Complete beginner's PowerPoint question
March 3, 2021 9:28 AM Subscribe
I want to put a picture on a PowerPoint slide and then send it backwards so that parts of it are hidden by the design on the master. I can't figure out how to do it.
Here's an example of a slide from the deck. I want to replace that photo with another. I asked the people who made it how they were able to send the photo backwards so that the part to the left was hidden behind the zig-zag and the main part of the slide. I was told that they had "outside help" building this presentation, and that the photo is *cut along the outline of the zig-zag to be made to fit it.*
I clicked on the photo and dragged it and sure enough, the photo is zig-zagged on its left border to fit exactly with the graphic of the zig-zag on the master.
This... is not how PowerPoint master slides are supposed to work, is it?
How do I fix this? I have access to the master slides, but I don't know a whole lot about PowerPoint (and apparently neither does anyone who works for my company, even the people who are paid to make PowerPoint presentations)
Here's an example of a slide from the deck. I want to replace that photo with another. I asked the people who made it how they were able to send the photo backwards so that the part to the left was hidden behind the zig-zag and the main part of the slide. I was told that they had "outside help" building this presentation, and that the photo is *cut along the outline of the zig-zag to be made to fit it.*
I clicked on the photo and dragged it and sure enough, the photo is zig-zagged on its left border to fit exactly with the graphic of the zig-zag on the master.
This... is not how PowerPoint master slides are supposed to work, is it?
How do I fix this? I have access to the master slides, but I don't know a whole lot about PowerPoint (and apparently neither does anyone who works for my company, even the people who are paid to make PowerPoint presentations)
That is definitely not standard.
Is the cut-out part checkered light grey/ white boxes? This would indicate using an outside program to trim the photo and render the rest of the rectangle "transparent."
There's also a way within pptx where you can "Select Transparency" and click on a pixel within an element and it will make all pixels within that element with that colour transparent.
A possible other way would be to use the Crop feature within pptx but I'm not sure if its possible to add "points" (vertices - like the freeform box tool) to crops.
The simplest way is to right-click on the image and there should be a "Sent Back One" or "Sent to Back" so other elements will occlude it (you might have to click the occluding element and "Send Forward).
posted by porpoise at 10:22 AM on March 3, 2021
Is the cut-out part checkered light grey/ white boxes? This would indicate using an outside program to trim the photo and render the rest of the rectangle "transparent."
There's also a way within pptx where you can "Select Transparency" and click on a pixel within an element and it will make all pixels within that element with that colour transparent.
A possible other way would be to use the Crop feature within pptx but I'm not sure if its possible to add "points" (vertices - like the freeform box tool) to crops.
The simplest way is to right-click on the image and there should be a "Sent Back One" or "Sent to Back" so other elements will occlude it (you might have to click the occluding element and "Send Forward).
posted by porpoise at 10:22 AM on March 3, 2021
Assuming you want to have this be a new master so that same picture shows on every slide, you can put a picture in the very far back of the master slide, then using the shape tool, make a shape that would white out the parts you wanted covered, then put the ribbon graphic over the gap.
If you wanted a different image on every slide, but the keep that motif and use a master slide, you would have to clip all those graphics as a transparent png or gif file in a graphics program and bring them in to each slide.
I am lazy and would do the first plan, but copy and paste those three elements on each slide. Or make one good slide and keep duplicating it to make the next slide.
posted by advicepig at 10:39 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you wanted a different image on every slide, but the keep that motif and use a master slide, you would have to clip all those graphics as a transparent png or gif file in a graphics program and bring them in to each slide.
I am lazy and would do the first plan, but copy and paste those three elements on each slide. Or make one good slide and keep duplicating it to make the next slide.
posted by advicepig at 10:39 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Is the cut-out part checkered light grey/ white boxes? This would indicate using an outside program to trim the photo and render the rest of the rectangle "transparent."
When I select the photo and move it, what appears behind it is flat gray. No checkerboard. It looks like the master slide has white to the left of the zig-zag and gray to the right, but it's all one solid background - no layers, no moving parts.
The simplest way is to right-click on the image and there should be a "Sent Back One" or "Sent to Back" so other elements will occlude it (you might have to click the occluding element and "Send Forward).
