How to Make a Picture Transparent in PowerPoint? (Detailed Step-by-Step Guide for All PPT Versions)

Use Cases

There are many reasons you may want to create transparency in a picture—and there are several transparency options in PowerPoint to achieve what you need. You may need to remove the background from an object, adjust the transparency on the whole picture, or make a part of the picture transparent.

Some reasons for this include:

• Using a logo without the white box background
• Removing unnecessary detractors from a photo
• Editing a portion of the photo out
• Creating a dynamic style with background images
• Adding watermarks
• Layering photos with other images or content
• Producing new graphics from prepared ones

Step-by-Step

Windows

Make the whole picture transparent

• Select Insert Shapes.
• Choose a shape and draw it to the same size as the picture you want to use.

• Select the shape.
• Click Format.

• Under Shape Outline click No Outline.
• Right-click the shape and select Format Shape from the menu that populates.

• A pane will appear on the righthand of the deck. Click the Fill icon.

• Press the arrow next to fill to bring up fill options.
• Select the circle that says Picture or texture.

• Choose between File, Clipboard, and Online to obtain your picture.
• Locate the picture that you want to insert. Select the picture and then click the Insert button.

• Use the transparency slider or number box to adjust the transparency of the image.

Make part of a picture transparent

• Click on the picture to select it.
• Choose the Picture Tools Format tab that appears at the top of the page.

• Click the Color button to open the color menu.

• Choose Set Transparent Color and click the color you want to make transparent.

Note: When you print pictures with transparent areas, the transparent areas are the same color as the paper. On your screen or a website, the transparent areas are the same color as the background.

Mac

Make the Whole Picture Transparent

• Select the picture or object you want to make transparent
• Select the Picture Format tab.

• Click the Transparency button.
• Preset transparency options will populate.
• Select one of the options or choose Picture Transparency Options for more choices.

• In the Format Picture pane open the Picture Transparency section.

• Drag the transparency slider or write a percentage in the box to set a transparency.

Note: You can vary the percentage of transparency from 0 (fully opaque) to 100% (fully transparent).

Make part of a picture transparent

• Select the picture to change the transparency of a color.
• Click the Picture Format tab.
• Select Color.

• Select Set Transparent Color.
• Click the color in the image you want to make transparent.

Note: Though colors may appear to be the same, it is likely there is a range of a colors within a picture. You cannot make more than one color transparent.

PowerPoint Online

You cannot make a picture transparent using the online PowerPoint program.

Remove the Background of a Picture Mac & Windows

• Click the picture.
• Under the Picture Tools tab, click the Remove Background button.

• The default background (what the software sees as the background) will be colored magenta. This marks it for removal. If parts of the image are marked for removal, but you do not want them to go, or parts you do want to get rid of are marked to stay, follow these steps:

• Click Mark Areas to Keep and use the drawing pencil to mark areas to keep.

• Click Mark Areas to Discard and use the drawing pencil to determine areas to remove.

• Click Keep Changes or Discard All Changes to exit the background removal process and see how your image will appear.

• You can go back in to the Remove Background process to adjust any parts you removed or kept unnecessarily.
• Save the edited picture by right clicking on it and choosing Save as Picture from the menu that populates.

Note: Unless you save your image as a picture once it is edited, you will lose any background removal done outside of your presentation (i.e., You cannot use that same picture in a banner. It will go back to its default outside of the presentation unless you save it as a picture).

Example