Can't Delete a Swatch

[Marianne272655684y56]

Hi InDesign Community! I have been trying to delete a swatch from my .indd template, and the option is not popping up when I right-click on the color I want to delete. I have deleted all instances of the color in my document so that when I right-click > find color, it comes up with 0 instances. Has anyone else run into a stubborn swatch and know of a way to fix? The help is much appreciated!

[Tilou Jean Paul]

Hi Marianne,

Do you have a linked object (photoshop image or illustrator object) that would itself use this color? If so, you won't be able to delete the swatch in Indesign until you've done so from the other application (Illustrator/Photoshop).

[Robert Tkaczyk]

As mentioned by @Tilou Jean Paul - you won't be able to delete Swatch if it's used in a linked file.

If you have too many linked files to check - convert swatch to a Spot color and check Separation preview. 

[Tilou Jean Paul]

Another option would be to finish the job and then convert to pdf. Then open the pdf file in Acrobat Pro and convert all colors to CMYK.

[Bill Silbert]

I have run into instances where even after I've deleted the unwanted color from all of my Illustrator and Photoshop files I still can't delete a color from Swatches. As a workaround I found that if I create a new document of the same size as the first one and use the Move Pages option in the Pages Panel pull-down menu to move all pages to a new document the color will not appear in the new document.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Check for placed objects on locked layers. The Find This Color will not show you instances of a colour on a locked layer.