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In previous versions of Visio, you had to change colors manually, a potentially time-consuming process that didn't always guarantee acceptable results and virtually guaranteed inconsistencies between diagrams. Visual 2007 comes with a new theme feature that helps you create diagrams with a consistent appearance.
Themes consist of two formatting options. The first, Theme Colors, controls the colors of the shapes in your diagram. Each shape element receives a different, but coordinated, color treatment. The second, Theme Effects, changes the appearance of the color within the shape. A shape might use a graduated color scheme or a starburst pattern.
You apply themes by using the Themes task pane. Display this task pane by clicking Themes on the Formatting toolbar or by choosing Format --> Theme. You can also display the task pane by right-clicking the toolbar area and choosing Task Pane from the context menu. Select Theme - Colors or Theme - Effects from the drop-down list.
Add a theme to your diagram by clicking its entry in the task pane. Hovering the mouse over a color or effect choice tells you the name of that choice. You'll see the changes to your diagram instantly.
 | Sometimes a shape won't let you apply a theme. You can change this behavior by right-clicking the shape and choosing Format --> Allow Themes from the context menu. You can also use this feature to format the shapes on a diagram using two different themes. Set the first theme, right-click any shapes that use that theme, and choose Format --> Allow Themes from the context menu; now set the second theme. The shapes that you changed will still have the first theme set. Likewise, you might find that you don't want a particular shape to use a theme even though the rest of the diagram does. In this case, right-click the shape and choose Format --> Remove Theme from the context menu. |
The theme pictures in the Themes task pane are small. You can make the pictures larger by using the following steps.
1. Hover the mouse over the picture.
You'll see a button with a down arrow.
2. Click the button and you'll see a menu of tasks you can perform.
3. Select Show Large Previews.
Visio changes the size of the theme previews.
Choose the Apply to All Pages option when you want to apply the same theme to all of the pages of a particular diagram. This option doesn't affect pages in other diagram files.
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