Topic 6: Color Schemes

The colors of predesigned slide templates can be changed and a color scheme can be added to blank presentations. This page explains how to add color schemes and background images to slides.

Color Schemes

1. Select Format|Slide Color Scheme from the menu bar.
2. Click one of the preset color scheme thumbnail images in the Color schemes box.
   
3. Click the Preview button to see how the scheme will appear on the slide.
4. To make changes to the color scheme, click the Custom tab on the dialog box.
   
5. Change the colors of the slide elements by selecting the color swatch beside the name of the element and clicking the Change color button.
6. Highlight one of the colors from the Text and Line Color window or select the Custom tab to view more color choices and click OK when finished.
   
7. When you have finished all color formatting, click Apply to All to apply the color scheme to all the slides in the presentation or Apply to add the scheme only to the current slide.

Backgrounds

Follow these steps to add background colors and patterns to a slide:

1. Select Format|Background from the menu bar.
   
2. Select a color from the drop-down menu below the Background fill preview or choose More Colors... for a larger selection.
3. Select Fill Effects from the drop-down menu to add gradients, texture, patterns, or a picture to the background.
   
4. Gradient tab
   
   • Select One color if the color chosen will fade into the background and select the color from the Color 1 drop-down menu. Choose Two colors if the gradient will use two colors and select those colors from the Color 1 and Color 2 drop-down menus. Preset provides a selection of color combinations. Select one from the Preset colors drop-down menu.
   • Select the type of gradient from Shading styles.
   • Click one of the four Variants of the styles chosen.
     
   
5. Texture tab
   From the Texture window, select a repeating background by scrolling through the thumbnail images or click Other Texture... to select an image from a file.
   
6. Pattern tab
   Select a two-tone pattern by clicking one of the pattern swatches and selecting the Foreground and Background colors.
   
7. Picture tab
   Click the Select Picture button to choose a picture from a file. After the picture is selected, a preview and description will be shown in this window.
8. Click OK to apply the changes made from the Fill Effects windows.
9. Click Apply to All to add the changes to every slide or Apply to make changes only to the current slide.