Manage Presentation Backgrounds in Python

Overview

Solid colors, gradients, and images are commonly used for slide backgrounds. You can set the background for a normal slide (a single slide) or a master slide (applies to multiple slides at once).

PowerPoint background

Set a Solid Color Background for a Normal Slide

Aspose.Slides allows you to set a solid color as the background for a specific slide in a presentation—even if the presentation uses a master slide. The change applies only to the selected slide.

  1. Create an instance of the Presentation class.
  2. Set the slide’s BackgroundType to OWN_BACKGROUND.
  3. Set the slide background FillType to SOLID.
  4. Use the solid_fill_color property on FillFormat to specify the solid background color.
  5. Save the modified presentation.

The following Python example shows how to set a blue solid color as the background for a normal slide:

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

# Create an instance of the Presentation class.
with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]

    # Set the background color of the slide to blue.
    slide.background.type = slides.BackgroundType.OWN_BACKGROUND
    slide.background.fill_format.fill_type = slides.FillType.SOLID
    slide.background.fill_format.solid_fill_color.color = draw.Color.blue

    # Save the presentation to disk.
    presentation.save("SolidColorBackground.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Set a Solid Color Background for the Master Slide

Aspose.Slides allows you to set a solid color as the background for the master slide in a presentation. The master slide acts as a template that controls formatting for all slides, so when you choose a solid color for the master slide’s background, it applies to every slide.

  1. Create an instance of the Presentation class.
  2. Set the master slide’s BackgroundType (via masters) to OWN_BACKGROUND.
  3. Set the master slide background FillType to SOLID.
  4. Use the solid_fill_color property on FillFormat to specify the solid background color.
  5. Save the modified presentation.

The following Python example shows how to set a solid color (forest green) as the background for a master slide:

import aspose.pydrawing as draw
import aspose.slides as slides

# Create an instance of the Presentation class.
with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    master_slide = presentation.masters[0]

    # Set the background color for the Master slide to Forest Green.
    master_slide.background.type = slides.BackgroundType.OWN_BACKGROUND
    master_slide.background.fill_format.fill_type = slides.FillType.SOLID
    master_slide.background.fill_format.solid_fill_color.color = draw.Color.forest_green

    # Save the presentation to disk.
    presentation.save("MasterSlideBackground.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Set a Gradient Background for a Slide

A gradient is a graphical effect created by a gradual change in color. When used as a slide background, gradients can make presentations look more artistic and professional. Aspose.Slides allows you to set a gradient color as the background for slides.

  1. Create an instance of the Presentation class.
  2. Set the slide’s BackgroundType to OWN_BACKGROUND.
  3. Set the slide background FillType to GRADIENT.
  4. Use the gradient_format property on FillFormat to configure your preferred gradient settings.
  5. Save the modified presentation.

The following Python example shows how to set a gradient color as the background for a slide:

import aspose.slides as slides

# Create an instance of the Presentation class.
with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]

    # Apply a gradient effect to the background.
    slide.background.type = slides.BackgroundType.OWN_BACKGROUND
    slide.background.fill_format.fill_type = slides.FillType.GRADIENT
    slide.background.fill_format.gradient_format.tile_flip = slides.TileFlip.FLIP_BOTH

    # Save the presentation to disk.
    presentation.save("GradientBackground.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Set an Image as a Slide Background

In addition to solid and gradient fills, Aspose.Slides allows you to use images as slide backgrounds.

  1. Create an instance of the Presentation class.
  2. Set the slide’s BackgroundType to OWN_BACKGROUND.
  3. Set the slide background FillType to PICTURE.
  4. Load the image you want to use as the slide background.
  5. Add the image to the presentation’s image collection.
  6. Use the picture_fill_format property on FillFormat to assign the image as the background.
  7. Save the modified presentation.

The following Python example shows how to set an image as the background for a slide:

import aspose.slides as slides

# Create an instance of the Presentation class.
with slides.Presentation() as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]

    # Set background image properties.
    slide.background.type = slides.BackgroundType.OWN_BACKGROUND
    slide.background.fill_format.fill_type = slides.FillType.PICTURE
    slide.background.fill_format.picture_fill_format.picture_fill_mode = slides.PictureFillMode.STRETCH

    # Load the image.
    with slides.Images.from_file("Tulips.jpg") as image:
        # Add the image to the presentation's image collection.
        pp_image = presentation.images.add_image(image)

    slide.background.fill_format.picture_fill_format.picture.image = pp_image

    # Save the presentation to disk.
    presentation.save("ImageAsBackground.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

The following code sample shows how to set the background fill type to a tiled picture and modify the tiling properties:

import aspose.slides as slides

with slides.Presentation() as presentation:

    first_slide = presentation.slides[0]

    background = first_slide.background

    background.type = slides.BackgroundType.OWN_BACKGROUND
    background.fill_format.fill_type = slides.FillType.PICTURE

    with slides.Images.from_file("image.png") as new_image:
        pp_image = presentation.images.add_image(new_image)

    # Set the image used for the background fill.
    back_picture_fill_format = background.fill_format.picture_fill_format
    back_picture_fill_format.picture.image = pp_image

    # Set the picture fill mode to Tile and adjust the tile properties.
    back_picture_fill_format.picture_fill_mode = slides.PictureFillMode.TILE
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_offset_x = 15.0
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_offset_y = 15.0
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_scale_x = 46.0
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_scale_y = 87.0
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_alignment = slides.RectangleAlignment.CENTER
    back_picture_fill_format.tile_flip = slides.TileFlip.FLIP_Y

    presentation.save("TileBackground.pptx", slides.export.SaveFormat.PPTX)

Change the Background Image Transparency

You may want to adjust the transparency of a slide’s background image to make the contents of the slide stand out. The following Python code shows you how to change the transparency for a slide background image:

transparency_value = 30  # For example.

# Get the collection of picture transform operations.
image_transform = slide.background.fill_format.picture_fill_format.picture.image_transform

transparency_operation = None

# Find an existing fixed-percentage transparency effect.
for operation in image_transform:
    if type(operation) is slides.AlphaModulateFixed:
        transparency_operation = operation
        break

# Set the new transparency value.
if transparency_operation is None:
    image_transform.add_alpha_modulate_fixed_effect(100 - transparency_value)
else:
    transparency_operation.amount = 100 - transparency_value

Get the Slide Background Value

Aspose.Slides provides the IBackgroundEffectiveData class for retrieving a slide’s effective background values. This class exposes the effective FillFormat and EffectFormat.

Using the BaseSlide class’s background property, you can obtain the effective background for a slide.

The following Python example shows how to get a slide’s effective background value:

import aspose.slides as slides

# Create an instance of the Presentation class.
with slides.Presentation("Sample.pptx") as presentation:
    slide = presentation.slides[0]

    # Retrieve the effective background, taking into account master, layout, and theme.
    effective_background = slide.background.get_effective()

    if effective_background.fill_format.fill_type == slides.FillType.SOLID:
        color = effective_background.fill_format.solid_fill_color
        print(f"Fill color: Color [A={color.a}, R={color.r}, G={color.g}, B={color.b}]")
    else:
        print("Fill type:", str(effective_background.fill_format.fill_type))

FAQ

Can I reset a custom background and restore the theme/layout background?

Yes. Remove the slide’s custom fill, and the background will be inherited again from the corresponding layout/master slide (i.e., the theme background).

What happens to the background if I change the presentation’s theme later?

If a slide has its own fill, it will remain unchanged. If the background is inherited from the layout/master, it will update to match the new theme.

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