Color, Strokes, and Fills > Using the Swatches panel > Naming colors

 

Naming colors

Colors listed in the Swatches panel must have a name. Unnamed colors appear in the drawing if you've added colors from the color mixer or a pop-up color palette.

When you add a color to the Swatches panel, FreeHand assigns a name based on the color's RGB or CMYK values. By default, dragging a different color swatch onto that color will rename it according to its new values. You can turn off this automatic renaming in Preferences.

If you drag a swatch into the Swatches panel and drop it on a color that has something other than the default FreeHand name, the color is changed but not its name. For example, if you have imported a purple color named Grape into the Swatches panel, and you drag a red color swatch onto it, Grape will now be red.

If you add two or more identical colors from the Color Mixer or Tints panels to the Swatches panel and use the default color names, FreeHand displays the copies with a dash and number after the color name, as the following illustration shows:

If you duplicate a color using the Duplicate command from the Swatches panel's pop-up options menu, the new color is named "Copy of [original color]" followed by a number.

The Name All Colors Xtra adds all unnamed colors used in a document to the Swatches panel with default names. The Name All Colors Xtra also lists colors created by applying the Color Control, Desaturate, Darken, Lighten, Randomize, or Saturate Colors Xtras. For more information, see Editing colors.

The Name All Colors Xtra does not name colors in bitmap images.

To set automatic renaming preferences for default color names:

1

Choose Edit > Preferences. Click Colors.

2

Do one of the following:

Select Auto-Rename Colors to automatically rename a color when you change it.

Deselect the option to keep the original name when you change a color.

3

Click OK.

To rename a color in the Swatches panel:

1

Choose Edit > Select > None or press Tab to deselect all objects.

2

In the Swatches panel, double-click the color name.

3

Type a unique name for the color.

4

Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh) or click anywhere in the application to apply the name.

If you enter the same name as another color in the panel, you'll be prompted to rename the color.

To add unnamed colors to the Swatches panel:

1

Select an object whose color you want to add to the Swatches panel.

2

Choose from the following options:

Choose Window > Inspectors > Stroke or Fill to display the Stroke or Fill inspector. Drag from the Stroke or Fill inspector color box to the arrow button on the Swatches panel.

In the Stroke or Fill inspector, choose Add to Swatches from the color list. Enter a name for the color, select Spot or Process, and click Add.

Select the Eyedropper tool and drag a color swatch from the object to the Swatches panel.

Choose Xtras > Colors > Name All Colors to add all unnamed colors, including tints, in a document to the Swatches panel.