Background colour of design template in Powerpoint

[Lucibee]

I'm having terrible trouble applying a neutral background colour to all
slides in a presentation. This works fine if the colour is anything other
than white, but if I try to apply a white background, I need to go through
each slide individually to change the background (Apply All doesn't seem to
work with white!). I've manage to change it on the Design Template, but for
some reason it doesn't then apply to any of the slides if I impose that
template (although it does impose the font styles and colours), and reverts
to the very slight off-white default colour, which is a pain because it shows
up when true white objects (pictures) are superimposed on the slide.

What is going on? Is this some sort of bug?

 

[Echo S]

I've never know there to be an issue with white.

Which version of PPT are you using?

If you reapply the slide layout (sometimes you have to do it twice), does
that fix it?

How are you applying the white background?

 

[Lucibee]

I'm using PPT 2003.

Doesn't matter how many times I try to reapply the layout - also, I've been
finding that the new layout doesn't appear in the Slide Design panel, and
when it does, it doesn't update the background when I try to apply it to all.

I'm having to apply the background by right-clicking the slide, selecting
Background..., then clicking the lower colour box, clicking More Colors...,
and selecting White from the middle of the colour spectrum (which also
selects White from the lower grey-scale spectrum).

If I then select Apply to all, it doesn't.

 

[Echo S]

finding that the new layout doesn't appear in the Slide Design panel, and

when it does, it doesn't update the background when I try to apply it to
all.

Without knowing what you did to create a new slide master, then it's hard to
say.

But if you right-click and apply a background color, but it doesn't apply,
then it sounds as if the individual slides might have autoshapes or
something on them to simulate a background color. However, if a dark
background will apply, that's probably not the issue. Unless...hm, maybe the
shape is semitransparent. That could give light backgrounds a muddy color,
which is what I think you were describing in the first post.

 

[Lucibee]

Oh this is useless!

To create the new slide master, I changed all the things that were wrong on
the old one (including the background) and then saved it as a new one and
renamed it so that the new name appeared on the bottom task bar (so that I
knew I had the correct one).

However, it STILL insists that the background is very slightly off white
(the same colour as the background to this box), and not true white.

When you cut and paste a "blank" slide into a Word doc, and turn up the
contrast of your screen, you'll see what I mean.

 

[Echo S]

It's still white as white can be here. Sounds like a color management /
profile issue to me, but since I can't seem to help, I suggest that if
nobody else pops in soon, you call Microsoft product support.