Show HEX value next to EVERY color picker?

[Raptosauru5]

Now, many color pickers do show the #hex value when selecting colors:

 

However, not all of them, for example Swatches. Even though there is definitely space for a little box, above or under the Opacity dropdown.

Since I have most of my colors determined as Swatches, this is the color picker window I am using most of the times. 

Why would I want to see HEX values when I already know my colors? For example to compare parts of a UI, to see if color used is EXACTLY the same one. Or when I want to copy-paste my swatch onto a color comparison website, to compare contrast or generate color palette.

Can you please add the  box to all color windows?

Even showing a hex value next to each individual swatch color would not hurt, really

[loukash]

Hm… But, for example, I'm rarely interested in hex values.
But I'd like to see the CMYK values.
What then?
Yet another box…?
How about those who want to see HSL values?

Questions, questions, questions…  

[Raptosauru5]

Better at least HEX than nothing.

...but if you really want to see CMYK values often, maybe there should be a small button next to this box, that would cycle between HEX/CMYK/HSL and remember that choice for each color window separately.

This way I could let it keep showing HEX and you could make it show CMYK or HSL and it would still take this  little space.

[fde101]

Swatches are designed to maintain consistency of color throughout a document.  Placing an *editable* hex color field on the Swatches panel runs contrary to its purpose and the very notion should be immediately dismissed as a bad idea.

Also, hex values are only of interest to web designers and do not scale well: they only reflect 8-bit-per-component RGB and do not account for HDR, CMYK, etc.

Swatches may represent spot colors, which by definition are not RGB, or even CMYK; even though they have RGB/CMYK representations for display and printing on devices that do not have true spot color support, displaying RGB values for them could be considered misleading.

Similarly, displaying hex values for swatches representing CMYK colors can be similarly thought of as misleading.

Including them on RGB and RGB-related color space color pickers in the Colors panel makes a lot of sense and should cover the needs of most web designers.

The value of including them on the swatches panel, together with the potential for confusion it may cause, seems questionable.

 

What might make more sense is to include a *label* (read-only display) explaining the selected color.  This could show the hex color of the selected swatch if the swatch is an 8-bit RGB (or related) color swatch, but show the CMYK values of a CMYK swatch, the Pantone number of a Pantone swatch, etc.

This would scale better to support the range of colors that a swatch might represent, without being misleading, and without raising questions like "If I change those values what happens to the swatch?  Am I editing the swatch or am I disassociating the selected object from the swatch and giving it a different color?".

[loukash]

1 hour ago, fde101 said:

The value of including them on the swatches panel, together with the potential for confusion it may cause, seems questionable.

Exactly my thoughts:

23 hours ago, loukash said:

Questions, questions, questions…  

However:

1 hour ago, fde101 said:

What might make more sense is to include a *label* (read-only display) explaining the selected color.  This could show the hex color of the selected swatch if the swatch is an 8-bit RGB (or related) color swatch, but show the CMYK values of a CMYK swatch, the Pantone number of a Pantone swatch, etc.

^ This.

There are already basic tooltips which make sense in the compact swatch view, but in the list view, the tooltips only repeat what I read in the list anyway. That's where the tooltip should display the actual values, not just the swatch name.

[Raptosauru5]

Maybe it can be non-editable Read-only (perhaps with a small "Copy to clipboard button") in certain cases, why not.

But I think we can all agree that it would be nice to have more available info on color windows.

[Bit Disappointed]

I need that and a little more.

It's an oversimplification of reality to say that hex values are mostly for web graphics. Like it or not, it has also become a colour exchange format that I encounter just as often as RGB. In addition, there are many palette generators (e.g. create palette from jpg) and other places where you only get hex. So that's what you have.

So I often find myself in the scenario where I get a colour value in a non-optional format, very often HEX and RGB, sometimes CMYK, values I copy from a PDF or the web and need to paste into Designer. And then apply them from there. So there are other scenarios than those where you have to use, for example, exact CMYK colour values.

I have often missed a functionality where you can enter or paste a colour value in hex, rgb or cmyk, which in the worst case must be approximated by Designer - Serif should feel free to notify and warn me that the entered/pasted value is approximated in the selected colour space by Designer and may differ from what is desired. It can be done elegantly.

It's a need I have in ALL colour selectors and swatches too, and regardless of whether I use HSL, wheel or anything else. Now that Serif has parsers for math in input fields and also supports regular expression in search and replace, it's time to support color codes in such functionality as well. But it can be done in several ways.

I also think it should be basic functionality for all of us who work with programs and data from a world much bigger than Affinity. Beyond that, it's just a functionality that is gentlemanly and value-adding.

[Raptosauru5]

@Bit Arts I absolutely agree with all you just said.

This is the real world situation where you often simply don't have other choice.

It can totally be done elegantly