Setting Default Colors and Palettes

The Color Palette set provides colors for selection and specifies which colors are available in a VectorWorks file. Any set of unlimited colors can be included; colors are organized in standard and/or custom color palettes.

In a new file, the active document color palette is the only palette displayed in the Color Palette set, and it contains only the colors black and white. As colors are added to the file from color palettes as well as resources, the active document color palette expands to display all the colors used in the file.

To display and manage the colors available for the file:

1.

From the Attributes palette, click on one of the color boxes for Fill color or Pen color, when a Solid style is selected. A similar interface is available from other areas in the application where colors are specified, although the Color By Class option is only available when accessed from the Attributes palette.

The Color Palette set opens, displaying the colors in the active color palette.

 

Parameter	Description
Color by Class	When using the Color Palette set to specify an object’s color, causes the object to take on the color attribute set by the object’s class; see Applying Colors
Standard Color Picker	Opens the operating system’s color picker for selecting individual colors; see Selecting Standard Operating System Colors
Pick Color	Opens the Pick Color dialog box, for selecting a color from available color palettes; see Selecting a Color from a Color Palette
Color Palette Manager	Opens the Color Palette Manager dialog box, for managing available color palettes and activating additional palettes; see Managing Color Palettes
Named color display area	Displays any color name information associated with the selected color. This area also serves to find a named color in the active color palette. To easily find a named color, begin typing; the letters display in the named color display area and the closest color match is selected. Press the Tab key to cycle through the closest matches; pause for several seconds to start the search over.
Colors in active palette	Displays the selected active palette’s available colors in either Grid or List view; these colors are available for use in the file
Active palettes	Lists palettes which have been made active for the file with the Color Palette Manager; click on a palette name to display its colors for use in VectorWorks
Utility Menu	Opens a utility menu to control the color palette sorting and display

2.	Either select a color from one of the file’s color palettes, or click off of the Color Palette set (in the drawing window, for example) to close the color window and set the file’s available colors.

Utility Menu

The options selected from the color palette Utility Menu button at the bottom of the main Color Palette set indicate the color sorting and display.

 

To set the display and sorting of colors and palettes:

1.	From the Color Palette set, click the Utility Menu button to open the utility menu.

 

Menu/Command	Action
View Color Palette as	Select to view the colors in the Color Palette set as a grid of colored squares, or a list of colors and associated names. (In either view, color names are always shown in the display area above the colors as the mouse moves over the colors.)
Sort Color Palette by	Specify the sorting method for the active color palette; select Color to sort by hue (HSV values), Manual to sort according to the order set in the Color Palette Manager, or Alphabetical to sort in ascending or descending order by color name
Place Color Palettes at	Select whether to display active color palettes at the top or bottom of the Color Palette set
Shrink Grid to Fit	In Grid view, color lists of less than 16 rows can be displayed with a Color Palette set option that shrinks to fit the available colors

2.	Select a utility command to change the color palette display or sorting option.

Selecting Standard Operating System Colors

When specifying or creating color palettes is not necessary, the operating system’s color picker adds individual colors to the active document color palette.

 

To select a standard operating system color:

1.	From the Color Palette set, click the Standard Color Picker button.

The Colors (Macintosh) or Color (Windows) dialog box opens.

2.	Select a color from among the standard operating system colors, and click OK.

3.	The color is added to the active document color palette, and becomes available for use in VectorWorks.

Selecting a Color from a Color Palette

If a file requires colors beyond those available for the standard system color picker, but you do not wish to add and manage palettes in the Color Palette set, select a color from a specific color palette.

 

To add colors from a color palette:

1.	From the Color Palette set, click the Pick Color button.

The Pick Color dialog box opens, listing the color palettes available. The Colors in Active Document palette is always available. Other palettes in the list either ship with VectorWorks, or have been added with the Color Palette Manager.

