Removing Gradient Backgrounds from a Windows SharePoint Services-based Web Site

Web sites created with Windows SharePoint Services contain some elements with gradient background colors. For example, default home page top menu bar, the title bars for Web Parts, the toolbars in list and document library pages, and the rich text editor toolbar on forms use gradient background images.

Setting a background to a new color using table or cell properties will have no effect until you over-ride it in the corresponding style. This can be done using Theme customization to replace it with a transparent 1 x 1 pixel .gif or .jpg graphic thus allowing background colors to show through. You can readily make one of these with anyone of a number of the graphics programs available or use the one that is already in the /_layouts/images directory of the site. To quickly make a copy of trans.gif see Making a Copy of a Transparent 1 x 1 Pixel .GIF

To use customizing Themes to remove or replaced gradient backgrounds in your Windows SharePoint Services-based Web site, open the site with FrontPage 2003 and do the following:

1. Click on Theme from the Format menu to open the Theme task pane.
2. Apply a default Theme if there isn't one, then click the Theme and select Customize.
3. Click the Text button in the Customize Theme dialog box and then select the More Text Styles... button to open the Style dialog box.
4. Select the name of the style you want to change, click the Modify button to open the Modify Style dialog box, click the Format button, and then select the Border... option.
5. In the Borders and Shading dialog box, click the Shading tab, select the Browse button to the right of the Background picture: text box.
   
   Note: The Background picture: text box does not list the default gradient image being used and is therefore blank.
    
6. Browse to the trans.gif file on your local machine and click the Open button.
7. Next under Fill, select the down arrow on the Background color: text box to choose a new background.
   
            
   
   Tip: Choose Automatic if you want to later use cell or table properties to control the background in the area you are modifying on individual pages.
    
8. Click the OK button in each successive dialog to exit and then save your changes.

The Theme now specifies use of the background color instead of a gradient image in the area you modified. Click here for more about Changing Gradient Images in Sites Created with Windows SharePoint Services.

More information
For more information about customizing Themes, see Microsoft FrontPage 2003 Help.