On the Design tab, choose the font scheme you want. Or create one if it
doesn't already exist.
Then on the View tab, hit Slide Master.
On the slide master (the big one), make your changes. Add the photo
background, set up your placeholders formatting. Be sure to select the
"headings" and "body" font (although they should be in the placeholders
already if you selected a font scheme.)
If you need info about editing graphics on the masters and layouts, see
http://www.echosvoice.com/2007/editinglayouts.htm
Now you're pretty much good to go. Close master view.
File | Save As. You can choose Template (POTX) or Theme (THMX).
Personally, I think it's easiest to instead choose the "More" button on the
Themes Gallery (Design tab) and click Save Current Theme at the bottom of
that expanded gallery. This takes you to the appropriate folder to save your
theme so it shows up there in the gallery on the Design tab. After that, you
can always right-click it there in the Design tab and apply to slides, apply
to selected slides, or even set as the default theme.
If you choose to use File | Save as | Template (in the Save as Type
dropdown), it will take you to the appropriate folder to save your template
so it shows up when you go to File | New | My Templates.
The difference between a template and a theme is this (are these):
1. THMX (theme) is office-wide. You can apply a theme to Word and Excel and
PPT files so that consistent font schemes, color schemes and effect schemes
are available in all three. POTX (template) is for PPT only.
2. Both THMX and Templates carry slide masters and layouts.
3. Template can have sample slides; THMX cannot.
4. A template is based on a theme -- or it has a theme attached, if you
prefer -- so if you use a template, the theme comes along for the ride, so
to speak.
