Storyline 3: Working with Theme Colors

Theme colors control the default color options throughout Storyline 3. You can quickly change the style of a Storyline template just by switching to different theme colors. Several built-in themes are provided for you, and you can also create your own custom themes.

• Understanding Theme Colors
• Applying and Managing Theme Colors
• Creating New Theme Colors
• Customizing Theme Colors

Understanding Theme Colors

Theme colors determine the default color choices for text, shapes, captions, outlines, buttons, and more. In the following example, theme colors appear across the top row of the selection window with shades of each color below. (Color selection windows also include 10 standard colors and options to define custom colors.)

To see your gallery of theme colors, go to the Design tab on the Storyline ribbon and click Colors.

If you've created any custom theme colors, they'll appear at the top of the list. Built-In theme colors appear beneath your custom themes. The theme colors currently in use for the selected slide have a thin orange outline.

Each theme has a palette of eight colors. The first two apply to text and backgrounds. The other six are accent colors—for example, shape fill options. To see the entire color palette for any theme or to modify a theme, jump to the section on Customizing Theme Colors later in this user guide.

Applying and Managing Theme Colors

Hover over a set of theme colors to preview what they'd look like if applied to the current slide. Just click a theme to actually apply it. (Clicking a theme applies it to all slides that share the same slide master as the current slide.)

Right-click a theme to see these additional options:

Apply to Matching Slides	This applies the theme colors to all slides in your course that are based on the same slide master as the current slide. (You can achieve the same thing by left-clicking the theme.)
Apply to All Slides	This applies the theme colors to all slides in your course.
Apply Only to This Slide	This applies the theme colors only to the currently selected slide(s).
Edit	This opens the theme editor. (See Customizing Theme Colors below.) This option is only available for theme colors you've created, not built-in theme colors.
Delete	This removes the selected theme colors from Storyline. This option is only available for theme colors you've created, not built-in theme colors.

Creating New Theme Colors

Here's how to create a new set of theme colors:

1. Go to the Design tab on the ribbon and click Colors.
2. Select Create New Theme Colors at the bottom of the drop-down list.
3. When the theme editor appears, use the color selectors to assemble your palette.
   • Text/Background - Dark 1 is the default text color for light slide backgrounds and shapes. It's also one of the slide background styles on the ribbon's Design tab.
   • Text/Background - Light 1 is the default text color for dark slide backgrounds and shapes. It's also one of the slide background styles on the ribbon's Design tab.
   • Text/Background - Dark 2 and Text/Background - Light 2 are slide background styles on the ribbon's Design tab.
   • Accent 1 is the default fill color for shapes, captions, check box styles 1 and 2, and radio button styles 1 and 2.
   • Accents 2-6 are colors you can choose in style galleries and color selectors throughout Storyline.
   • Hyperlink is the color used for text hyperlinks.
   • Control 1 is the hover color for radio buttons and answer choices (except drag items, drop-down questions, and Likert scale questions, which use Custom 2).
   • Custom 1 is the default fill color for buttons.
   • Custom 2 is the default color for check box styles 3 and 4 as well as radio button styles 3 and 4. It’s also the hover color for drag items, drop-down questions, and Likert scale questions.
4. For each item you want to change, use its color selector to choose a different color.
   
   If you don't see the color you want, use the Eyedropper to select any color on visible on your screen, or choose More Colors and do any of the following:
   • Click the color you want (either a square color swatch or a color in the spectrum area).
   • Create a custom color by entering values in the Hue/Sat/Lum fields, the Red/Green/Blue fields, or the Html field.
   • Use the color picker to choose a custom color from anything on your screen.
     
     If the color you've chosen is something you want to save for easy selection later, click Add to Custom Colors. The color will get added to the bank of custom colors in the lower left corner of the window.
     
     Click OK when you're done.
5. Enter a name for your new theme colors.
6. Click Save.

Customizing Theme Colors

It's easy to modify your custom theme colors. Here's how:

1. Go to the Design tab on the ribbon and click Colors.
2. Right-click the custom theme colors you want to modify and select Edit.
3. When the theme editor appears, use the color selectors to modify your palette.

Built-in theme colors can't be modified. However, you can create your own theme colors based on built-in themes. Here's how:

1. First, apply the built-in theme colors you want to use as your base colors to your course (i.e., left-click the built-in theme).
2. Then, click the Colors drop-down again and choose Create New Theme Colors. The theme editor will open, and the colors will default to those from the built-in theme you're currently using (from step 1).
3. Edit the colors to your liking and save the theme with a new name.

You Might Also Want to Explore:

Using Design Themes
Working with Theme Fonts