# Themes and backgrounds

> Give a deck one of five themes to set its background, fonts and colours, and give any slide a background colour of its own.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-themes-and-backgrounds
Section: Office > PlexiiSlides
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

A theme gives the whole deck one look: the slide background, the fonts for titles and body text, the text colours and an accent colour. PlexiiSlides has five themes. You can also give any single slide a background colour of its own.

## Before you start

- Themes and backgrounds are on every plan.
- Open a deck in PlexiiSlides, or click inside a Slides widget on a desk. See [PlexiiSlides overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-overview).

## The themes

| Theme | Look |
| --- | --- |
| **Plexii** | A white background with dark text and a violet accent. Every new deck starts with this one. |
| **Midnight** | A deep navy background with light text and a sky-blue accent. |
| **Editorial** | A warm cream background with a serif typeface and an amber accent. |
| **Bold** | A violet background with white text and a yellow accent. |
| **Mono** | A light background with a monospaced typeface and a teal accent. |

## Choose a theme

1. Click an empty part of the slide, so that nothing is selected.
2. In the inspector on the right, click a theme under **Theme**.

The **Layout** tab in the side panel lists the same themes under **Theme**. The theme the deck uses is highlighted in both lists.

### What a theme changes

- **Every slide's background** changes to the theme's background.
- **Titles and body text set out by a layout or a starter slide** take the theme's fonts, text colours and sizes.

These keep their own look:

- Text boxes you added with **Text**.
- Shapes, lines, tables, charts and pictures.

New text boxes, shapes, lines and tables you add afterwards use the theme's fonts and accent colour.

> **Tip:**
> Pick the theme early. Elements you add take the theme's accent colour at the moment you add them, so a deck themed first looks consistent without extra work. If a theme change leaves something looking out of place, select it and set its colours in the inspector. See [Format elements with the inspector](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-format-elements).

If you change your mind, click Undo in the toolbar, or press `⌘` `Z` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `Z` on Windows.

### Let AI suggest a theme

In the side panel's **AI Assistant**, click **Design upgrade**. The assistant reads the slide's text and suggests which of the five themes suits it. Click **Apply theme** to use it. See [AI in PlexiiSlides](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-ai).

## Give one slide its own background

1. Open the slide and click an empty part of it, so that nothing is selected.
2. In the inspector, click the colour box under **Background** and pick a colour.

Only this slide changes. Use it to make a section divider or a closing slide stand out.

> **Note:**
> Choosing a theme sets every slide's background to the theme's, including slides you gave a colour of their own. Set individual backgrounds after you have settled on the theme.

## See the deck's theme at a glance

Open the **Slide** tab in the side panel:

- **Background** shows the current slide's background colour. **Change background** sets every slide back to the theme's background.
- **Theme colors** shows the theme's colours as swatches. Rest the pointer on one to see what it is for (**Background**, **Text**, **Accent**, **Title** or **Body**) and its colour code.
- **Font** shows the theme's typeface.
- **Master slides** takes you to the **Layout** tab, where the layouts and themes are.

## Common questions

**I imported a PowerPoint file and it lost its design.** An imported deck comes in with its content set out in the **Plexii** theme. Choose a theme and adjust the layouts afterwards. See [Import and export PowerPoint and PDF](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-powerpoint-import-export).

**Some text did not change when I picked a theme.** That text is in a text box you added yourself, which keeps its own style. Select it and set its font and colour in the inspector.

**Can I make my own theme?** You can choose from the five themes, then set colours and fonts on individual elements and backgrounds on individual slides.

**Does the theme go into an exported file?** Yes. The .pptx and PDF files carry each slide's background and the fonts, sizes and colours of its text. A .pptx file names the fonts, so the computer that opens it needs them installed to show them the same way.

## Related tasks

- [PlexiiSlides overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-overview)
- [Add, reorder and lay out slides](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-add-and-arrange-slides)
- [Format elements with the inspector](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-format-elements)
- [AI in PlexiiSlides](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-ai)
- [Import and export PowerPoint and PDF](https://plexiidesk.com/help/slides-powerpoint-import-export)