A reader recently asked if he could use one of his pictures as a background for his PowerPoint slide. The answer is yes and here is the method.
Set Your Picture as the PowerPoint Background
- Right click on the background of the slide, being sure to avoid clicking on any text boxes.
- Choose Format Background... from the shortcut menu.
PowerPoint Picture Background Options
- In the Format Background dialog box, make sure that Fill is selected in the left pane.
- Click on Picture or texture fill as the type of fill.
- Click on the File... button to locate your own picture saved on your computer. (Other options are to insert a picture stored on the clipboard or from the Clip Art.)
- Optional - Choose to tile this picture (which repeats the picture several times across the slide) or to offset the picture by a specific percentage by direction.
Note - The most common use for tiling a picture is to set a texture (a small picture file that is stored on your computer) as a background, rather than a photograph. - Transparency - Unless the picture is the focal point of the slide, it is a good practice to set a transparency by percentage, for the picture. By doing this, the picture is truly just a backdrop for the content.
- Choose one of the last options:
• Reset Background if you are unhappy with your picture choice.
• Close to apply the picture as the background to this one slide and continue on.
• Apply to All if you would like this picture to be the background for all of your slides.
