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Microsoft Planner Background Not Displaying in SharePoint Web Part: Causes and Solutions

Steve K Sep 28, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants the visual background applied to a Microsoft Planner plan to appear when the plan is embedded on a SharePoint page using the Planner web part.

Microsoft Planner Background Not Displaying in SharePoint Web Part

Product: SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Adding a Planner web part to a SharePoint Online site and attempting to view the specific visual background applied in the Microsoft Planner application.
Observed behavior: The SharePoint Planner web part displays the selected plan boards and task features, but it fails to render the visual background assigned to the plan in Microsoft Planner.

Before you start

Verify that your plan actually has a custom background applied within the standalone Microsoft Planner app before checking its visibility in SharePoint.

Solution 1Recommended

Acknowledge the Web Part Limitation and Submit Feedback

Currently, Microsoft intentionally omits the Planner background in the SharePoint web part. You can request this feature directly from Microsoft.

The SharePoint Planner web part is designed to display functional task data, such as boards and specific features selected in the web-part settings. By design, cosmetic elements like visual backgrounds from Microsoft Planner do not carry over to SharePoint. To help Microsoft prioritize this feature in future updates, you can submit or vote for the idea through their feedback portal.

Access the Feedback Portal

Open your web browser and navigate to the official Microsoft Feedback Portal for SharePoint.

Search for Existing Ideas

Use the search bar to look for 'Planner background SharePoint web part' to see if other users have already requested this capability.

Upvote or Submit a New Request

If you find a matching request, click 'Vote' to add your support. If not, click 'Send Feedback' to submit a new feature request describing your use case.

Acknowledge the Web Part Limitation and Submit Feedback

No Native Setting Exists: There are no hidden settings or toggles within the SharePoint Planner web part that can force the background to display at this time.

Solution 2

Workaround: Customize the SharePoint Section Background

While the Planner background won't appear, you can add visual interest by altering the background of the SharePoint section containing the web part.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my Planner tasks showing but not the visual background?

The SharePoint Planner web part is programmed to extract and display only functional task data (like boards and features). Cosmetic backgrounds are intentionally omitted to maintain the consistent design and theme of your SharePoint site.

Can I use custom CSS to force the Planner background to appear in SharePoint?

No. SharePoint Online modern pages do not support custom CSS injection for default web parts out of the box, meaning you cannot override the web part's behavior to render the Planner background.

Will Microsoft add support for Planner backgrounds in SharePoint in the future?

There is currently no official timeline or confirmation from Microsoft regarding this feature. However, highly upvoted requests on the Microsoft Feedback Portal often influence their future development roadmap.

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