Watermarks are faded background images or text that appear behind the content of your slides. You can use watermarks for various purposes, such as indicating the status of your presentation (draft, confidential, etc.), adding a subtle branding element, or enhancing the visual appeal of your slides.

Microsoft Word offers an easy way to add the watermark. However, unlike Word, PowerPoint has no built-in feature to insert watermarks. Don’t worry, as in this article we show you how to use text boxes and slide masters to create and customise watermarks for your PowerPoint slides.

Also read: How to add page numbers to PowerPoint?

Add a watermark to PowerPoint using a text box

One way to add a watermark is to use the text box. With this method, you can insert a watermark on multiple slides.

Here are the steps to do this:

Step 1: Open PowerPoint and then head to Insert > Text Box. Draw a text box on your slide and type the watermark’s content. Here, we have used Candid.Technology. You can use words like confidential or draft.

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Step 2: Now, go to the Home tab and change the font colour to light grey or white as per your preference. You can also choose any other colour. But that should go well with your overall theme of the slide. As this is just a demonstration, I will go along with a 15% darker shade of white. Also, increase or decrease the font size if needed.

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Step 3: To make the text appear in the slide’s background, go to the Format tab and then select Send Backward in the Arrange group. Choose Send to Back from the drop-down menu.

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Here is the watermarked slide:

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If you look closely, you will see that the Candid. technology in grey is behind the sentence — Add watermark to PowerPoint. It can act as a watermark.

Also read: How to add a watermark in Google Docs?

Add watermark to PowerPoint using Slide Master

Another way to add a watermark to PowerPoint is to use the slide master. This method allows you to insert a watermark on all slides or specific slide layouts simultaneously, while the previous method was suitable for only one slide.

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Just head to Slide Master in the View tab and then click on the first slide. After that, click on the Insert button and then follow all the steps mentioned in Method 1.

Also read: How to add watermark in Lightroom?

How to remove a watermark from PowerPoint?

To remove the watermark, delete the text box that contains it.

Select the slide with the watermark and then click on the text box. Select the whole text inside the text box and then press Backspace or Delete, or simply pressing the Delete button will do the job just fine.

How to format or adjust your watermark?

You can format and adjust your watermark in PowerPoint using various tools and options available in the Format tab:

To change font style, size, colour, or effects of your watermark text, use options in the Font group.
Use options in the Paragraph group to change your watermark text’s alignment, direction, spacing, or indentation.
To change the shape, fill, outline, or effects of your watermark text box, use options in the Shape Styles group.
Use options in Arrange group to change your watermark text box’s position, size, rotation, or order.
Use the Picture Tools group options to crop, compress, or adjust your watermark image’s brightness, contrast, or colour.

To conclude, a watermark provides a way to explain your motives behind the slide. It can also help protect the slide by limiting unauthorised copying, thereby protecting your intellectual property. Use any of the two methods mentioned here to add a watermark and greatly enhance your presentation.

Also read: How to prevent PDFs from being printed or edited?