PPT97: PowerPoint Does Not Support Recoloring Bitmap Graphics

ID: Q162829

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to recolor a bitmap graphic by clicking Recolor on the Picture tab of the Format Picture dialog box, you receive the following message:

   This object is a bitmap. To recolor it you must use an image editing
   program such as Microsoft Photo Editor.

This functionality is different from earlier versions of PowerPoint where you can replace individual colors in bitmap images that contain up to 64 different colors.

CAUSE

PowerPoint does not have a feature to replace the individual colors in a bitmap. You can replace the individual colors in an imported vector-based graphic if the graphic contains less than 64 colors.

PowerPoint has new features to manipulate the colors in bitmaps. For example, you can adjust the brightness and contrast of bitmaps, change them to black and white or gray-scale, lighten all the colors or even make one of the colors transparent.

STATUS

This feature is under review and will be considered for inclusion in a future release.

MORE INFORMATION

The following formats are bitmap graphics:

   Windows Bitmap (.bmp)
   CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
   Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg)
   Kodak Photo CD (.pcd)
   PC Paintbrush (.pcx)
   Portable Network Graphics (.png)
   Tagged Image File Format (.tif)
   TARGA (.tga)

The following formats are vector-based graphics:

   AutoCAD Drawing Exchange Format (.dxf)
   Computer Graphics Metafile (.cgm)
   CorelDRAW! (.cdr)
   Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language (.hgl)
   Micrographx Designer/Draw (.drw)

The following graphics formats can be bitmap, vector, or a combination of both:

   Encapsulated PostScript (.eps)
   Macintosh PICT (.pct)
   Windows Metafile (.wmf)
   Windows Enhanced Metafile (.emf)

With the exception of .eps files, PowerPoint can replace individual colors in these formats if they contain only vector-based information. PowerPoint can not manipulate .eps files.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q189820
   TITLE:      PPT97: Types of Files PowerPoint 97 Can Open 

Additional query words: 97 TIFF EPS PICT PICTII Adobe 8.0 8.00 ppt8 ppt8.0 palette palettized 24-bit grayscale true color hi-color high colour pct eps wmf emf dxf cgm cdr hgl drw bmp gif jpg pcd pcx png tif tga
Keywords          : kberrmsg kbgraphic
Version           : WINDOWS:97; MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Hardware          : MAC x86
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: November 25, 1998