How to insert a background into a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007/2010 and OpenOffice Impress

Computer presentations have long been a standard addition to any oral presentation. One of the most important characteristics of this document is the compatibility of graphics (slide layouts, backgrounds) and textual content. This article will show you how to insert a background into a presentation created with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, 2010 and OpenOffice Impress 4.1.5.

Using standard PowerPoint templates and adding new ones

The easiest way to add a background to your presentation is to use one of the ready-made design templates. You can do this using the "Design" tab and the "Themes" block. The latter contains about 20 templates. To apply one of them to your presentation, just expand the full list (by clicking on the button with an inverted triangle and a bar above it) and click on one of them.

But standard templates are not suitable for every presentation. Therefore, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and 2010 provides the ability to add third-party themes. You can find them on the official website of the Microsoft Office package. To go to it, you need to click on the item "Other topics on the website" in the expanded list of topics.

After downloading a suitable template, you need to add it to the program. This is done as follows.

• Expand the list of available topics and select "Search topics" at the bottom.
• In the new window, select the previously downloaded file.

After that, the template can be used, but it will be stored only in the created presentation. To save it for later use:

• In the expanded list of templates, click "Save current theme".
• In the new window, click the "Save" button.

Note: You cannot change the save path, otherwise the template will not be available.

This completes the method of how to insert a background into a presentation as a ready-made template.

Using pictures for the background

The second way to make the design of the presentation as suitable as possible to the topic of the report is to use your own image for the background. This is done in two ways. The first is as follows:

• On the sheet of any slide, right-click and select "Background Format" from the menu.
• Set a round mark near the "Picture or fill" line. She isgives access to 24 ready-made textures and the use of your image.
• Click on the "File" or "Clip" button and select the appropriate image.
• Click on "Apply to all" to make the selected background image appear on all slides. Otherwise, the "Close" button is used.

The second option on how to insert your background into a PowerPoint presentation is slightly different from the previous one, namely, the way the dialog box is called. To do this, go to the "Design" tab and do one of the following:

1. Click on the button labeled "Background Styles" and select "Background Format" from its menu.
2. Click on the button in the lower right corner of the "Background" block.

Shape fill - customizable background

This method is suitable for those cases when there should be an image on the background of the slide that is not stretched to the entire sheet. The algorithm for how to insert a background into a presentation is as follows:

Add a shape using the button of the same name in the "Insert" tab

• Select it and right click on it. In the menu that appears, select "Shape Format".
• In the dialog box, go to the "Fill" subsection.
• Complete the last 3 steps to add an image from the secondway.

The same result can be achieved using the Shape Fill button on the Format tab. In its menu, select the item "Figure.

So that the figure with the picture does not overlap the text and other images, you need to click on the inscription "Send to Back" in the next tab.

How to insert a background into an OpenOffice (LibreOffice) Impress presentation

There are 3 ways to do this in a completely free analogue of PowerPoint:

1. Download and install one of 300 ready-made templates, since only 5 are built into the program.
2. Use image as background.
3. Fill the slide using a texture or one created from an image.

The first way is as follows:

• Go to the official website of the program and successively go to the Product and Impress subsections. In the description text of this package component, find the downloading templates hyperlink highlighted in blue.
• Go to it and download one of the 300 available templates.

Open the downloaded file. If the template is needed next time, then it must be added to the program. To do this, in the "File" menu, go to the "Templates" section and select "Save". In the window that appears, enter a name and click "OK"

All templates available for use are intab "Backgrounds" in the right auxiliary block.

To make an image a background in your presentation, just right-click on the sheet and select "Slide" and "Slide background" from the context menu. After that, the "Explorer" window will open for selecting an image. The program will then ask you if you want to apply the new background to one or all of the slides.

Note: A presentation with a custom background can also be saved as a permanent template.

The third way to insert a background into an Open Office presentation comes down to the following sequence of steps:

• In the standard menu bar, go to the "Format" section and select the "Region" item.
• In the new window, switch to the "Texture" tab.
• Press the "Import" button, open the desired image and enter the name of the new texture. The default is the image title.

• After that, in the "Format" menu, go to "Page".
• In the dialog box, switch to the "Background" tab and find the created texture in the drop-down list.
• Press "OK" and in the next window answer "Yes" or "No" to the program's question about applicability to all slides.

This completes adding your own background in OpenOffice Impress.

Despite the fact that the interfaces of PowerPoint and Impress are very different, it is quite easy to create your own background for your presentation in them.