Choosing a New Slide Color Scheme

Choosing a New Slide Color Scheme

Each design template includes several color schemes from which you can choose. A color scheme is a set of eight coordinated colors that applies to the following parts of your slides:

• Background

• Text and lines

• Shadows

• Title text

• Fills

• Accent

• Accent and hyperlink

• Accent and followed hyperlink

For example, you might like a basic design template but prefer to use different colors. You might want to use the same presentation for both onscreen and overhead delivery, but they require different color schemes.

Applying a New Color Scheme

To apply a new color scheme to your presentation, follow these steps:

1. Click the Design button on the Formatting toolbar. The Slide Design task pane opens.

2. Click the Color Schemes link on the Slide Design task pane. The available color schemes for the design template of the current presentation appear (see Figure 6.10).

   Figure 6.10. You can modify your presentation's color scheme.

   

3. Select a new color scheme; PowerPoint applies it to your presentation.

For more information about color theory, see "Using Color," in Chapter 25, p. 566 .

Previewing Color Schemes

If you want to view larger previews of the available color schemes, click the down arrow to the right of any scheme and choose Show Large Previews from the shortcut menu that appears. The preview schemes roughly double in size. To go back to the normal-size previews, select this option again to remove the check mark.

Applying Multiple Color Schemes to a Single Presentation

To apply a different color scheme to selected slides, follow these steps:

1. Select the slide or slides to which you want to apply a separate color scheme.

2. Select the preview of that scheme on the Slide Design task pane.

3. Click the down arrow to the right of the selected scheme.

4. Choose Apply to Selected Slides. PowerPoint applies the color scheme only to the selected slides. The unselected slides retain the original design template.

To return to a single color scheme, select that scheme and choose Apply to All Slides from the menu that appears when you click the down arrow.

CAUTION

Although the capability to apply multiple color schemes to your presentation adds flexibility and creativity, be sure not to overdo it. Consider carefully before applying more than one color scheme to verify that your presentation is still consistent and readable.

Applying a Color Scheme to Notes and Handouts

In addition to applying a new color scheme to your actual presentation, you can also apply color schemes to notes or handouts that you create.

To apply a color scheme to notes, select View, Notes Page and then apply a color scheme from the Slide Design task pane.

To apply a color scheme to handouts, select View, Master, Handout Master and then apply a color scheme from the Slide Design task pane.

Creating a Custom Color Scheme

Occasionally, you might want to customize the individual colors in a color scheme. For example, you might like a particular scheme but want to modify only the background color. To do this, follow these steps from the Slide Design task pane:

1. Click Edit Color Schemes to open the Edit Color Schemes dialog box with the Custom tab selected, displayed in Figure 6.11.

   Figure 6.11. Change the color of certain areas of your presentation to customize it.

   

2. Choose the object whose color you want to change, such as the background or title text.

3. Click the Change Color button, which displays the dialog box in Figure 6.12. (The dialog box's name depends on the color you're changingBackground Color, Shadow Color, and so on.)

   Figure 6.12. Choose a standard color or specify a custom color.

   

4. Choose a color from the Standard tab or formulate a custom color on the Custom tab. The New preview box compares this new color with the Current color.

   For more details on color selection dialog boxes, see "Specifying Colors" in Chapter 14, "Creating and Formatting Objects," p. 290 .

   
   

5. Click OK to return to the Edit Color Scheme dialog box.

6. Click the Preview button to preview this new color in your presentation.

7. Click Apply to apply the color scheme.

8. Click the Add As Standard Scheme button if you want to add this scheme to your selections on the Slide Design task pane (see Figure 6.13).

   Figure 6.13. The color scheme you created is now a standard selection.

   

You can now apply this new color scheme as you would any other color scheme.

You can delete a color scheme just as easily as you created a new one. To delete a color scheme, go to the Standard tab on the Edit Color Scheme dialog box, select the scheme you no longer want, and click the Delete Scheme button.