Video:How to Use Background Colors and Graphics in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows
with Brian SmithDoes your PowerPoint presentation lack some punch? In this video tutorial from About.com, learn how to change your slide background color or add a background image to make a more dynamic PowerPoint presentation.See Transcript
Transcript:How to Use Background Colors and Graphics in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows
Hi, I’m Brian Smith for About.com here to share some tips on adjusting your background in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 for Windows.
Customize the PowerPoint Presentation's Background
In this basic presentation, you’ll notice we just have a plain white background. Changing the backgrounds can certainly help set your presentation apart from others and give your slide deck a custom flair. There are several ways you can adjust your backgrounds in PowerPoint. The first way we’ll look at is simply changing the color of the background.
Changing the Background Color in PowerPoint
The first step is to open the Format Background dialog box and there’s two ways to access it. From the Design Ribbon, you can click on this small box to activate the Format Background dialog OR if you right-click on a blank area of your presentation, you can select Format Background from the shortcut list. Now, with Fill highlighted on the left panel and the solid fill radio button activated on the right panel, you can use the color selector to pick your new background color. Once selected, you can either close the Format Background dialog box to change just your current slide or click the Apply to All button to change the color of all the backgrounds in your slide deck.
Add a Background Picture in PowerPoint
The next way we can change our background is with a background picture. From our same Format Background dialog box, this time I’m going to select the Picture or Texture fill option. To use a picture I have stored on my computer, I’ll select the FILE button and browse to the folder where my picture is located. For this example, I’m going to choose this desert scene then click Insert.
You’ll notice the image is very bold and overpowers the text but we can use the Transparency slider to adjust the boldness of the background so that our text stands out. Now we can click close the Format Background dialog to apply this image to just this one slide or click Apply to All to use this image on all of our slides.
I hope you found this tip helpful when adjusting the appearance of your background in PowerPoint. For more tips, be sure to check us out on the web at compute.about.com