Microsoft KB Archive/141475

= Excessive Banding of Gradients in PowerPoint for the Macintosh =

Article ID: 141475

Article Last Modified on 10/7/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft PowerPoint 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q141475



SYMPTOMS
In PowerPoint, shaded (gradient) backgrounds may appear banded. Banding occurs when colors change abruptly and do not transition smoothly between shades.



RESOLUTION
The banding effect is most obvious in 16-bit (thousands of colors) display mode. Switching to 8-bit (256 colors) or 24-bit (millions of colors) mode yields better results.



MORE INFORMATION
Although 16-bit (thousands of colors) display mode can display more colors simultaneously than 8-bit mode (65,536 versus 256), 8-bit mode gradients may appear smoother because PowerPoint can choose the best 256 colors out of 16.7 million possible colors. In 16-bit display mode, there are only 65,536 possible colors, although they can all be displayed simultaneously.

Additional query words: 4.00 m_powerpt powerpnt power point ppt 98 8.0

Keywords: kbprb kbdisplay KB141475

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