There are several things one can manipulate using the Background dialog box. A user can change the color scheme of the background or use a fill as the background. Fills in PowerPoint include gradients, textures, patterns, and pictures. Each of these features will be explained below.

To change the presentation's background, click on Format in the menu bar and then on Background. A Background dialog box will appear. Click on the down arrow (shown below) to open a drop-down menu of options.

To change the color, just click on the preferred color and the background will be switched to that color. If you do not like any of the colors given to you, click on More Colors and there will be much more to choose from.

 

You can also change the fill, by clicking on Fill Effects… A Fill Effects dialog box appears with four options: Gradient, Texture, Pattern, and Picture (something you have downloaded). All of these can be applied to your presentation.

To change the Gradient, click on the Gradient tab and select the number of colors, as well as the color you want. There is also an option to change the direction of the gradient effect (e.g., horizontal, diagonol down).

To change the texture, click on the Texture tab and select the one desired by double-clicking on the texture box. The textures shown are those that came with PowerPoint. If you stored a texture somewhere else on the computer, you would need to click the Other Texture button to locate that texture.

To change the pattern, click on the Pattern tab and select the one you want by clicking on the pattern box. A preview of the pattern can be seen in the lower right-hand side of the dialog window. There is also the option to change the background and foreground colors to suit your needs.

To change the background to an image saved onto the computer, click on the Picture tab and click on the Select Picture button to locate the image. Once you selected a picture, it will be shown and just click on the OK button to accept the image.

Once the desired background has been accepted, you can elect not to incorporate the design of the PowerPoint template into the new style. If you do not select the Omit background graphics from master, you will see all of the pictures from the template on top of what you have chosen.

The example below shows what would have happened if the Omit background graphics from master was not selected. See how the green textured background is placed behind the PowerPoint template called High Voltage. If I had selected the Omit background graphics, the entire background would have been green with no objects showing (e.g., spiral staircase and blue border lines).