PPT97: Error Coloring Word Tables in PowerPoint

ID: Q182924

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

If you customize the colors in a Word table object in Microsoft PowerPoint, the font color information may be lost when you save the presentation. Also, if you attempt to recolor the Word table object, you may receive the following error message:

PowerPoint cannot recolor this picture because it has no colors or fills, or because it contains PostScript.
NOTE: This problem does not occur if you are running PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition, or PowerPoint 97 on a Windows NT computer. This problem only occurs when you recolor the Word table object in PowerPoint 97 running on a Windows 95 computer.


CAUSE

This problem is the result of how the Word table information is interpreted and displayed by Windows 95. This behavior does not occur if you recolor the table in Word.


RESOLUTION

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Paste the Table as a Picture

To paste the table as a Picture, follow these steps:
  1. Double-click the Word Table object to edit it.


  2. Click anywhere on the PowerPoint slide. This will close the Word table object editing session and the color information in the object will be restored.


  3. Select the table.


  4. On Edit menu, click Copy.


  5. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special.


  6. In the Paste Special dialog box, click the Picture option, and then click OK.

    NOTE: Do not delete the original table you created. If you delete the original table, you will not be able to make any changes to the contents of the table.

    The pasted picture will contain the color information when you save it.


  7. Change the contents of the table by following these steps:
    1. Delete the picture of the table. To do this, select the picture and then click Cut on the Edit menu.


    2. Double-click the remaining table to edit the contents.


    3. When you have finished editing the table, create a new picture by following steps one through six.




Method 2: Ungroup the Table

To ungroup the table, follow these steps: NOTE: If you use this method, the Word table object will be converted to a Microsoft Office drawing object and you will not be able to edit it in Word again.
  1. Select the table.


  2. On the Draw menu, click Ungroup.


  3. Click Yes when you receive the following message:
    This is an imported object, not a group. If you convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing, embedded data or linking information will be lost. Do you want to convert the object?


  4. Reformat the text boxes with the font formatting you want, and then regroup the objects.


Method 3: Change the Font Color in Word

Format the font information while editing the table in Word. To do this, select the text and then click Font on the Format menu. The color information will be retained when you save the table.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: powerpoint powerpt ppt97 7.00 wrd white text word table ppt98 


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbinterop kbole kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:95,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 2, 1999