How to stop powerpoint from changing colors from a template

Question

How to stop powerpoint from changing colors from a template

Jessica 20

Hello, I have a brand template saved as a PowerPoint theme. Whenever I make a new document using the theme, colors automatically change from blue to grey. Is there a way to somehow lock the color theme on my template to avoid this? The only way for me to get the right colors is to copy paste the slides from my original template instead of using the theme, which defeats the whole purpose of using a theme...
I'm only the Microsoft app for Mac.

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Answer accepted by question author

Killian N 4,145 Independent Advisor

Hi Jessica,

If the colors in new presentations created from your theme are changing from blue to grey, it may indicate that the theme's color palette (Theme Colors) is not being saved correctly, or that PowerPoint is automatically applying a different color scheme when the theme is loaded.

Please check that the blue colors are defined under Design > Variants > Colors > Customize Colors, then save the theme again. For detailed instructions, please refer to Microsoft’s guide: Create your own theme in PowerPoint.

To help narrow this down, could you confirm:

How was the theme created? Was it saved as a PowerPoint Theme (.thmx) or as a PowerPoint Template (.potx)?
Are the blue colors defined under View > Slide Master > Colors > Customize Colors?
Does the color change occur immediately when creating a new presentation from the theme, or only after saving and reopening the file?
Which version of PowerPoint for Mac are you using (for example, PowerPoint in Microsoft 365)?

As a workaround, you may also try saving the original presentation as a PowerPoint Template (.potx) rather than a theme. A template preserves the theme together with its slide layouts and other presentation settings: Save a slide design as a template.

For more information, please refer to the following link:

Wishing you a quick resolution. Feel free to let me know if there are any updates.

Kind regards,

Jessica 20 Reputation points

2026-09-16T14:35:18.5666667+00:00

Hello, thank you very much for taking the time to help! Indeed, the problem was the color palette. I was able to fix both the template and the theme correctly following your directions!
Killian N 4,145 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-16T16:30:12.9466667+00:00

Hello Jessica,

You're very welcome, and thank you for coming back to share the outcome!

I'm glad to hear that the issue was related to the color palette and that you were able to correct both the template and the theme successfully. It's always great when the root cause can be identified and resolved.

If you run into any other questions, feel free to reach out.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Jessica 20 Reputation points

2026-09-16T14:35:18.5666667+00:00

Hello, thank you very much for taking the time to help! Indeed, the problem was the color palette. I was able to fix both the template and the theme correctly following your directions!
Killian N 4,145 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-16T16:30:12.9466667+00:00

Hello Jessica,

You're very welcome, and thank you for coming back to share the outcome!

I'm glad to hear that the issue was related to the color palette and that you were able to correct both the template and the theme successfully. It's always great when the root cause can be identified and resolved.

If you run into any other questions, feel free to reach out.

Answer 1

PowerPoint themes are not a hard lock for colors. A theme defines the presentation’s colors, fonts, and background, but content can still take on other formatting unless it is tied back to the theme. On Mac, the supported way to keep brand colors consistent is to build and save a customized theme and custom theme colors, then apply that theme to new presentations.

Try this on the Mac template:

Open the presentation that has the correct brand colors.
Go to Design > Variants > Colors > Customize Colors.
Set the theme colors needed for the brand, especially the Accent colors, then give the color set a name and click Save.
Still on the Design tab, use Variants to also review Fonts and Background Styles if needed.
Save the full theme: on the Design tab, hover over a theme, click the down arrow below the themes panel, and select Save Current Theme.
For a new presentation, go to Design > Themes or Design > Variants > Colors, and apply the saved custom theme and the saved custom color set.

If only some slides are changing, reapply the theme to those slides or apply the theme only to selected slides:

Select the affected slide thumbnails.
Go to Design > Themes.
Right-click the theme and select Apply to Selected Slides.

If the issue is specifically chart colors or text inside charts changing, charts use the theme’s accent colors. Make sure the brand colors are assigned in Customize Colors to the theme accents, then save the theme again.

If the goal is to completely prevent users from changing to non-brand colors, built-in PowerPoint does not provide a true lock that restricts users to only approved fonts and colors. The closest built-in approach is to create and save the correct theme and color set, then use that as the starting point.

References: