Adobe Swatch Exchange file not showing in Swatches palette

[henryanthony]

I am trying to import Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) files into AP and AD V1 but no colors are appearing in the drop-down. Title of the palette is there and that is all. I opened the .ase file with word pad just to make sure there was content and there was. Instructions for import was simple and straightforward. FYI I did a restart after installing but that did not help.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[R C-R]

For what very little it is worth, I found a few sample *.ase files online, downloaded them & imported them as application palettes in the Swatches panel of AP V1 on my Mac with no problems.

If you could attach one of the *.ase files that do not work for you (or provide a link to where they could be downloaded if as a relatively new forum member you do not yet have permission to add attachments), we might be able to help you figure out what the problem is.

[henryanthony]

R C-R, file is attached. FYI, after downloading this, I installed it to the Swatches from the my Downloads folder. I don't think that should matter but I don't know. The file is from Benjamin Moore paint company so, not some fly by night outfit.

Thanks for taking a look.

BenjaminMoore_ClassicColors_en-us.ase

[R C-R]

I could not add the Benjamin Moore file to my Swatches panel, either. Don't know why it doesn't work. Sorry.

[henryanthony]

Thanks! Good news is I set the Fills back to default. Not going to spend a lot of time with this but will post if I find a solution.

[lacerto]

The problem was that each color was placed in a separate folder (group) and it seems that the Affinity routine cannot read them. I imported them to Photoshop and exported the complete swatch selection to an .ase file without folder construction, and now they can be imported to Affinity apps.

BenjaminMooreClassicColors_fixed.ase

I suppose this is an ok thing to do because the palettes are distributed free of charge by the manufacturer:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/architects-designers/download-benjamin-moore-color-palettes

[henryanthony]

4 hours ago, lacerto said:

The problem was that each color was placed in a separate folder and it seems that the Affinity routine cannot read them. I imported them to Photoshop and exported the complete swatch selection to an .ase file without folder construction, and now they can be imported to Affinity apps.

Hi Lacerto!

Thank you for your response.

I followed your instructions and now have the swatches in Affinity Photo.

Thanks again. Saved me a lot of work!

How did you determine the folder structure? A debug program?

[lacerto]

1 hour ago, henryanthony said:

How did you determine the folder structure? A debug program?

When I opened the original palette in AI CS6, each swatch was in a separate folder (=group). When added to Swatches, folders would be copied along with swatches but the swatches could then be moved out of the groups and groups deleted. However when the palette was opened in Photoshops 2023, the groups were ignored and I could easily select just the swatches and export them to a new .ase file with no folders (groups).

This might be a problem related to .ase file version. The later versions either can skip one-swatch groups, or old versions mistakenly read e.g. global color flag as a group flag. Anyway, it confuses Affinity import routine so that it fails to read any swatches from the file.

[henryanthony]

I opened the files in PS CS2 and they imported as expected. Perhaps the Ben Moore files are in an older version of .ase? I think I will try contacting Ben Moore. They may well have been ignoring their .ase production. I'll post if I find out anything.

[R C-R]

8 minutes ago, lacerto said:

When added to Swatches, folders would be copied along with swatches but the swatches could then be moved out of the groups and groups deleted.

I am guessing that here you do not mean the Affinity Swatches panel, right?

Oddly, when I try to add the original *ase file to that panel in AP v2, I get an empty, unnamed palette showing the link symbol & nothing else, & it shows up that way in all3 V2 apps. I have to delete it separately from each of them to completely remove it from that panel.

[lacerto]

49 minutes ago, R C-R said:

I am guessing that here you do not mean the Affinity Swatches panel, right?

Yes, I was describing how the swatches of this .ASE palette are shown (wrapped in folder groups) when opened in Illustrator CS6, and how the individual swatches could then be extracted off the folders after having added all palette swatches from this separate palette into the app Swatches palette. After doing this tedious job, the extracted swatches could be exported to a new .ASE palette that does not contain groups. 

When the palette is opened in modern CC version (e.g. Photoshop 2023), which does support swatch groups, the group structure is not shown, but neither it is shown when opened in legacy PS CS6, which does not support groups), so I really cannot tell whether the folder (group) structure really exists in the .ASE palette, or if it is a matter of global color status that each of the colors in the palette has, incorrectly being read as a group flag in old Adobe Illustrator (and prohibiting proper reading of the palette in Affinity apps). It can of course be that the .ASE palette provided by this manufacturer are just incorrectly created.