Format Background in PowerPoint 2013

You can change the background that each slide in your presentation has by using the Format Background command in PowerPoint 2013. Using it, you can give your background a:

• solid fill
• gradient fill
• picture or texture fill
• pattern fill

In PowerPoint 2010 you could get to the Format Background options by clicking Design (tab) > Background (group) > Background Styles, and then selecting the Format Background Option. You could also right click on any slide and select Format Background. PowerPoint 2013, however, has a brand new Format Background panel. If you click the design tab, then click the Format Background command (in the Customize group)….

… then the Format Background panel will open up on the right of the workspace.

This panel provides all the functions previously available in PowerPoint 2010. You could also get here by right clicking on a slide and then selecting Format Background. To close the panel down, just click on the X in the top right corner.

Here is a brief overview of each of the background options, and we’ll go into further detail in upcoming tutorials:

• solid fill – the background has a solid colour, like red or blue.
• gradient fill – the background makes a smooth transition from one colour to another colour. You can choose different types of gradient, like radial or rectangular, and choose the colours you want to appear in the gradient. Learn more about how to apply a gradient fill background.
• picture or texture fill – you can have a picture background appearing on every slide.
• pattern fill- choose from a selection of preset pattern fills to appear as a background.

There are a couple of extra options at the bottom of this panel. The Apply To All button will apply your current background formatting options to all slides in your presentation (as opposed to the currently selected slide), whereas the Reset Background will remove all formatting from your background and will reset it to a solid fill of white.