Learn how to edit the slides of a PowerPoint presentation as you like to give your work a personal touch. Microsoft PowerPoint offers features and tools that allow you to customize the slide background with bright and vibrant colors, themes, images or shades of color. If you don't have access to PowerPoint - because you are neither at home nor in the office - you can upload your presentation to the Google Slides platform to be able to change the background color of your slides or use an image quickly and easily.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Use PowerPoint
Step 1. View the slide you want to customize
Select the slide you want to modify by clicking on the preview icon visible in the left part of the program window. If you need to change the background of all the slides in your presentation, you can do it quickly and easily.
Step 2. View background fill options
Select the background of the current slide with the right mouse button (if you are using a Mac, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking normally), then select the "Format background" item. Select the "Fill" tab from the left panel to view the available fill options.
Step 3. Create a solid color background
To create a single color background, choose the option Solid color fill. Click on the "Color" button to select the color to use from those proposed.
Step 4. Apply a gradient colored background
Select the option Gradient fill to create a gradient background with one or more colors blending together. Choose one of the predefined gradient templates from the present menu or create your own completely customized one. Use the "Direction" drop-down menu to view the blending modes you have available. Use the Gradient Stops slider to change where each color should start and stop.
Step 5. Create a background using an image or texture
Select the option Image or texture fill to be able to use any of your personal photos as wallpaper.
- Click on the "File" button to select the folder where the image to use as wallpaper is stored. Alternatively, you can select one of the predefined textures available using the "Texture" drop-down menu.
- Use the "Transparency" slider to change the transparency level of the photo or texture you have chosen. If you have chosen to use a photo or texture full of details and elements, you may need to increase the transparency level so that the text on your slides is still easily readable.
Step 6. Use a predefined pattern as background
If you are using PowerPoint 2013 or later, you can select the option Pattern fill in order to use one of the available patterns as a background. In this case, you can change the colors of the chosen motif using the "Foreground" and "Background" menus located below the list of available motifs.
Step 7. Apply the new changes
If you are not satisfied with the changes you have made, click on the "Reset wallpaper" button to restore the previous wallpaper. If not, follow these instructions:
- If you want the new background to appear only on the current slide, click on the "Close" button;
- If you want the new background to be applied to the whole presentation, click the "Apply to all" button.
Method 2 of 2: Use Google Slides
Step 1. Log in to Google Drive
In order to perform this step, you must have a Gmail / Google account available. Visit the following URL drive.google.com using your computer browser, then click on the "Go to Drive" link. Enter your Gmail account username and password when prompted. After authenticating, your Google Drive profile main page will be displayed.
Step 2. Upload your PowerPoint presentation to Drive
Click on the "New" button located at the top left of the page, then choose the "File Upload" option. Navigate to the folder where the presentation to upload is stored, select it, then click the "Open" button.
- When the file upload is complete, a confirmation message will appear at the bottom of the screen. Double-click the filename of the PowerPoint presentation you just uploaded to view its contents.
- When the slideshow preview appears on the screen, click on the "Open with" option and choose the "Google Slides" item. You may have to wait a few seconds for all slide data to appear on the screen.
Step 3. Select the slide you want to edit
Click on the icon of the slide whose background you want to change. All the slides in the presentation are listed on the left side of the page. If you want to change the background of all the slides, you can do it quickly and easily.
Step 4. View the options available to format the wallpaper according to your needs
Click on the "Slide" menu displayed at the top of the page, then select the "Change Background" option. As you browse through the available options, a preview image of the background will be displayed.
Step 5. Choose a solid color background
If you want to create a background that has only one color, click on the "Color" drop-down menu and select one of the available colors. If you want the background to appear transparent, click on the "Transparent" button located above the box where the color palette is visible.
Step 6. Use an image as the slide background
In this case, click on the "Choose image" button.
- If the image you want to use as wallpaper is stored on your computer, click the "Upload" tab, then click the "Browse" button. Access the folder where the photo to be used is stored, select it and finally click on the "Open" button.
- If you want to use an image stored on your Google account, click on the "Google Drive" tab and select the photo you want. If you don't remember in which Drive folder the image you're interested in is stored, you can search by name using the search bar located at the top of the "Insert Background Image" pop-up window. Once you have located the photo file you want to use as wallpaper, double-click the corresponding icon to select it.
Step 7. Click on the "Reset" button to undo any changes you have made to the background
If you are not satisfied with the new wallpaper you created, you can restore the previous one by clicking on the "Reset" button.
Step 8. Save the new wallpaper
To apply it to the slide you have selected, click on the "Finish" button. If, on the other hand, you want to apply the new background to all the slides of the presentation, first click on the "Add to theme" button and then on the "Finish" button.
Advice
- When you open a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation using Google Slides, some details of the text formatting may appear different from the original. So, make sure you go through all the slides to make sure there aren't any mistakes and they look the way you want them.
- If the appearance and format of all slides in your presentation are similar, except for the background (for example, they have the same headers and titles, footer and watermark), consider creating a presentation template or a "slide master". By using the "slide master", any changes you make to it will automatically be applied to all slides in your presentation. In this way, you will not have to manually perform the same changes on each of the present slides.
