How to Copy the PowerPoint Background to Another Presentation

Powerpoint is a powerful presentation builder, but building out each presentation manually can take forever. Recycling presentation slides and working with master templates is important for regular users. You can quickly customize design elements, copy backgrounds in Powerpoint, and build new presentations using only the desired pieces of past presentations. The increased efficiency is a huge time saver and makes your presentation-building process seamless.

Before jumping into files, find a background that you like. You can use an existing background from a previous presentation you built or search for presentation background templates online. The online options are broad, and most are available for use as long as you don't use other logos or violate any listed terms or conditions. If you find a background that looks great in another one of your presentations, attempt to save the file. If you cannot save, open the file and leave the presentation slide open on your screen.

After finding a slide with a great background to use, open a new PowerPoint presentation or the presentation you are currently editing. You should have two presentations open on your screen: the presentation where you want to paste the background and the one with the background you want to copy. With both open, you can copy and paste not only the background but also other elements and entire slides. The content is essentially interchangeable.

Locate the slide with the background you want to copy on the left side where all the slides are visible. In some presentations, a consistent background across all slides is a good option, while others call for the background on only a select number of slides. It's all a matter of design preference in that regard. With the slide selected, access your toolbar and click on the "Format Painter" option. It has a paintbrush icon next to the text. Click on the slide to copy the background. Move to your current presentation and select the slide in the left column of slides where you want to add the background to instantly add the background to that slide.

You can use the same process to copy and paste the same background on multiple slides or all the slides. When you select the "Format Painter" option to copy a background, double-click. This action holds the background, and you can paste it to multiple slides by clicking them individually in the left column. This makes it easy to add a background to select slides or to quickly add it to all slides by clicking each one.