• Global community
    • Language:
      • Deutsch
      • English
      • Español
      • Français
      • Português
  • 日本語コミュニティ
    Dedicated community for Japanese speakers
  • 한국 커뮤니티
    Dedicated community for Korean speakers
Exit
9

P: Ability to easily choose colors from a palette in my Library with the Color Picker active

Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Whenever I get the color picker in Photoshop, I try to click on one of the colors in a palette stored in my Library and nothing happens.


WHY?

 

I don't understand what the point of have palettes in libraries if you can't actually use them when selecting colors within the app.

 

Screen Shot 2019-06-06 at 1.54.09 PM.png

Above is an example. I get a color picker for a stroke color, and when I click on the red color in the library palette, nothing happens.

Idea No status
TOPICS
macOS , Windows

Views

5.3K

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
28 Comments
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

No need to open the colour picker. Just  click on the library colour and your foreground colour will change to match it.

However if you do want to use the picker, just click the eyedropper in the Photoshop window then hold and drag over the library colour. On release teh colour will be picked up.

Dave

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

That's not really a solution to my question. I'd like to know why the palette won't work when the color picker is already there. It should work anywhere with in the app. I shouldn't have to first click on the color to change my foreground color before opening the color picker just so I can then select that same color again. And often there are other dialogs open, which means I have to close them first, then click on the color in my library palette, then re-open the dialog, click on the color box, then click on the foreground color. That's ridiculous.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

You can't switch to the eyedropper tool when you have a dialog open (such as Layer Styles), which is often where I need to go to change a color.

Again, I should be able to choose a color from the Library Palette while the Color Picker is open, I shouldn't have to switch tools or change the foreground color first to do something so simple in Photoshop.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

You missed what I said.

In any dialogue with the picker open when you move the cursor outside the actual picker screen an eyedropper appears. You can click in the photoshop document window and drag over the library colour.

Dave

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Thanks, Dave. That doesn't work for me. Once the cursor hovers over a Library palette color the cursor changes from an eyedropper to a hand and there's no way to drag the color over. Maybe this works differently on a PC (I'm on a Mac).

If I click on a text layer, click on the color box to open the Color Picker, I cannot drag the color from my Library palette to the color picker. I also tried changing the stroke color around a layer the same way, that also doesn't work unfortunately.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Hi

I'm surprised it doesn't work on a Mac as you can pick colours not just from the library but from other documents. You don't drag the library colour in, just pick from it.

Let's see if jane-e​ or gener7​ , both Mac users can check and advise if there is a difference.

Dave

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

It must work differently on a PC than a Mac, because I can't select or drag a color from a Library palette and have it show up in the color picker. I wish I could upload a screen capture video to show you exactly what happens, but the forum only accepts images.

The Library color palettes do not work whenever the color picker is open on a Mac. It only works to select the current foreground color on the Color panel, or if I have a text layer selected I can click on a color in the Library palette to change the text to that color. But that's about it.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I'm not at my mac yet,but it might need a modifier key like option or command to be held down while dragging.

Gene

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

It works the same as Dave explained here on macOS Mojove 10.14.5 using photoshop cc 2019 (20.0.4).

After you open the color picker dialog. you have to click in your document area and keep holding the mouse button(trackpad) down while you drag over to the Libraries panel, then hover over the colors in the Libraries panel and release the mouse when the eyedropper is over the color you want. You should see the colors changing in the color picker dialog while your moving the eyedropper over the colors in the Libraries panel.

cp.jpg

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

davescm  wrote

Dave, I just tested this in 2019 and 2018. It's broken.

When I'm in the Color Picker I can drag from the Color Picker to both the document and to Swatches to pick up a color. I cannot drag to the CC library or outside of PS to my desktop or to other applications. I also tried the Text Color picker. Both are broken. I'll try some older versions.

When I click on a swatch in CC Libraries it updates the Foreground color. I can't drag from the Color Picker to the Library or outside PS.

It needs to be reported as a bug. Shall I do it or do you want to?

