PowerPoint and the Elusive Color Picker / Eye Dropper

An eye dropper tool should be baked into PowerPoint

If you’ve used drawing or photo editing applications such as Illustrator or Photoshop, you will be familiar with their color picker or eye dropper tools, which enable you to extract a color from an image so the same color can be added to other objects. I wish PowerPoint offered this same functionality, but alas it doesn’t. Luckily, there are many outside color picker apps that can be leveraged in conjunction with PowerPoint.

Why do I need an eye dropper tool?

When you open up the More Fill Colors menu, you have the option of entering a specific RGB color value

Most presenters haven’t memorized the RGB values (Red-Green-Blue color model) for their corporate colors. If you’re trying to match colors with a logo image or with colors used on your corporate website, an eye dropper tool can help you to isolate and replicate the colors you need for objects in your PowerPoint presentation. You can ensure the look and feel of your presentation matches your company’s branding.

You can also use an eye dropper tool to cover up a portion of an image you’re using in your presentation. If you don’t have Photoshop, you can use a color picker tool to match the color of an overlapping shape with the background color of an image. For example, you might want to cover up some words in an image and replace it with your own text.

Eye dropper tool options

If you ever look for an eye dropper or color picker tool online, you’ll run into a number of freeware options (ColorMania, ColorPic, Instant Eyedropper, etc.). Over the years, I tried a number of different freeware applications with mixed results. If the application didn’t crash randomly, its usability would suck or it would be overly complicated for my needs. pptXTREME created a color picker add-in for pre-PowerPoint 2007 versions, but it was overpriced at $19.95.

Recommended tool: Color Cop

Color Cop's magnifier comes in handy when you're trying to isolate a specific color

I haven’t tested all of the different eye dropper tools available, but I have found one that works well for me. Color Cop created by Jay Prall is simple, straightforward, and stable. His free eye dropper tool includes a built-in magnifier, color preview, and a few other features. Every PowerPoint ninja needs a reliable color picker tool in their PowerPoint toolbox. Color Cop fits the bill for me until Microsoft decides to build this functionality into PowerPoint or someone develops a PowerPoint 2007 add-in.

Related posts:

1. PowerPoint Color Transparency Tip
2. Three New Gradient Effect Options in PowerPoint 2007
3. Mastering Gradient Fills in PowerPoint 2007