When designing PowerPoint slides, adding borders to slides or pictures can help add some visual appeal to the presentation. There are different options for adding borders for PowerPoint slides, including shapes and pictures. See the steps below to add borders for slides you are designing yourself and even PowerPoint templates you want to customize.
How to Add Borders for PowerPoint Slides
How to Create a Custom Slide Border
To create custom borders for PowerPoint slides, pick a shape via Insert -> Shapes. In this example, we will use a rectangle to create a border.
Drag the shape over the slide to cover the area you want to use for your border. This will add an overlay shape to the selected area.
Make the shape transparent from the middle by selecting the shape and going to Shape Format -> Shape Fill -> No Fill.
Select a desired color for the shape borders via Shape Format -> Shape Outline. If you want to pick a specific color from your slide, use the Eyedropper tool.
Once the border has been added, it can be further customized. To do this, go to the menus within Shape Outline. For example, you can increase the width of the border via Shape Format -> Shape Outline -> Weight.
To convert your border to sketches or dashes, see the Sketched or Dashes menus within Shape Outline to pick a desired look for your border.
If you want to edit Google Slides Templates, similar options are also available in Google Slides for editing borders. However, PowerPoint has more comprehensive features for customizing slide borders.
To give a glow, shadow, soft edges, or other effects to your border, go to Shape Effects via the Shape Format tab and select an effect.
The below image shows an example of a dotted border we created for a PowerPoint slide. As you can see, the border color matches the theme of the graphics of the slide.
How to Add Border for an Image in PowerPoint using Picture Border and Picture Styles
You can use a shape overlay (as shown above) or picture borders or styles to give a border to a picture. To add picture borders, select the image and head over to Picture Format -> Picture Borders. From here, you can select the color and style for your picture.
Like Shape Format, the Picture Format tab also gives weight, sketches, and dashes to be used as a picture border.
To use style presets for your picture, go to Picture Styles via the Picture Format tab. From here, select a style that best matches your preferences.
Like shapes, pictures can also have highlights for borders by adding PowerPoint effects via Picture Format -> Picture Effects.
Below is an example of a picture with dotted PowerPoint borders.
FAQs
You can add a border by using a shape overlay. Go to Insert -> Shapes and select a rectangle or other shape. Drag it over the slide to create your border, then customize it using the Shape Format options.
After inserting the shape for the border, select the shape and go to Shape Format -> Shape Fill -> No Fill. This will make the middle of the shape transparent, creating a border effect.
Yes, you can change the border color by going to Shape Format -> Shape Outline and selecting a color. You can also use the Eyedropper tool to match colors from your slide.
You can adjust the thickness by selecting the shape, then going to Shape Format -> Shape Outline -> Weight and choosing the desired thickness.
Yes, you can create dashed or dotted borders by going to Shape Format -> Shape Outline -> Dashes and selecting the style you prefer.
To add effects, go to Shape Format -> Shape Effects and select from options like glow, shadow, or soft edges to enhance your border.
To add a border to an image, select the image and go to Picture Format -> Picture Border. From there, you can choose the color, style, and thickness for the border.
Final Words
Like slide borders, picture borders can be added to stylize individual images according to branding needs and individual preferences to make them more eye-catching. Now that you know how to insert borders in PowerPoint, you can experiment with the various customization features to see how best to use borders for PowerPoint slides.
