How to Create an Overlay in Powerpoint

By Ryan Menezes

Overlay objects with their low-opacity counterparts.
i Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images

A PowerPoint presentation contains multiple elements that you can move to different positions on each slide. If these objects overlap, you may not be able to see one of the sections of your slide. In this case, overlay one object with another to fully view them both. For example, drag the caption of a product photo's over the photo, yet don't block the object on the photo itself by increasing the the caption's transparency.

Click the object that you want to lay over a second object. For example, to lay a filled text box over a photo, click the text box's border to select it.

Right-click and select "Format Shape" to open the Format Shape dialog box.

Click "Fill" in the dialog box's sidebar and drag the Transparency slider to the right to lighten it.

Click "OK" to apply the transparency effect and close the dialog box.

Drag the object over another object to create an overlay.

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