Color Controls

The Color controls are made up of the Swatches, Mixer, Color Picker, and Sliders panels.

Note: A different color picker appears when you click the Color box in the Modes controls. For more information, see Using the Pick Color Dialog.

Swatches Panel

The Swatches panel displays customizable color swatches. There are several default swatch "sets" from which to choose.

To choose a swatch set:

Click the Swatches menu and choose a named swatch.

To pick a color from the swatch set:

1. Move the cursor over the Swatches panel.

The cursor changes to a color picker.

2. Click the color swatch you want.

The foreground color changes to the color of the swatch.

3. To pick a background color, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) and click the swatch you want.

To add a color to the current swatch set:

1. Move the cursor over a blank area of the Swatches panel.

The cursor changes to a paint bucket.

2. Click over the blank area.

The current foreground color is added to the Swatches panel.

To replace a swatch with the current foreground color:

• Press Shift and click the swatch you want to replace. It changes to the current foreground color.
• Press Shift while dragging your cursor over a range of swatches to set them to the current foreground color.

To delete a swatch:

• Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and click the swatch you want to delete (the cursor changes to scissors). The swatch is removed from the set.
• Press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) while dragging your cursor over a range of swatches to delete the selected range of swatches.

To create a spread of colors:

• While pressing Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Macintosh), click and drag a range of swatches. When you release the mouse button, a "spread" is created between the first color you clicked and the last color you clicked.
• Click and drag your cursor over the empty region of the Swatches panel to generate a color spread between the foreground and background colors.

To create a new swatch set:

1. Click the Swatches menu, and choose New Swatch Set.
2. Type a new name for the swatch set in the text field that appears.
3. Click OK to accept the new name and create a new swatch set.

The Swatches panel is empty and ready for new swatches. The new swatch set is added to the Swatches menu.

To delete a swatch set:

1. Choose the swatch set you want to delete from the Swatches menu.
2. Click the Swatches menu again and choose Delete Swatch Set.

You are prompted to confirm the deletion.

Warning: You cannot undo this operation.

3. Click OK to delete the selected swatch set.

Color Picker Panel

Use the Color Picker panel to select colors based on the HSV color model. You can drag the cursor around the picking area in the middle to pick a color based on hue and saturation, and drag the slider below to pick a brightness value.

To use the color picker:

Select a color by clicking in the Hue vs. Saturation area, and then selecting a value using the Value bar at the bottom of the panel.

Mixer Panel

Use this panel like a painter's palette: to mix colors manually.

To mix colors on the Mixer panel:

1. Select a color to mix into the current palette from the Swatches panel, the Color Picker panel, or the Sliders panel.
2. Click Mix.
3. Click and drag in the mixing area. The initial movement lays down a "dab" of the foreground color. As you drag, it starts mixing it with the other colors in the palette (including the background color of the mixing area), very much like a real paintbrush would.

To choose a color from the Mixer panel:

1. Click the Mix button to turn it off.
2. Click anywhere in the mixing area to choose the color under the cursor as the new foreground color.
3. To select a background color from the mixing area, hold down Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) while you click.

To clear the mixing area:

Click Clear on the Mixer panel.

The mixing area is filled with the current background color.

To choose a preset mixing area:

Click the Mixer menu and choose a named mixer from the menu.

To create a new mixing area:

1. Click the Mixer menu and choose New Mixing Area.
2. Type a new name for the mixing area in the text field that appears.
3. Click OK to accept the new name and create a new mixing area.

The Mixer panel is empty, ready to mix new colors. The new mixing area is added to the Mixer menu.

To delete a mixing area:

1. Choose the mixing area you want to delete from the Mixer menu.
2. Click the Mixer menu and choose Delete Mixing Area.

A dialog appears prompting you to confirm the deletion.

Warning: You cannot undo this operation.

3. Click OK to deleted the current mixing area.