Color Sets in PowerPoint Templates

[Peter Müller]

I've got a PowerPoint template having predefined sets of colors. When I
open it using PowerPoint 2007 and click Design -> Colors I see in the
List "This Presentation" different sets of colors having different
names. The names are not defined be Microsoft but obviously be the
creator of the template. When I click on one of these color sets with
the right mouse key I can not delete or modify it. Until now I could see
these set using PowerPoint 2003. Since I have the template under my
control the template was only edited using PowerPoint 2003.

How can I erase or modify these sets?

 

[saskabush]

If you choose the color set you want to modify, you then have to go to
"create new theme colors" and the set you chose should be there to
modify, then save as new name if needed

Randy

 

[Peter Müller]

I tried but I just created themes stored somewhere at the system but not
contained by the template. The new theme appears in a list labeled
"Custom" residing below the list "This Presentation". The new themes I
can remove and edit.

Peter

 

[Echo S]

When you get multiple color schemes like that in a 2007 file, it's because
the extra color schemes were not deleted in the 2003 file. If you open the
file in 2003 and go to Format | Slide Design, then choose Color Scheme in
the pane, then Edit Color Scheme, you can delete all but the one color
scheme.

That will keep all those extras from being in the file in 2007.

Then, to add more than one color scheme to travel with the theme file in
2007, you follow these instructions (you have to edit the XML).
http://www.echosvoice.com/2007/addcolorstotheme.htm You might be able to
edit the XML to remove the left-over 2003 color schemes also instead of
having to open the file in 2003 and delete them there.

I will tell you, I wouldn't use a 2003 template for the basis of my 2007
theme/template, though. I'd start over so I don't have things like these
extraneous 2003 color schemes that don't map correctly anyway.

 

[Peter Müller]

When you get multiple color schemes like that in a 2007 file, it's

because the extra color schemes were not deleted in the 2003 file. If
you open the file in 2003 and go to Format | Slide Design, then choose
Color Scheme in the pane, then Edit Color Scheme, you can delete all but
the one color scheme.

I erased all the schemes but 2007 still shows all colors and there names.

I will tell you, I wouldn't use a 2003 template for the basis of my 2007
theme/template, though. I'd start over so I don't have things like these
extraneous 2003 color schemes that don't map correctly anyway.

The template has to work with both. The names of the schemes should
vanish. And the default color set should be adjusted. It is not intended
that the template is the base for presentations where the user do great
things. It is used for creating presentations by a java application.

 

[Echo S]

I erased all the schemes but 2007 still shows all colors and there names.

The template has to work with both. The names of the schemes should
vanish. And the default color set should be adjusted. It is not intended
that the template is the base for presentations where the user do great
things. It is used for creating presentations by a java application.

The template is not going to work in both. Color schemes just don't map
across the two the way you want. 2007 has more colors to a color scheme than
2003, and there are different paradigms with two sets of light/dark
background-text colors, six accent colors, and the hyperlink and followed
hyperlink colors being separate.

If you continue to experiment with opening the file in 2007 then again in
2003 and make adjustments to the color scheme, you may eventually get a file
that works in both and maps black or something as the extra colors in 2007.
But I wouldn't bet on it.

Maybe you should make two color schemes in the 2007 theme file by editing
the XML. The first one is the 2003 color scheme, the second is a proper 2007
color scheme. Then when you're working in 2007, you apply the appropriate
2007 color scheme by selecting it in the Design tab | Colors dropdown.

I guess I didn't realize the 2003 color schemes even have names other than
"default design 1," "default design 2," etc. When I delete the color schemes
in the 2003 file, they don't show up in 2007. I don't know what you're doing
there, so it's hard to say why that's not working for you. Regardless,
you're going to have one color scheme in the file no matter what you do. PPT
needs at least one.

By the way, I'm talking about the stuff in the "this presentation" section
of Design | Color. The color schemes in the "built-in" section are there,
period. You can't erase those.