Right-click the Eyedropper tool from the toolbar, then select the Color Theme tool.
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Add and manage colors from CC libraries
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to use the Creative Cloud Libraries panel to store, organize, and apply color swatches across Adobe InDesign documents.
Extract color themes from areas, images, objects, or the entire layout in your InDesign document. Capture colors from your artwork, pick individual colors as needed, and use the Color Theme tool to add them directly to the Swatches panel for reuse.
Before you begin
Make sure you have an active Creative Cloud subscription and at least one library created.
Select any part of the layout object to generate a five-color theme.
Select the flyoutmenu in the Color Theme panel to explore the following variations: Colorful, Bright, Dark, Deep, Muted.
To pick a single base color, press Shift and select the color. Press Alt to resample, or Esc to clear the current theme.
Apply colors by selecting an object or text with the Eyedropper tool. Themes remain active until cleared.
To save a theme, select Add this theme to Swatches icon or Add this theme to my current CC Library icon.
Double-click the Color Theme tool to set color conversion.
Select an option from the When applying colors drop-down menu.
You can apply color values using hexadecimal RGB values in Color picker, New Swatch, and Edit swatch workflows.
You can also apply colors in these ways. In the Swatches panel drop-down menu, select New Color Swatch, set Color Mode to RGB, use the color picker to sample a color, and then select Add. To edit a swatch, double-click an existing swatch, switch Color Mode to RGB, and enter the HEX value. To enter a color proxy value directly, double-click the fill or stroke proxy to open the Color Picker, then enter a HEX value.
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