~ Jane

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

gener7

It never needed a modifier before, and I just tested. It's not working with a modifier key either.

~ Jane

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Jane , are you using a different Mac OS version to Jeff?

Dave

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Hi Dave,

I’m on High Sierra. I’ll probably do the upgrade within the next couple of weeks. It doesn’t work in 2017 either, which dosn’t make any sense.

I just booted up my older computer. It has stopped working in 2017 on Yosemite as well.

~Jane

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

BarbBinder​ and melissapiccone​, can you test?

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

HI Jane-e:

I'm on Mojave 10.14.5/Photoshop 20.0.4 and no, I cannot load a color swatch from my Library when Color Picker is open.

~Barb

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

If I have a document open, I can drag from that to the Library with the Picker open and the picker gets the color. It doesn't work if nothing is opened.

However I don't like this method because the RGB values are slightly off.

Close the picker, have the Color Panel open, then click on the Library Swatch, then single click on the Foreground color in the Color panel. The Picker opens with one click with the same values in the chosen Library swatch.

MacOS 10.14.5/ Ps 20.0.4

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

jane-e  wrote

gener7

It never needed a modifier before, and I just tested. It's not working with a modifier key either.

~ Jane

Correct. It's been a while and I was hazarding a guess.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2019 Jun 06, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

For the record, I'm running macOS 10.14.5 and Photoshop 20.0.4 as well.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 07, 2019 Jun 07, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Interesting behavior, don't know why it does that. I'm on Mojave 10.14.4 / PS 20.0.4. I never tried this before. I just click on the colors in the library but I can see how in certain circumstances you would want to be able to do this, like when working with layer styles.


Melissa Piccone | Adobe Trainer | Pluralsight Author | Fine Artist

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community Expert ,
Jun 07, 2019 Jun 07, 2019

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Melissa, after reading your message, I tried it again and it's working for me today as expected.

This started way back many, many versions ago before libraries and you can drag from PS to other applications to pick up color as well.

~ Jane

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
New Here ,
Feb 22, 2021 Feb 22, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I'm seeing the same behavior in macOS Big Sur v.11.2.1 and Photoshop 2021, but I was able to find a workaround.

 

  • From the Library Panel under Color Themes, right click on the color swatch and click on Set Color to select it as Foreground Color.

    set-color-theme.png

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Mar 21, 2021 Mar 21, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Ugh. Appreciate this, but it's an ugly workaround to just being able to select a color. This seems like a bizarre UX oversight.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Mar 21, 2021 Mar 21, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

AAAAnd it doesn't even work on my copy of photshop. The "set color" option literally does nothing. I should be able to select some text and set the friggin color from a color swatch in my library with one click, or at least copy them to my swatches in two clicks. In the library view I can't even select the hex code to copy and paste it into the picker hex box.

 

This is f'ing absurd. If Photoshop ever succumbs to some newer upstart, it's garbage like this that's going to kill them. Are you listening Adobe? I've been using Photoshop since version 2.5 in 1992 and I'm serioulsy considering moving towards something else because the exorbitant monthly cost doesn't even get a consistent experience across products. You can't lock people into your ecosystem if your ecosystem doesn't really work.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Explorer ,
Mar 21, 2021 Mar 21, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I see. You select it in the library, and then it adds it to the list of recently used colors at the top of the swatches panel. Terrible interface work. It's totally counterintuitive and doesn't give the user *any* feedback about what's happening. If they're adding a feature to a product for designers, maybe they should try 'designing' it rather than just 'implementing' it.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Participant ,
Nov 07, 2021 Nov 07, 2021

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

It has been like this for EVER. I've used Photoshop since 1.0, and it has NEVER been intuitive when it comes to choosing colors on a Mac. Ever.

 

I've tried with support and the answers are all the same, take these clunky steps. One button in the color picker would solve so many problems: PICK FROM LIBRARIES. It just seems that it's been one of those oversights that people use PS for things not related to color libraries. It's version 22 and I'm still writing down the HEX colors to type in because I can't pick from the library. 

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report