Adobe InDesign CS2 How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques

#77. Using the Color Palette

Like the Gradient palette, you can use the Color palette (Window > Color) to create colors on the flythat is, without having to open the New Color Swatch dialog box. Generally, it's a good idea to choose New Color Swatch from the Swatches palette menu when you need a new color because the color is added to the Swatches palette list and you can apply it whenever you want. That said, the Color palette (Figure 77) provides a quick alternative for creating colors.

Figure 77. Use the Color palette to quickly create new colors without having to open the New Color Swatch dialog box.

Stroke and Fill Defaults for Objects and Text

If you take a close look at the Color palette, you'll see two small buttons below the Fill and Stroke boxes: Formatting Affects Objects and Formatting Affects Text . When Formatting Affects Objects is selected, changes you make in the Color palette are applied to selected objects. If nothing is selected, the changes are used as the default fill or stroke settings for the drawing tools (with the exception of the three frame tools), depending on whether the Fill box or the Stroke box is selected in the toolbox. When Formatting Affects Text is selected, changes you make in the Color palette are applied to all text within selected text frames. If nothing is selected, the changes are used as the default fill or stroke settings for text in newly created frames, depending on whether the Fill box or the Stroke box is selected in the toolbox. The toolbox and Swatches palette also include Formatting Affects Objects and Formatting Affects Text buttons.

The controls in the Color palette are similar to the controls in the New Color Swatch dialog box. To create a color:

1.

Choose Lab, CMYK, or RGB from the palette menu to specify the kind of color you want to create. The color controls displayed depend on the selected color model. A color spectrum is displayed below the tint percentage fields and sliders.

2.

Click the spectrum or use the fields and sliders to specify color settings.

To add the color in the Color palette to the Swatches palette list, choose Add to Swatches from the Color palette menu, drag the Fill box from the Color palette to the Swatches palette, or click the New Swatch button at the bottom of the Swatches palette. To add all colors you've applied using the Color palette to the Swatches palette, choose Add Unnamed Colors from the Swatches palette menu.

When you create a color using the Color palette, it's applied to the current selection. If nothing is selected, the color is the default color for the fill or stroke of new objects (except for frames created with any of the three frame tools), depending on whether the Fill box or the Stroke box is selected in the Color palette or toolbox.

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