Python: Set Background Color or Picture for PowerPoint Slides

Setting an appropriate background is a crucial step when creating visually captivating and impactful PowerPoint presentations. The background serves as the foundation upon which your content is displayed, and choosing the right background can greatly enhance the overall aesthetic and effectiveness of your slides. Whether you are presenting at a business meeting, educational seminar, or social event, a well-designed background can engage your audience and effectively convey your message. In this article, we will explain how to set background color or picture for PowerPoint slides in Python using Spire.Presentation for Python.

• Set a Background Color for a PowerPoint Slide in Python
• Set a Gradient Background for a PowerPoint Slide in Python
• Set a Background Picture for a PowerPoint Slide in Python
• Set a Background for a Slide Master in PowerPoint in Python

Install Spire.Presentation for Python

This scenario requires Spire.Presentation for Python and plum-dispatch v1.7.4. They can be easily installed in your Windows through the following pip command.

pip install Spire.Presentation

If you are unsure how to install, please refer to this tutorial: How to Install Spire.Presentation for Python on Windows

Set a Background Color for a PowerPoint Slide in Python

Adding a background color for a PowerPoint slide is very simple. You just need to set the fill mode of the slide's background as a solid fill and then set a color for the slide’s background. The detailed steps are as follows.

• Create an object of the Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a specific slide using Presentation.Slides[index] property.
• Access the background of the slide using ISlide.SlideBackground property.
• Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type using SlideBackground.Type property.
• Set the fill mode of the slide’s background as a solid fill using SlideBackground.Fill.FillType property.
• Set a color for the slide’s background using SlideBackground.Fill.SolidColor.Color property.
• Save the result presentation using Presentation.SaveToFile() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create a Presentation object
ppt = Presentation()
# Load a PowerPoint presentation
ppt.LoadFromFile("Input.pptx")

# Get the first slide
slide = ppt.Slides[0]

# Access the background of the slide
background = slide.SlideBackground

# Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type
background.Type = BackgroundType.Custom
# Set the fill mode of the slide's background as a solid fill
background.Fill.FillType = FillFormatType.Solid
# Set a color for the slide's background
background.Fill.SolidColor.Color = Color.get_PaleTurquoise()

# Save the result presentation
ppt.SaveToFile("Solidbackground.pptx", FileFormat.Pptx2013)
ppt.Dispose()

Set a Gradient Background for a PowerPoint Slide in Python

Adding a gradient background is a little complex. You need to set the fill mode of the slide’s background as a gradient fill and then set the gradient stops and colors. The detailed steps are as follows.

• Create an object of the Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a specific slide using Presentation.Slides[index] property.
• Access the background of the slide using ISlide.SlideBackground property.
• Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type using SlideBackground.Type property.
• Set the fill mode of the slide’s background as a gradient fill using SlideBackground.Fill.FillType property.
• Set gradient stops and colors for the slide’s background using SlideBackground.Fill.Gradient.GradientStops.AppendByColor() method.
• Set the shape type and angle for the gradient fill.
• Save the result presentation using Presentation.SaveToFile() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create a Presentation object
ppt = Presentation()
# Load a PowerPoint presentation
ppt.LoadFromFile("Input.pptx")

# Get the first slide
slide = ppt.Slides[0]

# Access the background of the slide
background = slide.SlideBackground

# Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type
background.Type = BackgroundType.Custom

# Set the fill mode of the slide's background as a gradient fill
background.Fill.FillType = FillFormatType.Gradient

# Set gradient stops and colors
background.Fill.Gradient.GradientStops.AppendByColor(0.1, Color.get_LightCyan())
background.Fill.Gradient.GradientStops.AppendByColor(0.7, Color.get_LightSeaGreen())

# Set the shape type of the gradient fill
background.Fill.Gradient.GradientShape = GradientShapeType.Linear
# Set the angle of the gradient fill
background.Fill.Gradient.LinearGradientFill.Angle = 45

# Save the result presentation
ppt.SaveToFile("Gradientbackground.pptx", FileFormat.Pptx2013)
ppt.Dispose()

Set a Background Picture for a PowerPoint Slide in Python

To add a background picture for a PowerPoint slide, you need to set the fill mode of the slide's background as a picture fill, then add a picture to the image collection of the presentation and set it as the slide’s background. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Create an object of the Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a specific slide using Presentation.Slides[index] property.
• Access the background of the slide using ISlide.SlideBackground property.
• Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type using SlideBackground.Type property.
• Set the fill mode of the slide’s background as a picture fill using SlideBackground.Fill.FillType property.
• Add an image to the image collection of the presentation using Presentation.Images.AppendStream() method.
• Set the image as the slide’s background using SlideBackground.Fill.PictureFill.Picture.EmbedImage property.
• Save the result presentation using Presentation.SaveToFile() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create a Presentation object
ppt = Presentation()
# Load a PowerPoint presentation
ppt.LoadFromFile("Input.pptx")

# Get the first slide
slide = ppt.Slides[0]

# Access the background of the slide
background = slide.SlideBackground

# Set the type of the slide's background as a custom type
background.Type = BackgroundType.Custom

# Set the fill mode of the slide's background as a picture fill
background.Fill.FillType = FillFormatType.Picture

# Add an image to the image collection of the presentation
stream = Stream("background.jpg")
imageData = ppt.Images.AppendStream(stream)
# Set the image as the slide's background
background.Fill.PictureFill.FillType = PictureFillType.Stretch
background.Fill.PictureFill.Picture.EmbedImage = imageData

# Save the result presentation
ppt.SaveToFile("Picturebackground.pptx", FileFormat.Pptx2013)
ppt.Dispose()

Set a Background for a Slide Master in PowerPoint in Python

If you don't wish to set backgrounds for slides one by one, you can set a background for the slide master, then all slides using the same slide master will be applied with the background automatically. The following steps show how to set a solid background color for a slide master.

• Create an object of the Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a specific slide master using Presentation.Masters[index] property.
• Access the background of the slide master using IMasterSlide.SlideBackground property.
• Set the type of the slide master's background as a custom type using SlideBackground.Type property.
• Set the fill mode of the slide master's background as a solid fill using SlideBackground.Fill.FillType property.
• Set a color for the slide master's background using SlideBackground.Fill.SolidColor.Color property.
• Save the result presentation using Presentation.SaveToFile() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create a Presentation object
ppt = Presentation()
# Load a PowerPoint presentation
ppt.LoadFromFile("Input.pptx")

# Get the first slide master
slideMaster = ppt.Masters[0]

# Access the background of the slide master
background = slideMaster.SlideBackground

# Set the type of the slide master's background as a custom type
background.Type = BackgroundType.Custom

# Set the fill mode of the slide master's background as a solid fill
background.Fill.FillType = FillFormatType.Solid
# Set a color for the slide master's background
background.Fill.SolidColor.Color = Color.get_PeachPuff()

# Save the result presentation
ppt.SaveToFile("AddBackgroundToSlideMaster.pptx", FileFormat.Pptx2013)
ppt.Dispose()

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