Quick links to procedures on this page:

Choosing colors

You can choose fill and outline colors by selecting a color from the Document palette, custom color palettes, palettes from the Palette libraries, color viewers, or color blends. When you want to use a color that already exists in an object or document, you can sample the color by using the Color eyedropper tool to achieve an exact match.

For information about applying the colors you choose, see Applying uniform fills and Formatting lines and outlines. For information about saving colors for future use, see Working with color styles.

Default color palette

A color palette is a collection of color swatches. In some programs, color palettes are known as "swatch palettes."

In CorelDRAW, the default color palette is based on the primary color mode of the document. For example, if the document’s primary color model is RGB, the default color palette is also RGB. For more information, see Understanding color models. You choose the default color model when you create a new drawing. You can open and use additional color palettes at any time.

You can choose both fill and outline colors by using the default color palette. The selected fill and outline colors appear in the color swatches on the status bar.

Document palette

When you create a new drawing, the application automatically generates an empty palette, called the Document palette. It helps you keep track of the colors that you use by storing them with your document for future use. For more information, see Using the Document palette.

Palette libraries and custom color palettes

The color palettes that are found in the Palette libraries cannot be edited directly. Some of them are provided by third-party manufacturers, for example PANTONE, HKS Colors, and TRUMATCH. It may be useful to have on hand a manufacturer’s swatch book, which is a collection of color samples that shows exactly what each color looks like when printed.

The PANTONE solid coated palette is an example of a color palette from the Palette libraries.

Some palettes found in the Palette libraries — PANTONE, HKS Colors, TOYO, DIC, Focoltone, and SpectraMaster — are collections of spot colors. If you create color separations when you print, each spot color requires a separate printing plate, which can significantly affect the cost of the printing job. If you want to use color separations but would like to avoid using spot colors, you can convert the spot colors to process colors when printing. For more information, see Printing color separations.

Custom color palettes can include colors from any color model, including palettes from the Palette libraries, such as a spot color palette. You can save a custom color palette for future use. For more information about working with custom color palettes, see Creating and editing custom color palettes and Organizing and displaying color palettes.

Sampling colors

When you want to use a color that already exists in a drawing, palette, or on your desktop, you can sample the color to achieve an exact match. By default, you sample a single pixel from the drawing window.

Color viewers

Color viewers provide a representation of a range of colors by using either one-dimensional or three-dimensional shapes. The default color viewer is based on the HSB color model, but you can use this viewer to choose CMYK, CMY, or RGB colors. For information about color models, see Understanding color models.

An example of a color viewer

Color blends

When you choose a color by using color blends, you combine base colors to produce the color you want. The color blender displays a grid of colors that it creates from the four base colors you choose.

An example of color blends

Choosing web colors

You can use web colors when you design documents that will be published to the web. With CorelDRAW, you can define web colors by using RGB hexadecimal values (for example, #aa003f).

 

To choose a color by using the default color palette Back to Top

 

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You can display color values by pointing to a swatch.

To display color names instead of color values, click the Options flyout button  at the top of the default palette, and click Show color names. This action undocks the default color palette and displays the color names.

An example of a pop-up color palette

To choose a color by using a color palette Back to Top

 

Enable or disable the Show color names check box.
Click the Swap colors button.
Double-click the Outline button on the status bar. In the Outline pen dialog box, open the Color picker, and click More. In the Select color dialog box, repeat steps 4 to 7.

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Each spot color swatch on a color palette is marked with a small white square .

You should use the same color model for all colors in a drawing; the colors will be consistent and you will be able to predict the colors of the final output more accurately. For more information about reproducing colors accurately, see Using color management.

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You can also access color palettes in the Color docker by clicking the Show color palettes button, and choosing a palette from the list box. If the Color docker is not open, click Window Dockers Color.

 

To choose a color by using a color viewer Back to Top

 

Click the Eyedropper button , and click the drawing or desktop.
Click the Swap colors button.

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If you choose a color that is out of the printer’s gamut, CorelDRAW allows you to replace it with a similar color that is in the printer’s gamut. To replace the color, click the Bring color into gamut button, which appears to the left of the New color swatch. For information about color correction, see Using color management.

You should use the same color model for all colors in a drawing; the colors will be consistent and you will be able to predict the colors of the final output more accurately. It is preferable to use the same color model in your drawing that you will be using for the final output.

When you choose a color that is out of the printer’s gamut, the Bring color into gamut button appears below the Eyedropper button.

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You can also access color models in the Color docker by clicking the Show color viewers button and choosing a color model from the list box. If the Color docker is not open, click Window Dockers Color.

To choose a color by using color blends Back to Top

 

Click the Eyedropper button , and click the drawing or desktop.

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Only colors that are on the default color palette can be blended. To blend other colors, you must change the default color palette. For more information, see To display or hide a custom color palette.

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You can change the cell size of the color grid by moving the Size slider.

To sample a color Back to Top

 

On the property bar, click the arrow next to Add to palette, and choose Document palette.
On the property bar, click the Select color button , and then click the color that you want to sample.
 
Apply a sampled color from the Selected color swatch on the property bar
Drag the sampled color from the Selected color swatch to the object.
Apply a sampled color from the Uniform fill swatch in the lower-right corner of the drawing window
Drag a color from the Uniform fill swatch to the object.
Drag the sampled color from the Selected color swatch or the Uniform fill swatch to the Document palette.

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In some cases, the sampled color may be an RGB or CMYK color that is the closest equivalent to the original color, rather than being a complete match.

To choose a web color Back to Top

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You can specify hexadecimal color values only when working with RGB colors.

If you type an invalid hexadecimal value, the color does not change.

You can view hexadecimal color values on the status bar.

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You can also choose web colors from the Select color dialog box (on the status bar, double-click the Outline pen button, open the Color picker in the Outline pen dialog box, and click More) and the Edit fill dialog box (on the status bar, double-click the Fill button, and click the Uniform fill button), which let you view and copy the hexadecimal equivalents of non-hexadecimal color values.

Not all suite components documented in this Help are available in our Trial, Academic, and OEM versions. Unavailable components may include Corel applications, product features, third-party utilities, and extra content files.


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