Color Picker

[CharlesG]

Hi!

Two questions for you regarding the color picker tool.

1. Can you tell me how to save a color picked with the color picker to swatches?

2. I watched a video that showed the color picker in the color panel picking a colour outside of Affinity Designer/Photo (a browser to be specific).  When I try this my color picker goes to black, is there a setting to change this?  Or perhaps this ability has been disabled?

Thanks for your help, as always.

[Brian_J]

I don’t think the color in the Color Picker can be added to swatches. There are icons in the Swatches panel to add the current color to swatches.

To use the Color Picker Tool to sample a color outside the app, left-click anywhere on the canvas and drag outside the app. You can also use the panel color picker in the Color panel, Swatches panel, etc. by drag from the color picker icon to select any pixel on your screen.

[CharlesG]

This doesn't work for me for some reason, it goes straight to black for both color picker tools,

[Brian_J]

1 minute ago, CharlesG said:

This doesn't work for me for some reason, it goes straight to black for both color picker tools,

Is it possible you denied Affinity apps permission to record your screen?

From https://affinity.help/designer2/en-US.lproj/pages/Clr/samplingClr.html…

Screen recording permission 

The first time you sample color, your operating system may ask whether to grant permission for your Affinity app to record the screen. If you deny it, you can still sample from the app's windows but not other screen areas. Refer to your operating system's documentation if you need to grant permission at a later time.

[CharlesG]

Yes! This is exactly what I've done.

Sorry, do you know what it means "Refer to your operating system's documentation if you need to grant permission at a later time."?

[Brian_J]

Just now, CharlesG said:

Yes! This is exactly what I've done.

Sorry, do you know what it means "Refer to your operating system's documentation if you need to grant permission at a later time."?

Excellent, glad we’re on the right track.

I use Windows, so I don’t know where to go in Mac Settings, but there should be a Mac privacy setting where you can grant apps permission to access hardware like camera, microphone, etc. On iPad it’s Settings > Privacy & Security… not sure it’s the same on Mac. 

[CharlesG]

Yep, you got it, it was Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording

All sorted, thanks Brian.  Much appreciated!

[Brian_J]

1 minute ago, CharlesG said:

Yep, you got it, it was Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording

All sorted, thanks Brian.  Much appreciated!

Right on. Happy color picking. 🙂

[R C-R]

13 hours ago, CharlesG said:

1. Can you tell me how to save a color picked with the color picker to swatches?

1. Pick a color in the usual way, so it appears in the tiny color sample 'well' in the Swatches panel.
2. (Optionally) deselect any selected object so the picked color will not be applied to it.
3. Click once on the tiny  color sample 'well' so it becomes the primary color in the larger color well to the left of the tiny one.
4. Choose a color palette (document, application, system, whatever) from the popup list of palettes in the Swatches panel you want to add the color to.
5. Click the "Add current fill to palette" button to add the color to that palette. (The button is the one to the immediate right of the current palette name that looks like a 2x2 grid with a + in one of its quadrants.)