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Applying Fill Effects
The Fill Effects command on the Fill Color menu opens a Fill Effects dialog box with four tabs: Gradient, Texture, Pattern, and Picture. Each of these is a type of fill that you can use as an alternative to a solid color in an AutoShape or a piece of WordArt.
Gradients
If you've ever watched a sunset (and who hasn't?), you know how the red of the sun slowly fades into the blue/black of the evening sky. You may not have thought of it quite this way before, but that's a gradient. Whenever one color turns gradually into another one, it's a gradient. Gradients are often used on large shapes on logos and on backgrounds. Figure 7-18 shows some WordArt with a gradient fill.
Figure 7-18: This gradient fades from black at the top to white at the bottom.
On the Gradient tab in the Fill Effects dialog box, you can choose three kinds of gradients:
One color: This gradient uses one color plus either black or white or a shade of gray.
Two color: This gradient uses two colors that you choose.
Preset: This gradient option lets you select one of the preset color combinations that come with PowerPoint.
One thing that all three gradient types have in common is that you can choose whether the gradient should rotate when you rotate the AutoShape. For example, suppose you have an up-pointing block arrow that you have drawn with the Auto Shape tool. You then rotate it to be a left-pointing arrow. Should the gradient rotate too or stay fixed? Figure 7-19 shows the difference. Mark or clear the Rotate Fill Effect with Shape checkbox at the bottom of the dialog box to indicate your preference in this matter.
Figure 7-19: When a shape is rotated, the gradient will rotate too, or not, depending on your setting in the Fill Effects dialog box.
To set a one-color gradient, click the One Color option button and then select the color from the Color 1 drop-down list. Then drag the Dark/Light slider to adjust the gradient. If the slider is in the center, there will be no gradient. Drag it to Dark to make the chosen color a gradient with black, or drag it to Light to make the chosen color a gradient with white.After selecting the color, adjust the Transparency sliders, if desired. Transparency can also be a gradient effect, making the transparency of an object gradually fade from one amount of transparency to another. The From slider specifies the beginning transparency and the To slider is for the ending transparency.Finally, choose a shading style. Choose a category of style from the option buttons, and then click on the desired variant (see Figure 7-20).
Figure 7-20: A one-color gradient involves one color plus a certain amount of either black or white.
When you select the Two Colors gradient option, the Light/Dark slider goes away and is replaced by a Color 2 drop-down list, as shown in Figure 7-21. Choose the second color you want from that list. Then, select the desired shading style.
Figure 7-21: With the Two Colors gradient you select two different colors instead of one color plus black or white.
Preset gradients are nice timesavers. When you click the Preset option button, a Preset Colors drop-down list appears. You can select from a variety of preset multicolor gradients with picturesque names like Daybreak and Horizon.
| Note | Preset gradients are good for more than just convenience; some of these presets have several colors in them and can create effects that you cannot duplicate with the One-color or Two-colors options, such as the Rainbow I and Rainbow II presets. |
Textures
On the Texture tab of the Fill Effects dialog box, you can choose from a variety of simulations of textured surfaces, such as marble, straw, sandpaper, and so on. Scroll through the list to find the one you want, select it, and click OK (see Figure 7-22).
Figure 7-22: Choose a texture that you want to use to fill the object.
You can also specify any image that you want to use as a texture. The image will be tiled (repeated) as needed to fill the object. To do so, click Other Texture, select the image file, and click OK. For example, you could use any of the background bitmap images that come with Windows. You'll find them in the Windows folder on your hard disk. Figure 7-23 shows one of the background images from Windows XP used as a texture.
Figure 7-23: A background texture from Windows has been imported here.
Patterns
Patterns are not as flashy as gradients or textures, but they have their uses. A pattern, simply stated, is an arrangement of lines or shapes of one color over a background of another color. For example, a pinstripe suit has a pattern of gray or white lines over a black, blue, or gray background. You get the idea.To apply a pattern, click the Pattern tab in the Fill Effects dialog box and then click a pattern that you want to use (see Figure 7-24). You can choose the foreground and background colors from the drop-down lists at the bottom of the dialog box. If you want the pattern colors to change when the color scheme changes, use scheme colors as your choices.
Figure 7-24: Choose the pattern you want, and select a foreground and background color.
| Caution | Patterns make any text difficult to read. Don't apply a pattern to an AutoShape that is functioning as a text box unless you have a very compelling reason to do so. And if you do, make sure the pattern uses subtly contrasting colors and that the text is large, bold, and of a strongly contrasting color. |
Pictures
You probably have at least one friend or acquaintance who is into scrapbooks, right? That person will probably tell you that pictures are much more interesting when they have unusual shapes.You can use any AutoShape as a picture frame by applying a Picture fill to it. The AutoShape becomes a sort of matte for the picture, giving it some style. Figure 7-25 shows some examples.
Figure 7-25: Pictures placed in AutoShapes take on the AutoShape as a frame.
To use a picture as a fill, click the Picture tab in the Fill Effects dialog box. There won't be any pictures there initially; don't worry. Click the Picture button, select the picture, and double-click it. Then, click OK to place the picture in the object.
Background Fill
This one is not a true "fill effect" in the sense that it is accessible only from the Format AutoShape menu (not from the Fill Effects dialog box like other fills), but it is an interesting and unusual effect to apply.As I mentioned in Chapter 5 for text boxes, the "Background" fill choice on the Fill Color menu is somewhat like making the AutoShape completely transparent, since it makes the slide background show through. However, the Background setting obscures any objects that are between it and the background. Figure 7-26 shows an example. In this figure, the star has Background as its fill, and it is sitting on top of a text box containing the text. This is better than filling the star with the same pattern, gradient, or texture as the background because no matter where you move it on the slide, its background will continue to "match" with the slide's background.
Figure 7-26: Use Background as the fill if you want the AutoShape to pick up the slide background but ignore any intervening objects.
