Configuring Themes in Word 2007

While themes are a gimme for working in PowerPoint, they don't appear to be as useful in Word as they don't seem to do much to format the document if you're not using diagrams or shapes. However the problem isn't quite this simple. Themes in Word won't apply to the text in the document if you don't have a style in place. Use the Home tab to view the Styles option and click Change Styles and select a Style Set. Now, when you choose the Theme, the styles available change.

All of a sudden, themes make a little more sense in Word 2007.

Love the theme, hate the background image?

Yum, PowerPoint's new themes. They're fun, colorful and a far cry from the drab and boring ones we've lived with for so long. So, what happens when you love everything about a Theme except its background?

Well, since I'm waxing lyrical about PowerPoint you can probably guess I'm about to let you in on a trick for fixing the background problem in your PowerPoint 2007 theme love affair? Click the Background Styles option in the Design tab and there is an entire selection of different backgrounds all coordinated with the theme. If you change your color scheme the background's colors change too - sweet!