Using the Color Picker


    The Color Picker lets you select an object's fill or stroke color by choosing from a color spectrum or by defining colors numerically. (See Applying color fills and strokes to objects.)

    Illustration of Color Picker with these callouts: A. Color spectrum B. HSB color values C. Current color D. Previous color E. Color slider triangles F. Color slider G. RGB color values H. Hexidecimal color value I. CMYK color values
    Color Picker A. Color spectrum B. HSB color values C. Current color D. Previous color E. Color slider triangles F. Color slider G. RGB color values H. Hexidecimal color value I. CMYK color values

    Displaying the Color Picker

    Double-click the fill or stroke color selection box in the toolbox or Color palette.

    Selecting a color using the color spectrum

    Select the component you want to use to display the color spectrum: H (Hue), S (Saturation), B (Brightness), R (Red), G (Green), or B (Blue).

    Then do the following:

    • Drag the triangles along the color slider or click inside the color slider to adjust the colors displayed in the spectrum.
    • Click or drag inside the large square color spectrum to select a color. A circular marker indicates the color's position in the spectrum.

    As you adjust the color using the color slider and color spectrum, the numeric values change to reflect the new color. The top rectangle to the right of the color slider displays the new color; the bottom rectangle displays the original color.

    Specifying a color using numeric values

    Enter values in any of the text boxes:

    • For HSB, specify hue (H) as an angle, from 0° to 360°, that corresponds to a location on the color wheel. Specify saturation (S) and brightness (B) as percentages.
    • For RGB, specify component values from 0 to 255 (0 is black, and 255 is the pure color).
    • For CMYK, specify component values as a percentage of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K).
    • For the # text box, enter a color value in hexidecimal form.

    Shifting to a printable color

    Some colors in the RGB and HSB color models, such as neon colors, cannot be printed, because they have no equivalents in the CMYK model. If you select an out-of-gamut color, an alert triangle Exclamation point icon appears near the top right of the palette. Click the triangle to shift to the closest CMYK equivalent (which is displayed below the triangle).

    Note: Printable colors are determined by the printing values you enter for the selected ink set in the CMYK Setup dialog box.

    Viewing Web-safe colors

    Web-safe colors are the 216 colors used by all browsers, regardless of the platform. To limit the color spectrum to Web-safe colors, select Only Web Colors at the bottom left corner of the Color Picker.

    Shifting to a Web-safe color

    If you select a color that is not Web-safe, an alert cube alert cube icon appears near the top right of the palette. Click the cube to shift to the closest Web-safe color (which is displayed below the cube.)