Tried that no luck - it appears that this is all one layer with a photo cut to fit the zig-zag and then inserted on the slide
Assuming you want to have this be a new master so that same picture shows on every slide
Nope I want different pictures.
I'll stop answering now.
posted by tzikeh at 10:47 AM on March 3, 2021
When I select the photo and move it, what appears behind it is flat gray. No checkerboard. It looks like the master slide has white to the left of the zig-zag and gray to the right, but it's all one solid background - no layers, no moving parts.
The simplest way is to right-click on the image and there should be a "Sent Back One" or "Sent to Back" so other elements will occlude it (you might have to click the occluding element and "Send Forward).
Tried that no luck - it appears that this is all one layer with a photo cut to fit the zig-zag and then inserted on the slide
Assuming you want to have this be a new master so that same picture shows on every slide
Nope I want different pictures.
I'll stop answering now.
posted by tzikeh at 10:47 AM on March 3, 2021
This is quick and dirty, but here's how I would fix this in a hurry:
1. Create two white rectangles on the left and tilt them to form the white part on the left of the slide
2. Create three lines in different colours and position them as on the example slide to create the ribbon
3. Merge all these shapes
4. Insert the desired picture, drag it to the right, crop/zoom and select 'send it to the background' (or something similar)
This is of course embarrassingly unprofessional, but well, it works.
posted by lioness at 11:20 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
1. Create two white rectangles on the left and tilt them to form the white part on the left of the slide
2. Create three lines in different colours and position them as on the example slide to create the ribbon
3. Merge all these shapes
4. Insert the desired picture, drag it to the right, crop/zoom and select 'send it to the background' (or something similar)
This is of course embarrassingly unprofessional, but well, it works.
posted by lioness at 11:20 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
I quickly made it myself and mailed it to you.
posted by lioness at 11:38 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by lioness at 11:38 AM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you draw the photo zigzag shape, you can import a different photo into the shape.
posted by b33j at 1:43 PM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by b33j at 1:43 PM on March 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
This google search brings up a number of tutorials: powerpoint insert photo into shape
posted by b33j at 1:46 PM on March 3, 2021
posted by b33j at 1:46 PM on March 3, 2021
lioness has a perfectly fine solution but why not just mask your photo as in the original presentation?
posted by turkeyphant at 4:13 PM on March 3, 2021
posted by turkeyphant at 4:13 PM on March 3, 2021
Response by poster: lioness has a perfectly fine solution but why not just mask your photo as in the original presentation?
I do not know what that means.
posted by tzikeh at 9:10 AM on March 4, 2021
I do not know what that means.
posted by tzikeh at 9:10 AM on March 4, 2021
Response by poster: lioness: I quickly made it myself and mailed it to you.
Just to update the thread I've responded to lioness's kindness with more of my ignorance, but I'm incredibly grateful for the help.
This is what comes from having only a passing familiarity with a few specific functions of various software applications but being asked to do a whole lot of stuff not in my job description for a company that refuses to hire the number of people they need *or* train the people they have.
posted by tzikeh at 10:29 AM on March 4, 2021
Just to update the thread I've responded to lioness's kindness with more of my ignorance, but I'm incredibly grateful for the help.
This is what comes from having only a passing familiarity with a few specific functions of various software applications but being asked to do a whole lot of stuff not in my job description for a company that refuses to hire the number of people they need *or* train the people they have.
posted by tzikeh at 10:29 AM on March 4, 2021
I believe you can crop photos with shapes in Powerpoint. This tutorial might help:
https://www.brightcarbon.com/blog/custom-image-cropping-in-powerpoint/
posted by Yavsy at 12:13 PM on March 4, 2021
https://www.brightcarbon.com/blog/custom-image-cropping-in-powerpoint/
posted by Yavsy at 12:13 PM on March 4, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
To do this in the master itself, I would have three layers in this order from bottom to top - the photo, a series of white shapes grouped together to cover the whole slide to the left of the zig zag, the zig zag. That way, you could slide any photo in and the white would cover the bits that overhang the zig zag.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:32 AM on March 3, 2021 [4 favorites]