Inspiring

Answered

Sampling colors outside of Illustrator

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
March 3, 2018
7 replies
31750 views

I used to be able to use the Eyedropper tool to copy colors anywhere on my computer -- web pages, other applications, and so forth. I start by holding down the Eyedropper and dragging outside the Illustrator window without letting go of the mouse until the mouse is on top of the color I want.

For some reason, I cannot do that anymore. Does anyone know why or how to make the eyedropper work the way it used to?

Correct answer Sarah22142571qkul

For anyone looking at this after 2020 from a Mac... you want to make sure Adobe Illustrator is ALLOWED to see your screen. Go to system preferences, click security and privacy. Click Privacy, and then make sure under screen recording that Adobe Illustrator is allowed.

S

Sarah22142571qkulCorrect answer

Participant

For anyone looking at this after 2020 from a Mac... you want to make sure Adobe Illustrator is ALLOWED to see your screen. Go to system preferences, click security and privacy. Click Privacy, and then make sure under screen recording that Adobe Illustrator is allowed.

M

Madeline Nicole

Participant

This is the only thing that worked! What a lifesaver! Thank you tons! This also applies if you get a new computer as well.

C

Can22239585qjbw

Participant

Hi i am a total newbie and could not find about an updated solution to this issue,

I am using a win10 laptop, 2019 illustrator CC and could not pick any color via eyedropper tool on a different file within or outside illustrator. Any idea about how?

Thanks in advance.

Rob Ainscough

Inspiring

Yes ... not working for Chrome or Edge or IE11 for that matter. I don't have Firefox nor Safari.

Oddly the eye dropper does work in Photoshop with Chrome and Edge, but NOT in Illustrator?

So the "working" code obviously exists, unfortunate that Adobe don't development teams don't seem to "share" their code??

Cheers, Rob.

Steve Werner

Community Expert

Development on Adobe applications doesn't usually allow sharing a "cup of code" from one app to another.

Certain features can used shared libraries (creating PDF, I think is one), but not for more general functions.

Rob Ainscough

Inspiring

This is NOT solution for me.

I've tried everything listed here and on YouTube videos and I can't get Illustrator 2019 to work on any web site or app external to illustrator. Works find within Illustrator, but as soon as I move the eye dropper outside of illustrator and hover over the external element it never changes color, and no matter what I release on it comes out black fill.

This is really frustrating, something that works in Photoshop doesn't work in Illustrator ... does the left hand talk to the right hand at all in Adobe, or do the software engineers work in departmental vacuums?

Rob.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Rob+Ainscough schrieb
This is NOT solution for me.
I've tried everything listed here and on YouTube videos and I can't get Illustrator 2019 to work on any web site or app external to illustrator. Works find within Illustrator, but as soon as I move the eye dropper outside of illustrator and hover over the external element it never changes color, and no matter what I release on it comes out black fill.
This is really frustrating, something that works in Photoshop doesn't work in Illustrator ... does the left hand talk to the right hand at all in Adobe, or do the software engineers work in departmental vacuums?
Rob.

No problem to pick up colors from a web site (Mac OS 10.12, Safari and Illustrator 23)

I just don't know why I would want to do it, because color management (or the lack thereof) would kick in and I would need to double check if it's really the color used on the web site anyway.

hasans29954615

Participant

I will report a bug. But I do not know where I should go.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

schrieb
I will report a bug. But I do not know where I should go.

http://illustrator.uservoice.com

hasans29954615

Participant

This feature does not work on new internet browsers. Must be updated absolutely.

jane-e

Community Expert

https://forums.adobe.com/people/jay+fresno wrote
. I start by holding down the Eyedropper and dragging outside the Illustrator window without letting go of the mouse until the mouse is on top of the color I want.

There is one step I am not reading, so I don't know if you are doing it or not:

Select the Eyedropper tool (okay to let go)
Press and hold inside Illustrator (this is what you didn't write)
Drag from inside Illustrator to outside Illustrator until the mouse is on the color you want
Release the mouse