Backgrounds

Managing complex backgrounds

March 6, 2026 by Ellen Finkelstein Leave a Comment

Sometimes, you may be in a situation where you have a complex background that includes graphics that cover part of the slide.

Maybe you were given a template by your company. Maybe you used one of PowerPoint’s templates or you bought a template.

The problem is that this type of background can interfere with adding large images that can make your slides more powerful.

In this video, I explain several ways to manage complex backgrounds. After the video, I briefly summarize the techniques.

The video is about 17 minutes long. (Note: This is a video I created quite a while ago, so the PowerPoint interface may be a little different from what you see, but the principles and instructions are still valid.)

[Read more…]

Using abstract images to create unique backgrounds for slides and shapes

January 30, 2025 by Ellen Finkelstein 2 Comments

You can use abstract images to create interesting, textured backgrounds for slides or shapes. Just as important, they will be unique. You’ll see why as you read further…

Here’s an example, using abstract images as a fill for the shapes of a diagram.

First, you have to find an abstract image. That’s fairly easy. For example, go to pixabay.com or your favorite stock images site and enter abstract in the search box. Find some images and download them. Here are 3 that I downloaded from pixabay.com:

Another easy technique is to take your own abstract photos! Any object with a texture that is mostly one color works well. Here are some ideas:

A close-up of a piece of fabric or carpet
A close-up of the hair of a pet
A piece of wood or furniture

Here’s a photo of a gravel pathway that I took>>>

Modify the texture image

You can make many modifications to the texture image. Select the image, and choose the Picture Format tab. For example, you can do the following:

In the Adjust section of the ribbon, choose Corrections to soften or sharpen the image, as well as change the brightness and contrast. For more precise changes, choose Picture Corrections Options at the bottom.
Choose Color to change the saturation or tone, or to recolor the image.
Choose Artistic Effects to choose one of the preset effects.

Here, I took the abstract image on the left, then blurred it, colored it, and reduced the contrast to create the one on the right.

Use the image as a fill for a shape

To use an image as a fill for a shape, follow these steps:

Click the shape to display the Picture Format tab and click the tab.
Choose Shape Fill> Picture> From File, navigate to the picture you saved, and double-click the picture file you want to use. (See an alternative method below.)
If you want to remove the outline (I often do), choose Shape Outline> No Outline.

If you have already inserted the abstract image you want to use on a slide — since you may have created and modified it there — follow these steps:

Copy the abstract image to the clipboard.
Right-click the shape and choose Format Shape to open the Format Shape task pane.
On the Fill & Line tab, expand the Fill section and choose Picture or Texture Fill. (PowerPoint automatically fills the shape with the default texture and changes the name of the task pane to Format Picture.)
Choose Clipboard
If you want to remove the outline, choose Shape Outline> No Outline from the ribbon or from the Line section of the Format Picture task pane.

Use an abstract image as a slide background

To use an image as a slide background, display either the slide or the slide master. If you want to apply the background to all layouts, click the top, larger layout in the left pane of the slide master.

Right-click an empty area of the slide or slide master and choose Format Background.
In the Format Background dialog box, for the Fill category, choose Picture or Texture Fill.
Choose Clipboard if you have the image on the clipboard or choose Insert> From a File, navigate to the file, and double-click the picture file that you want to use.

These options give you unlimited possibilities!

How do you use abstract images?

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3 ways to use images

March 13, 2022 by Ellen Finkelstein 5 Comments

From my perspective, you can use images on a slide in 3 ways:

As a background, behind text: The purpose is to make a slide that is essentially all text look better
As a supplement to text: The purpose is to help people understand and remember the text
As the main focus of the slide, with smaller text that supplements the image: The purpose is to have a strong impact

How do you decide how to size, place, and format an image on a slide? It depends on your goal, your purpose.

There is no right way to use an image, but understanding these 3 ways will help you design better slides. You’ll learn how to use images purposefully so that they help you reach your goal for your presentations. At the end, I’ll give you a quick exercise that has helped others choose the best way to use an image on any slide.

I’ll describe all three ways of using images and give you examples, but I also want to focus on #3 because I think it is underused. So let’s get started!

