern as the background, select ""Pattern fill"" to choose a design and color scheme. If you want to use an image as the background, select ""Picture or texture fill."" You can either select a background texture from the ""Texture"" menu or click ""Insert"" to choose an image from your computer, OneDrive, or Bing Image Search. Once you've decided on a background image, you can adjust the alignment and transparency on the Fill tab. You can also edit the image using the other tabs at the top of the Format Background panel—click the pentagon-shaped icon to apply different texture effects to your image, or the photo tab to customize the image's sharpness, brightness, contrast, and color balance. Once you're happy with your background, click ""Apply to All"" to change the background of the selected slides. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Change Slide Background in PowerPoint

Change the Background of PowerPoint Slides to a Color, Gradient or Picture

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 7, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

In PowerPoint, you can change the background of individual slides, selected slides based on a layout, or all slides based on a Slide Master. Slide backgrounds can be changed to a color, pattern, gradient, texture or picture. In this article, we'll review applying color, gradient and picture backgrounds.

It's important to understand that every PowerPoint presentation (or template) uses themes. The Document Theme (or overall theme) includes a Font Theme, a Color Theme, an Effect Theme and a Slide Master with a set of layouts (typically one master set). Some themes may contain multiple slide masters which can be tricky to use.

You can apply a theme in Normal View by clicking the Design tab in the Ribbon and then clicking a theme in the Themes gallery. You can also apply a Font Theme, Color Theme, or Effect Theme by clicking the Design tab in the Ribbon, clicking the More arrow in Variants and then selecting one of the theme options. If you change the Document Theme or Color Theme, you may change the background of all of your slides.

Recommended article: How to Remove the Background From an Image in PowerPoint (2 Ways)

Do you want to learn more about PowerPoint? Check out our virtual classroom or in-person PowerPoint courses >

Note that applying slide backgrounds is different from inserting a picture on a slide, resizing it and sending it to the back.

In this article, we're using the Format Background task pane to change slide backgrounds, not the Ribbon.

Change the background of a slide to a color

To change the background color of a slide:

• Go to Normal View (you may need to click the Normal button on the bottom right of the screen).
• Display the slide with the slide background you want to change.
• Right-click a blank part of the slide. A drop-down menu appears.
• Select Format Background. The Format Background task pane appears.
• If necessary, click the Fill icon at the top of the task pane.
• Click Solid Color and then select a color from the color drop-down menu. Do not click Apply to All.

In the example below, a solid color is selected for the background:

Change the background of a slide to a gradient

To change the background of a slide to a gradient:

• Go to Normal View (click the Normal button on the bottom right of the screen).
• Click Gradient fill.
• If you want to use a Preset gradient, select one from the Preset drop-down menu.
• If you want to change the type of gradient, select a type from the Type drop-down menu. These include Linear, Radial, Rectangular or Path.
• If you want to change the direction of the gradient, select a direction from the Direction drop-down menu.
• If you want to set an angle (for linear gradients), select an angle from the Angle drop-down menu.
• If you want to change the color of a gradient stop, under Gradient stops, click the stop and select a color from the Color drop-down menu. Repeat for other gradient stops. To delete a stop, click it and click the Remove Gradient Stop (x) to the right of the gradient stops. It's usually easiest to have 2 stops. You can also change the Position, Transparency and Brightness settings for each gradient stop. Do not click Apply to All.

In the Format background task pane below, note there are two stop points with different colors:

Change the background of a slide to a picture

To change the background of a slide to a picture:

• Click Picture or Texture Fill.
• In PowerPoint 2013 or 2016, under Insert, click Picture from File. If a dialog box appears, click Offline. In PowerPoint 2019 or 365, under Picture Source, click Insert. A dialog box appears. Click Insert from File.
• Navigate to the folder with the picture you want to use.
• Double-click the picture. Do not click Apply to All.

Note that Picture or texture fill is selected for the background in the following example (in PowerPoint 365 which is similar in 2013, 2016 and 2019):

Change the background of multiple slides in Slide Master View

If you change the background of a Slide Master, all of the layouts based on that Slide Master (in the Slide Master set) should change unless an individual layout's background has been changed. In most presentations, there is only one Slide Master and its associated layouts but there can be more than one Slide Master. Here, we'll assume there is only one Slide Master.

Change the background of all slides to a color using the Slide Master

To change the background color of all slides using the Slide Master:

• If you are not in Slide Master View, click the View tab in the Ribbon and then click Slide Master in the Master Views group.
• Click the Slide Master on the top left in the thumbnails (this thumbnail is larger and normally appears with a 1 beside it).
• Right-click a blank area on the slide on the right. A drop-down menu appears.
• Click Solid Color and then select a color from the color drop-down menu.
• Go to Normal View by clicking the Normal button on the bottom right of the screen to view the changes.

