PPT: Embossed Formatting Lost After You Save in PPT 4.0 Format

In PowerPoint 98 or PowerPoint 2001, when you save a file in PowerPoint 4.0 file format, and then open the file in PowerPoint 4.0 (on the Macintosh or in Windows), the embossed text appears as normal text. If you check the formatting of the font, it is set to the embossed font style, but the font color is set to the default font color.

PowerPoint 98 and 2001 do not allow you to select the embossed font color. Instead, they automatically set the embossed font color to match the background color of the slide or the object in which you typed your text. Even so, the base color is still set to the default font color, even though that isn't what you see on the screen. PowerPoint 4.0 cannot interpret the settings and uses the default font color for the characters, which gives the appearance that the characters are not embossed.

To restore the embossed appearance, set the font color to the background color by using one of the following methods.

Method 1: Change the Font Color in PowerPoint 98/2001 Before You Convert the File

1. Select the text that you want to emboss.
2. On the Format menu, click Font.
3. In the Font dialog box, click the background color on the palette.
4. Click to select the Emboss check box, and then click OK.

Method 2: Change the Font Color in PowerPoint 4.0 After You Convert the File

1. Select the text that contains the embossed formatting.
2. On the Format menu, click Font.
3. Click the background color on the color palette.
4. Click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.