By the way, these are all from my course, Power of Storytelling. [Read more…]

2 ways to save time and effort by setting default shape formats in PowerPoint

February 4, 2018 by Ellen Finkelstein 10 Comments

I rarely use shapes with outlines. So every time I insert a shape, I click the Format tab, choose Shape Outline, then No Outline.

Wait, why am I doing that? I can customize my themes!

I often use the default theme to create graphics. Here are the steps to customize it to always get a theme with shapes that have no outlines. Of course, you can make any changes you want.

Remember that themes don’t have any objects in them, unlike templates, which can have sample slides, logos, images, etc.

Know which theme you’re using

First, I want to show you a little trick that will tell you which theme you’re using. This will help you know which theme is your default. PowerPoint used to show you the current theme on the status bar at the lower-left of the PowerPoint window, but for some reason stopped doing that.

But you can get it back!

Right-click the status bar in PowerPoint to see the Customize Status Bar list. Click Theme to always see which theme you’re using. (You’ll see the current theme listed on the right.)

Now, look at your status bar. It shows your current theme!

This is probably the theme that you want to change.

Why not change the Slide Master?

Remember that many defaults are set in the Slide Master, such as the font, text alignment, etc. So if that’s what you want to change, you would use a slightly different procedure. In that case, see my post, “Customize the Default Theme to Instantly Get the Look You Want.”

And you shouldn’t use this method to change the default shape color, because you should set your colors on the Slide Master. “Try Design Variations” explains how to set your theme colors.

In fact, the reason you can’t use the Slide Master to get rid of the shape outline is that while you can customize your fonts and colors, you don’t have the same flexibility with shape effects. You can choose from a set group of effects, but it’s hard to know from the thumbnail images exactly what you’re getting and you can’t customize them. And as far as I can tell, none of the options offers shapes with no outline

1. Define and set the default shape

Now, define your shape and make it the default. Follow these steps:

Insert a shape.
Make the changes you want. I clicked Shape Outline and chose No Outline.
Right-click the shape and choose Set as Default Shape.

Setting a default shape works only for your current presentation. And if you want default shapes only for one presentation, this is the method to use.

2. Set the theme as your default theme

If you want your formatting to be permanent, you have to take one more step, that is, to set the theme as your default. You can do this for your customized theme as well.

Follow these steps:

Click the Design tab.
Click the More down arrow at the right end of the Themes gallery/group to expand the display of the available themes.
Find your current theme. (Because you have displayed it on your status bar, you know what it is.)
Right-click it and choose Set as Default Theme.

The shape itself won’t be saved with the theme. Remember, themes don’t contain objects/text/ images, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must be using a custom theme for this to work.

To test that this worked, do the following:

Close and re-open PowerPoint.
Choose the Default Theme if you see the Startup screen.
Insert a shape. It should be formatted the way you want it.

No outline–yay!

To make a similar change for other themes that you don’t want to be your default theme, just do the following:

On the Design tab, choose the theme. Note its name.
Insert a shape and format it.
Right-click it and set it as the default shape as described above.
Click the More arrow and choose Save Current Theme.
Choose the current theme from the list and click Save.
When prompted to replace it, click Yes.

Are you spending time doing the same formatting of shapes over and over? Leave a comment and please share this post with others using the Social Media buttons.

If you like tips like this, you’ll love my e-book, 101 Tips Every PowerPoint User Should Know! Check it out here.

Video tutorial: Create a theme in PowerPoint from scratch

June 22, 2015 by Ellen Finkelstein 2 Comments

In my clients’ presentations that we make over (usually together), I see a lot of themes and slide masters that aren’t well prepared — sometimes not prepared at all. Setting up the theme and slide master, while it might seem time consuming, is actually a time saver because you avoid having to fiddle with each slide. And your slides will look better as well.

Here’s a video of a session from Power Pointers Quarter Hour that shows the process of how to create a theme in PowerPoint — similar to one that I often use. By watching it, you’ll learn the process and can then customize it for your own needs.

Setting up a customized theme is a time saver allowing you more freedom during presentations. #backgrounds #themes #powerpoint Share on X

PowerPoint crashed during the session, but I was able to successfully complete the tutorial.