Change the background of all slides to a gradient using the Slide Master

To change the background of all slides to a gradient using the Slide Master:

Change the background of all slides to a picture using the Slide Master

To change the background of all slides to a picture (stored on your hard drive or a shared drive) using the Slide Master:

• Double-click the picture.

Change the background of slides using a specific layout in Slide Master View

In a PowerPoint presentation, every slide is assigned a layout. If you change the background of a slide layout in Slide Master View, all slides using that layout should change. However, if a slide background has been changed for an individual slide in Normal View, it no longer follows the background of its associated slide layout.

To apply or change a slide's layout:

• In Normal View, display the slide with the layout you want to change
• Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Layout in the Slides group. A drop-down menu appears.
• Click the layout you want to apply.

Change the background of slides using a specific layout to a color

To change the background color of slides using a specific layout in Slide Master View:

• Click the desired slide layout on the left in the thumbnails. When you point to a slide layout, a pop-up appears with the name of the layout.

Change the background of slides using a specific layout to a gradient

To change the background of slides using a specific layout to a gradient in Slide Master View:

Change the background of slides using a specific layout to a picture

To change the background picture of slides using a specific layout in Slide Master View:

Note that Picture or texture fill is selected for the background (in PowerPoint 365 which is very similar in 2013, 2016 and 2019):

Summary and considerations

You can use the Ribbon to apply backgrounds as well but the Format Background task pane offers the most flexibility.

if you want to change the background of multiple slides, it's usually best to change either the Slide Master or layouts in Slide Master View.

A picture background can be problematic if you want to format, crop or animate the picture. As an alternative, you may want to consider inserting a picture and sending it to the back as opposed to changing the background to a picture. You an insert pictures on a slide in both Normal View or on a slide master or layouts in Slide Master View.

If you are having difficulty editing slide backgrounds, you may have multiple masters and associated layouts. In Slide Master View, scroll down on the left in the thumbnails to see if there are more masters and associated layouts. Right-click any master and / or layouts that you don't need and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Note that you cannot delete a layout or master that is being used by one or more slides in Normal View.

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How to change an entire presentation's formatting in powerpoint.

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If you’re wanting to reuse a PowerPoint presentation but would like to clear the slideshow's formatting, there’s no need to do it slide by slide---you can do it all at once. Here’s how.

First, open the PowerPoint presentation with the formatting you want to edit. To illustrate the before and after, here’s what we’ll be working with in this example.

Looking even closer, here are the formats our current slideshow is using:

• Colors: Gallery
• Headings: Gill Sans MT
• Body: Gill Sans MT
• Effects: Gallery
• Background Style: Style 10
• Background Graphics: Wooden Flooring

Once you’re ready to reformat, select the “ Slide Master ” option in the “Master Views” group of the “View” tab.

The first child slide is selected by default. Be sure to choose the parent slide above it, or the changes won’t take place for every slide.

If you want to assign a new theme to the presentation, you can do that here. Select “Themes” from the “Edit Theme” group and choose your desired theme from the drop-down menu.

Each theme comes with its own unique set of fonts, colors, effects, and so on---and there's certainly no shortage of items to choose from. If you want to stick with your current theme but change some of the individual formatting options, you can do so with the options available in the “Background” group.

Here are the different options available for reformatting:

• Colors: Changes all the colors used in your presentation, as well as the color options available in the color picker.
• Fonts: Changes all the headings and body fonts used in the presentation.
• Effects: Changes the appearance (shading, border, etc.) of objects in your presentation.
• Background Styles: Choose the background style for the selected theme.
• Hide Background Graphics: Hide (or unhide) background graphics that come with a theme. This can only be used on each slide type in the Master view.

To make changes, select the option from the menu and choose your desired change from the menu that opens. For example, if we wanted to change our colors from “Gallery” to “Green Yellow,” we’d select “Colors” from the “Background Group” and then choose “Green Yellow” from the drop-down menu.

Related: How to Change the Default Font in PowerPoint

Repeat these steps for whichever options you’d like to change. We’ll make the following changes to our slideshow in this example:

• Colors: Green Yellow
• Headings: Calibri
• Body: Calibri
• Effects: Glossy
• Background Styles: Style 10
• Hide Background Graphics: Title Slide only

Once you’ve made the desired changes, select the “Close Master View” button in the “Close” group.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

You’ll now see the changes applied throughout the entire presentation.

And a closer look shows all the finer details.

That’s all there is to it!

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