Importing color palettes, color books, and/or .xml color descriptions

[Jeff Prince]

One of the nice things about Vectorworks is the built in color library and picker.

However, I run into trouble and time consuming labor when I need to match colors not provided in the shipped product.

Many programs have access to color palettes not in Vectorworks and I suspect many of us have developed palettes in Adobe or Affinity's product lines.

Further, web based tools publish colors used on websites or online pickers that can be exported to .xml.

 

I would like to have the ability to import color palettes in order to avoid recreating them, thus saving time and being more accurate.

[Jeff Prince]

bump.  With recent changes to color management in 2023, I really hope this wish gets some support.

[Andy Broomell]

I think this has always been possible, unless I'm not fully understanding the context of your post.

 

You should be able to drop in .xml files into your User Folder > Libraries > Defaults > Color Palettes.

 

That being said, I have no idea if these .xml files are coded/formatted in any sort of standard way or if they're Vectorworks-specific. My only custom palettes are ones I created in Vectorworks, so perhaps your wish for a more robust "Import" command is well-wished for.

 

Do you have an example of a color palette from another software that you could upload here?

[Jeff Prince]

24 minutes ago, Andy Broomell said:

I think this has always been possible, unless I'm not fully understanding the context of your post.

 

I don't think it is possible to import color palettes or swatches from other programs, but I would love to know how if it is.

Some programs like those offered by Affinity, Adobe, Procreate, etc save swatches which can be shared between their apps and other users.

I would like to be able to import a swatch file from Affinity or Procreate directly into Vectorworks so the colors can be matched when needed.

 

Affinity, Adobe, etc. have some very nice color tools for quickly generating swatches based on color theory.

Here's a video of how quick it can be.

The .clr file in the attached .zip is Affinity's swatch export.

I've never dived deeply into figuring out how to convert it into something Vectorworks could use or if it's even possible.

However, some web based color tools generate .xml color tables.  Perhaps there is an industry standard that could make import/export of these resources easy and fast...

which is my wish.

 

You might wonder why this is desired.  Well, when creating illustrative graphics within and outside of Vectorworks, you can develop interesting graphics using color theory.  Like when I make a color plant symbol... I can jump into Affinity, generate a swatch series based on a system using a root color, and then use that to color my plants in Vectorworks.  This is the secret to finding colors that naturally work that you might not otherwise grab, especially given the new Color Picker in 2023.  It's a fundamental tool in the visual arts and one of the great things about digital production.  Adobe even has a cool tool for your phone where it will generate a color palette from a photo or live camera input and your desired system of color.

 

 

 

 

Purple Princess.clr.zip

[Andy Broomell]

Indeed, it seems there should be a way to import palettes of other filetypes into Vectorworks.

 

After a cursory glance into Photoshop, it looks like I can export a folder of swatches as an .aco filetype, which is presumably an Adobe thing (I wonder how closed off / proprietary it might be?). If external palettes could be brought into Vectorworks via a command that could be a useful workflow improvement.

 

Essentially the Color Palette Manager window needs an "import" button: