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PowerPoint Training

Making Images Transparent in Microsoft PowerPoint

You’ve found the perfect image that illustrates the point you’re trying to make in your presentation, so you drop it in. Unfortunately it has a big white rectangle around it that really spoils the look. Or you’ve inserted the logo for your company’s new product but the black background makes it jar against the slide. You could modify it in a dedicated image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, however PowerPoint has many useful image editing abilities built in.

Image in PowerPoint without transparency
Not a good look.

One of these features include setting one of the colours to be transparent. Here’s how to achieve this in different versions of PowerPoint.

powerpoint 2007 image transparency optionsSetting the transparency in PowerPoint 2007:

  1. Select your image
  2. Select the Format tab on the ribbon
  3. Select Recolor
  4. Choose Set Transparent Color
  5. Now click on the colour in the image you wish to set as see-through.

powerpoint 2010 image transparency settingsSetting the transparency in PowerPoint 2010:

  1. Select your image
  2. Select the Format tab on the ribbon
  3. Select Color
  4. Choose Set Transparent Color
  5. Now click on the colour in the image you wish to set as see-through.

powerpoint 2013 image transparency settingsSetting the transparency in PowerPoint 2013:

  1. Select your image
  2. Select the Format tab on the ribbon
  3. Select Color
  4. Choose Set Transparent Color
  5. Now click on the colour in the image you wish to set as see-through.

powerpoint after transparencyNote the results aren’t always perfect and you occasionally get artifacts surrounding your object, but it’s much better than the original. You can always try clicking a different part of the image and seeing if it gauges the transparent colour with more accuracy.

Want to know more? This technique among many others is covered in our Best STL PowerPoint training, London and UK wide.

Categories
PowerPoint Training

Using transitions in Powerpoint presentations

Transitions are part of the animation tools available in Powerpoint.  They are so impressive they get their own tab.

Transitions refer to the ways you can change from one slide to another.  You can have a simple transition but why not experiment to see if you can match the transition style to your audience.

For a smooth transition to a formal audience try the Reveal transition. 

For a fun transition during a quiz try the Checkerboard. 

For a presentation to beekeepers, try the Honeycomb effect.

You can preview the transitions and how they will look, but putting your cursor over the individual options and Powerpoint will show you how it will look using an instant preview.

Here is the Transitions tab

Transitions-tab-advanced-powerpoint
The Transitions tab includes extra options, available by scrolling down

Once you have found the transition you like, click to select.

It is a finishing touch that can be unobtrusive, sleek or go all out for the wow factor with some glitter.

Transitions are included in our one day Powerpoint courses.  Find out more with https://www.stl-training.co.uk/powerpoint-2010-introduction.php

For advanced + powerpoint techniques such as using multi-media techniques, take a look at https://www.stl-training.co.uk/powerpoint-2010-advanced.php