Creating a Theme from Scratch
If you want to create an entirely new theme that is not based on any existing Keynote
theme, the easiest way is to create a new Keynote document and delete all master
slides from it except for one blank slide.
To delete a master slide, select it in the master slide navigator and choose Edit >
Delete or press the Delete key.
Here are tips for creating the new theme:
Set up all text and background attributes before creating new master slides.
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On a sample slide, test your text layouts to be sure they work with text longer than a
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line or two. Consider how many bullets you want to fit in a body text box when you
set its size and placement.
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Chapter 12
Designing Your Own Master Slides and Themes
Chapter 12
Designing Your Own Master Slides and Themes
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Duplicate the original master slide to create various text layouts. New masters made
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from copies automatically inherit the original’s text and background attributes. Then
you only have to adjust the text box layouts (for example, remove the title text box
and expand the body text box for a “body only” master slide).
Create sample slides in the slide navigator based on each master you design and place
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free text boxes, shapes, tables, and images on each one, if you want the default object
attributes to be different on different master slides. (If you want to set the same default
object attributes for all masters, you need to do this for only one master slide.)
Create a series of sample slides in the slide navigator based on each of your master
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slides. Design a chart on one slide, and then copy and paste it onto each of the slides.
Then convert each chart to a different chart type, and set its size and position. Do this
step before you define default chart styles using Format > Advanced.