Swatch options, Color groups (harmonies), About color groups – Adobe Illustrator CC 2015 User Manual
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Color
Last updated 6/5/2015
When you delete a spot-color or global process-color swatch (or a pattern or gradient containing a spot or global
process color), all objects painted with those colors are converted to the non-global process color equivalent.
Swatch options
To set swatch options, double-click an existing swatch or select New Swatch from the Swatches panel menu.
Swatch Name
Specifies the name of the swatch in the Swatches panel.
Color Type
Specifies if the swatch is a process color or spot color.
Global
Creates a global process-color swatch.
Color Mode
Specifies the color mode of the swatch.
After you select the color mode you want, you can use the color sliders to adjust the color. If you select a color that is
not web-safe, an alert cube
appears. Click the cube to shift to the closest web-safe color (which is displayed to the
right of the cube). If you select an out-of-gamut color, an alert triangle
appears. Click the triangle to shift to the
closest CMYK equivalent (which is displayed to the right of the triangle).
Preview
Displays color adjustments on any objects to which the swatch is applied.
More Help topics
Color groups (harmonies)
About color groups
A color group is an organization tool that lets you group together related color swatches in the Swatches panel. In
addition, a color group can be a container for color harmonies, which you create using the Edit Colors/Recolor Artwork
dialog box or the Color Guide panel. Color groups can contain only solid colors that include spot, process, or global
colors. Gradients and patterns cannot be grouped.
You can use the Color Guide panel or the Edit Colors/Recolor Artwork dialog box to create harmonious color groups.
Using either feature, you can choose a harmony rule to instantly generate a color scheme based on any color you want.
For example, choose the Monochromatic harmony rule to create a color group containing all the same hue, but with
different saturation levels. Or choose the High Contrast or Pentagram harmony rule to create a color group with
contrasting colors for more visual impact.
For inspiration, to share color harmonies, or to create color groups outside Illustrator, choose Window > Extensions >
Kuler and click through the different color harmonies available.
For more information, see the Kuler website at