PPt 2007: Dealing with gradient colors compared to PPt 2003

[CalTex]

I'm starting to get comfortable with the new PPt 2007 way of creating
gradients, but there is one thing I miss from the PPt 2003 process that I
haven't found a way to duplicate in PPt 2007. In PPt 2003 I could acquire
the dark shade of a color by temporarily converting the gradient from 1-color
to 2-color, clicking the dark color to put that color into the secondary
color palette, and then either cancel or change back to one color. Then I
could use that acquired darker color for other uses or for duplicating that
shading in cases where "format painter" was not an option. In PPt 2007, not
only can I not acquire the color of one of the gradient colors without
writing down the RGB values, but I cannot simply dial-in a lighter or darker
shade which, in my years of experience, is the most common use of a gradient.
Any feedback regarding this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Echo S]

This might help you with gradients in 2007, not sure:

http://www.echosvoice.com/gradients.htm

It doesn't help you put the color in the "more colors" area, though, which
is really what I think you're after. I'd probably fill the object with
whatever color, then create the gradient. That at least gets me one of the
fill colors.

Or you can use a color picker. Pixie (http://www.nattyware.com) is a good
free one. I know, it's not as easy as just getting the colors added to "more
colors," though.