Modifying Diagram Formatting
You can format a diagram either automatically or manually. Automatically is the default, and many PowerPoint users don't even realize that manual formatting is a possibility. The following sections cover both.
Choosing an AutoFormat
Each diagram has a variety of AutoFormat choices you can apply to it. You choose one of these, and click the AutoFormat button on the Diagram toolbar. The Diagram Style Gallery dialog box opens (see Figure 10-16). Make your selection and click OK to apply it.
Figure 10-16: Select a different AutoFormat for the diagram.
Disabling AutoFormat
To format the shapes on your own, you must disable AutoFormat. To do so, right-click the chart (anywhere on it), and choose Use AutoFormat to remove the checkbox next to that command. (It's a toggle.)To reenable AutoFormat, choose the command again from the menu. It is also automatically reenabled if you select an AutoFormat from the Style Gallery as explained in the preceding section.
Making Manual Format Changes
If you want to separately format a certain shape, you must turn off AutoFormat. You may find it useful to turn off AutoLayout as well. It's a two-step process: you must be able to individually select a shape (which is easier when AutoLayout is off), and you must be able to individually format the shape (possible only when AutoFormat is off).
You can then make any of the following types of changes:
Change the line and/or fill color for a shape
Add a border and/or fill to a text box
Add a shadow
Add a 3-D effect
Change the text color, font, and size (although actually you can change these without turning off AutoFormat or AutoLayout)