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PowerPoint 2003 - Misc

Give Slides a Background Color or Fill

SUMMARY: Add a background color, fill pattern, or background graphic to one or all of your slides in a PowerPoint 2003 presentation.

Your Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 presentations do not all have to be on a plain white background. If desired, you can choose a different color for your background, apply a fill effect, or use a graphic for your background.

It's very easy to get carried away with this fun feature! Make sure your presentation remains easy to view after adding your desired background effect(s). For example, white text on a light gray background may not be a good idea.

1. Select "Format" - "Background".

2. A "Background" dialog box will appear. Click the pull-down to choose from one of a few selected colors, "More Colors", or "Fill Effects".

Choosing a background type in a PowerPoint 2003 presentation.

More Colors

1. Choosing "More Colors" opens a multi-tabbed dialog box where you can choose your color via a standard or customized color wheel. Choosing the "Custom" color wheel will let you select colors via their RGB values.

2. When you are done, click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Choosing a background color for a PowerPoint 2003 presentation.

Fill Effects

1. Choosing "Fill Effects" provides a "Fill Effects" multi-tabbed dialog box with a wide variety of fill types:

Gradient - One color, two color, and preset multicolor gradient fills. You can choose the fill type, colors, transparency, shading styles, and variants.

Texture - Choose from a variety of textures, or click "Other Texture" to import a texture graphic of your own.

Choosing a background texture for a PowerPoint 2003 presentation.

Pattern - Choose from a variety of pre-made patterns. Adjust the pattern foreground and background colors as desired.

Picture - Choose a picture for your presentation background.

2. When you are done, click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Apply your Changes

When you are satisfied with your changes, determine if you want the background graphic to appear on printed slides (doing so increases print time and requires more toner/ink). If not, check "Omit background graphics from master". Then click "Apply" to apply the changes to the current slide only, or "Apply to All" to apply the changes to all slides.