Change an object’s appearance

You can change an object’s appearance by modifying its borders, fill color, shadow, and more. Keynote provides many predesigned object styles—coordinated sets of colors, borders, and shadows—that match a presentation’s theme. You can quickly change how an object looks by applying one of these styles, and you can also select from a range of additional options to customize the object’s appearance.

Apply a style to an object

Select an object.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Select a style from the top of the tab.
Click the left or right arrows to see more styles.

Change the transparency of an object

Select an object.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Drag the Opacity slider.

Add and change an object’s border

Select an object.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Click the disclosure triangle next to Border, click the pop-up menu, then choose a type of border.
Use the controls to adjust the border’s appearance (options vary depending on the type of border you choose).

Fill an object with color

You can fill shapes, text boxes, and other objects with a solid color or a gradient (two or more colors that blend into one another). You can choose colors and gradients designed to go with your theme, or you can choose from the full range of colors.

Controls for filling objects with colors

Select an object.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Do any of the following:
- Use a color or gradient that goes with the theme: Click the color well next to Fill, then choose a color or gradient.
- Use a two-color gradient fill: Click the disclosure triangle next to Fill, click the pop-up menu and choose Gradient Fill, then choose a color. The left side of the color well shows colors that match the theme; the color wheel opens the Colors window, where you can choose any color.
- Use a custom gradient: Click the disclosure triangle next to Fill, click the pop-up menu and choose Advanced Gradient Fill, then click the color stops below the slider to choose a color. You can slide the color stops and use the other controls to change the blend, angle, and direction of the gradient.

Fill an object with an image

You can fill shapes, text boxes, and other objects with an image.

Select an object.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Click the disclosure triangle next to Fill.
Click the pop-up menu and choose Image Fill, or Advanced Image Fill if you want to add a tint to the image.
Click Choose, navigate to your photos, then double-click an image to add it.
If you chose Advanced Image fill to add a tinted image, click the color well (to the right of the Choose button) to select a tint color.
Drag the Opacity slider in the Colors window to make the tint more or less transparent.
To change how the image fills the object, click the pop-up menu above the Choose button, then choose an option:
- Original Size: Places the image inside the object without altering the image’s original dimensions.
- Stretch: Sizes the image to fit the object’s dimensions.
- Tile: Repeats the image inside the object.
- Scale to Fill: Makes the image larger or smaller to leave no space in the object.
- Scale to Fit: Resizes the image to fit the object’s dimensions.

Save custom fills

You can save a custom fill to use it again.

Select an object with the fill you want to save.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Click the color well next to Fill.
A window showing fill choices appears.
Drag the fill in the Current Fill well to any other well in the window to replace it.
Some fills can’t be replaced. To change which fills you can replace, click the Fill Type pop-up menu, then select a different option. For example, if you want to save a gradient fill, click the pop-up menu, select Gradient Fill, then drag the fill in the Current Fill well to a well in the the Gradient Fills section.

Add a shadow

Shapes, text boxes, and images can have a shadow or reflection.

Select a shape, text box, or image.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Click the disclosure triangle next to Shadow, click the pop-up menu, then choose a type of shadow:
- Drop Shadow: Makes the object look like it’s hovering above the slide.
- Contact Shadow: Makes the object look like it’s standing on the slide.
- Curved Shadow: Makes an object look like its edges are curled.
Adjust any of the following to change the shadow’s appearance:
- Blur: The softness of a shadow’s edge.
- Offset: The distance between the shadow and the object or text.
- Angle: The angle of the shadow.
- Perspective: The angle of the light source in a contact shadow.

To add a shadow to a chart series, see Change the look of a chart.

Add a reflection

Select a shape, text box, or image.
Click the Style tab at the top of the sidebar on the right.
If you don’t see a sidebar, or the sidebar doesn’t have a Style tab, click in the toolbar.
Select the Reflection checkbox.
Drag the slider to make the reflection more or less visible.