Change a slide background in Keynote on iPad
You can change the background color or image of individual slides in a presentation. You can also use a dynamic background that uses ambient animations to add movement to a slide.
Use a color, gradient, or image as a slide background
In the slide navigator, tap to select a slide or select multiple slides.
If you don’t see the slide navigator, pinch closed on the slide to zoom out.
Tap
, tap Background, then tap the Standard button at the top of the menu.Choose one of the following:
A color or gradient designed to go with the theme: Tap Preset, swipe left or right to see all choices, then tap a color.
Any color: Tap Color, then tap a color. To quickly preview what different colors look like on the slide, touch and hold a color, then drag across the grid to view other colors. Release your finger to select a color.
A two-color gradient fill: Tap Gradient, tap Start Color or End Color, then tap a color or swipe left to use the color wheel. To switch the gradient direction, tap Flip Color. To change the gradient angle, drag the Angle slider.
A color from elsewhere on the slide: Tap Color, then swipe left to the color wheel. Tap
, then tap a color on the slide. To preview colors on the slide, touch and hold a color on the slide, then drag across other colors on the slide. Release your finger to select a color.A custom color: Tap Color, swipe left to the color wheel, then drag the slider around the wheel. To change color brightness, drag the top horizontal slider. To change color saturation, drag the bottom slider. To revert to the previous color, tap the circle in the center of the color wheel (the left half shows the previous color).
A recently created custom color or a recently selected color from elsewhere on the slide: Tap Color, swipe left to the color wheel, then tap a color well to the right of
.An image: Tap Image, tap Change Image, then tap a photo; to insert an image from iCloud or another service, tap “Insert from.” To change how the image fills the slide background, tap an option:
Original Size: Places the image without altering the image’s original dimensions. To resize the image, drag the Scale slider.
Stretch: Resizes the image to fit the slide’s dimensions, which might change the image’s proportions.
Tile: Repeats the image in the slide background. To resize the image, drag the Scale slider.
Scale to Fill: Makes the image larger or smaller to leave no space around the image.
Scale to Fit: Resizes the image to fit the slide’s dimensions, but maintains the image’s proportions.
To create a tinted image, turn on Color Overlay and tap Fill to select a tint color. To make the tint more or less transparent, drag the Opacity slider.
Use a dynamic background that moves
Dynamic backgrounds are procedurally generated animations that add motion to slides without significantly increasing the size of your Keynote file. There are a variety of preset dynamic background styles you can choose and customize. If you use the same dynamic background style on more than one consecutive slide, the animation plays seamlessly when you change slides.
Tip: Use the Magic Move slide transition to seamlessly move between slides that use the same dynamic background style but with different appearance settings.
In the slide navigator, tap to select the slide or select multiple slides you want to edit.
If you don’t see the slide navigator, pinch closed the slide to zoom out.
To add a dynamic background to the selected slide or slides, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Background. Tap the Dynamic button at the top of the menu, then tap the dynamic background style you want to use. Swipe left or right to see more styles.Do any of the following:
Select a different dynamic background: Tap another style from the thumbnails below the Dynamic button.
Pause the dynamic background while you work: Turn off Preview Motion. The dynamic background still moves when you play the slideshow.
Change the color of the dynamic background: Tap the Colors button in the Background menu. Tap one of the Color buttons, then choose any color.
To quickly preview what different colors look like on the slide, touch and hold a color, then drag across the grid to view other colors. Release your finger to select a color.
Customize a dynamic background style: Each dynamic background style has its own unique animation and appearance options you can change. To customize these options, such as the dynamic background’s speed, the distance between waves, or how blurry the background appears, use the controls at the bottom of the menu.
When you change the background of a slide layout, it is applied to every slide that uses that layout.