Color panes can be used to display one or multiple objects over a color backdrop, apply border styles and add color bands at the top and bottom. One application would be text columns, where headlines are shown over a different background color. Other applications include thumbnail galleries that are emphasized with a border and a different background than the rest of the page.
To insert a color pane, choose Insert from the Page Context menu, then drag the sizing handles as necessary.
To customize the appearance, select the color pane and select Color Pane Properties from the context menu.
Additional interesting effects can be achieved by applying Image Tools against the Color Pane, e.g. the Rotate tool.
Since a color pane is a container object, it can hold any number of other objects, which can either be arranged manually or by choosing automatic positioning options.