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Shaded Backgrounds:  Create Your Own

Create your own shaded backgrounds using a shaded autoshape.  Use the Format menu, Background command.  This will always be a rectangle.  If you want to make it interesting, let's create the background using an autoshape with fill effects.

To begin open a new, blank slide and display the alignment guides by pressing [Ctrl]G.  Move the guides to the edges of the slide then add a horizontal and vertical guide to the slide's other edges by pressing [Ctrl] and dragging and existing guide.  Now click the Zoom edit box and type in 10 and press [Enter].

Click the AutoShapes dropdown arrow on the Drawing toolbar, point at the Stars and Banners option and select the 16-point Star tool.  Draw a shape larger than the slide as shown below.

Now recolor the shape by first double clicking it

Choose the Colors and Lines tab.  Click the Fill panel's Color dropdown arrow, choose Fill Effects…option, select the Gradient tab. 

Now that we have colored the AutoShape we need to move it so that it forms an interesting shading on the slide.  This is why we use the guide lines.  If you move the star so that the points are at the edge of the slide but still covering it, you will get an interesting off-centered pattern.

 Now we need to clip off the extra shape.  The only way to do this is to cut the shape and paste it as a picture.  To do this select the shape, click on the cut button on the tool bar or press [Ctrl]X.  Then pull down the Edit menu, choose Paste Special…, select the Picture option and click OK.

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