Excessive Banding of Gradients in PowerPoint for the Macintosh (141475)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh 4.0
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.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/7/2003
Keywords:kbdisplay kbprb KB141475
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.