Eyedropper picking wrong color

[futdonor]

Hi everyone. I am using illustrator for about an year now. Recently found out that my eyedropper is picking colors in strange manner. Here are 4 different examples.

1. The original color sample is picked with the eyedropper tool from the image viewer window but resulted in different color #40a2ea

2. Here I used snip tool in windows 7 to capture the quick snapshot from image viewer and pasted the copied from clipboard. Illustrator pasted the image with the same color as picked in previous case.

3. In this case I directly dragged the original color sample file into the illustrator as a Linked file. then picked the color from it. Result was #41a6eb

4. I embedded the linked image now and used eyedropper again. Now it gives me the original color.

[I am using Illustrator cc 2015 3.1 with Document color->RGB and proof colors unchecked]

Please help why wrong colors are picked when simply using eyedropper tool to sample from an outside window.

[Monika Gause]

The eyedropper tool picks up a screen representation of the color.

When you use the eyedropper tool and there is a small square beside the cursor icon, then the result will be processed by color management.

[futdonor]

Hi, Thanks for the quick response. I understand that it picks up the screen representation of the color. As you can see in the first case I am just picking the color from the image viewer and the result is visibly different.

Also why there is difference in colors sampled between linked image and embedded image? embedded image results in correct color and the linked image is giving different color when picked..

[Monika Gause]

Illustrator has no control over linked image content.

Eyedropper in Illustrator is completely different than eyedropper in Photoshop.

[futdonor]

Oh! Just tested it again.. I simply created a square and filled with #123456 color. I saved this square as a jpeg file and brought back into illustrator as Linked file. Now when I tried to pick color it is #223455.. strange! And when I embed this linked file and pick color again it is producing correct #123456 color!

So color picked from a linked file is always wrong..

only embedded file picks up the correct color..

Thanks for the info.. I dont know why cant just illustrator pick a color from linked file.

Also,

Please let me know why the color picked outside of illustrator window is differing too.. It is pointless to use the eye dropper outside of the illustrator if it picks only wrong color

[Monika Gause]

How should Illustrator know the colors outside of itself?

Please read the documentation about the eyedropper tool in Illustrator.

It's mostly not about picking colors. It's about copying objects' attributes from one object to the other.

[futdonor · Accepted solution]

Hi, no problem.. I managed to solve this issue myself. The problem was with the color management profile.

In control panel->color management.. I changed the ICC profile to match with the RGB color profile in Illustrator->Edit->Color Setting

Now the illustrator is picking/sampling the correct color/fill/attribute from outside illustrator.

[JOEGAR]

I was so frustrated that I was trying and trying and no one suggestion worked. A fellow photoshop user suggested that it had to do with the letter Q that when touched in a certain way causes the eyedropper not "read" correctlyth color indicated. I did something with the Q and it solved my problem. It happened again and don't know what I did then. Does anybody know how to use the Q letter to solve the eyedropper not reading the correct color. 

[active_Flutter0101]

Worked like a charm. Thank you for this. I was loosing my mind. I had to change colour management for both displays in my control panel.

[tarmok40205869]

I know it is years later, but embedding the image helped me get the right color with eyedrop tool

[Monika Gause]

I know it is years later, but embedding the image helped me get the right color with eyedrop tool

By @tarmok40205869

At least it looks like so. Embedding most probably has changed the colors already