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Known Participant
May 23, 2021
Open for Voting

How to get colors from library into swatches?

  • May 23, 2021
  • 42 replies
  • 13928 views

In Illustrator I can right-click on the color in my library and select "add to swatches". I do not see that option for Photoshop. I've been doing a workaround of making a square and using the eyedropper, then adding the color to swatches. Or I write down the hex code and manually enter it in. 

 

There has to be a better, more efficient way to work with the libraries. 

 

42 replies

Participant
March 20, 2025

Library is great for PICKING colors [say-picking from an extensive library of pantone hex codes]
but if the chosen colors arent saved in the file swatches, its not really possible to go back into the file later to see which pantones were used.

It lets you select and use the color but does not communicate or save the color name or any info that is useful for record keeping.

jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 10, 2025
quote

In Illustrator I can right-click on the color in my library and select "add to swatches". I do not see that option for Photoshop.

By @jeljohnssp

 

 

Here's one thing you can do, but it does not involve libraries:

  • In Illustrator, select the swatches and use the panel menu to save an .ase (Adobe Swatch Exchange) file
  • In Photoshop use the panel menu to import the .ase file into swatches.

 

 

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/using-creating-swatches.html

"You cannot share the following types of swatches between applications: patterns, gradients, and the Registration swatch from Illustrator or InDesign; and book color references, HSB, XYZ, duotone, monitorRGB, opacity, total ink, and webRGB swatches from Photoshop. These types of swatches are automatically excluded when you save swatches for exchange."

 

Jane

 

 

Shayde48
Known Participant
January 10, 2025

Not everyone uses photoshop to retouch photographs. I do but it's only on old personal photos the rest of the time it's my main art package, in which colours are highlyimportant. 

Participant
December 31, 2024

I'll add my vote in here for a feature request: a simple, one-button option, or menu item in the Libraries Panel to copy either a single or multiple selected colors, along with their labels, from the CC Libraries into the Photoshop Swatches panel.

 

As it is now, you can only copy one color at a time, and you must click the swatch in the library (clicking the label or elsewhere on the entry doesn't always select that color), double click the label and CMD+C the label, click the + in the Swatches Panel, CMD+V the label, and click Okay. All of that to copy the information that is already in the Libraries Panel.

 

One would have thought that you could drag colors from the Libraries into the Swatches Panel like you'd drag a saved image from the Libraries onto your document, but that's not a thing either.

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 19, 2024

»I'm demanding the same simplicity.«

What do you mean by that? What happens if your demands are not met? 

Participant
June 19, 2024

Finally. I thought, I'm the only silly guy who's trying to find out the libraries benefits. I guess they had this idea initially, but never finished. At the moment, library has no advantages. Too many clicks to recolor something in Ai and in Gradients. 

Participant
June 19, 2024

It's because, if I want to use it in the Gradient, I'm only able to use colors from the swatch panel. Adobe tools recoloring method is a garbage, I'm sorry. But Figma made it so simply and now, I'm demanding the same simplicity. 

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 22, 2024
quote

That's a dumb mentality from a product standpoint. The fact anyone takes the time to complain here is a blessing. Not like this site has tons of engagement.

I essentially stated that not voicing complaints/wishes/… will likely not lead to those being addressed. 

Could it be that you misunderstood the statement or are you referring to something else? 

sacb0y
Known Participant
January 22, 2024

That's a dumb mentality from a product standpoint. The fact anyone takes the time to complain here is a blessing. Not like this site has tons of engagement.

 

search deviant art for swatches, gumroad. Plenty of sites.

 

Swatches are core for artists, thats why fresco was designed in a way that makes sense. Unless Photoshop has given up artists to clip studio and procreate.

 

And the problems with libraries has been there for at least 5 years now.

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 22, 2024

@sacb0y , those that don’t »speak up« should not be surprised about not »being heard«. 

And ideally nobody should make nonsensical claims – when someone calls Photoshop swatches the »most used feature of the program« it seems hard to take that seriously to me. 

 

That’s not to dispute that CC Libraries and other Panels don’t seem to »harmonize« very well yet – so there is certainly room for improvement.