 

Parameter	Description
Color Palette list	Lists the color palettes from which colors can be selected. Click on the header to sort the palettes in ascending/descending alphabetical order. Select a palette to display its colors on the right.
Color List	Lists the colors in the selected palette; click on the header to sort by color or by color name. Select a color to add it to the Colors in the Active Document palette.
Color Grid	Displays the colors in the selected palette as a grid; select a color to add it to the Colors in Active Document palette
Color Information	Displays the color information of the selected color, including Name; Red, Green, Blue (RGB); Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK); and Hue, Saturation, and Value (HSV). This information also displays on a tooltip when the cursor hovers over a color.

2.	Select a color palette from the left, and then select the color from the list or grid of colors on the right.

3.	Click OK to add the color to the active document palette, and make it available for use in VectorWorks.

Managing Color Palettes

The Color Palette Manager determines which color palettes are available in the main Color Palette set and the Pick Color dialog box. With the Color Palette Manager, create or import custom color palettes, activate palettes for use in VectorWorks, add and delete colors from custom color palettes, and purge unused colors.

 

To manage the file’s color palettes:

1.	From the Color Palette set, click the Color Palette Manager button.

The Color Palette Manager dialog box opens. The palettes available here are located in the Color Palettes library of the default resources; see VectorWorks Fundamentals Default Resources.

 

Parameter	Description
Color palette list	Lists the file’s available color palettes. Click on a header to sort the palettes by active status or color palette name. Click in the Active column of a selected palette to activate the palette and add it to the available palettes in the main Color Palette set.
Color List	Lists the colors in the selected palette; click on the header to sort by color or by color name
Color Grid	Displays the colors in the selected palette as a grid
New	Opens the New Palette dialog box, for creating a custom color palette or importing a color palette file; see Creating or Editing Custom Color Palettes
Duplicate	Copies the selected color palette and appends an incrementing number to the copy name (change or rename the copied palette by clicking Edit)
Delete	Deletes the currently selected color palette; only custom palettes can be deleted, but not the Colors in Active Document or standard color palettes
Purge Unused	When the Colors in Active Document palette is selected, removes any colors that are not in use in the file from the Colors in Active Document palette Referenced colors remain in the active document color palette, even from an object that has been removed. Purging allows accumulated colors to be trimmed.
Edit	Opens the Edit Palette dialog box, for editing the selected custom palette; see Creating or Editing Custom Color Palettes

2.	When the list of color palettes and active color palettes is set, click OK.

Creating or Editing Custom Color Palettes

Custom color palettes can be created or edited from the Color Palette Manager.

Type the first few letters of a palette (or color, when the cursor is in the color list) to quickly select a color.

To create or edit a custom color palette:

1.	Open the Color Palette Manager as described in Managing Color Palettes.

2.	Click New to create a new palette, or Edit to make changes to the currently selected palette.

The New Palette or Edit Palette dialog box opens.

 

Parameter	Description
Name	Specifies a name for a new color palette, or edits the name of a custom color palette
Color List	Lists the colors in the custom palette; click on the header to sort by number in the list, color, or color name. To change the order of the colors, click in the # column and drag the selected color up or down in the list. (Select Manual from the color palette utility menu to sort the colors in the main Color Palette set in this order; see Utility Menu)
Color Grid	Displays the colors in the custom palette as a grid
New	Opens the New Color dialog box, for adding a new color from the operating system’s color picker
Edit	Opens the Edit Color dialog box, for editing the selected color using the operating system’s color picker
Delete	Deletes the currently selected color(s) from the custom color palette
Get	Opens the Pick Color dialog box, for adding one or more colors selected from the available color palettes (see Selecting a Color from a Color Palette)
Lighten	Incrementally lightens the selected color
Darken	Incrementally darkens the selected color
RGB Blend	Blends two selected colors according to their Red, Green, Blue (RGB) values, to create the specified number of new colors (up to 1000)
HSV Blend	Blends two selected colors according to their Hue, Saturation, and Lightness (HSV) values, to create the specified number of new colors (up to 1000)
Import	Imports all the colors from the Colors in Active Document palette of another current version VectorWorks file

3.	When the colors have been edited or added to the custom color palette, click OK.

The custom color palette is listed in the Color Palette Manager. By default, custom color palettes are saved in the user folder (see User Folders Preferences).