The Color Panel

Click the color well for any fills, borders, or shadows to reveal the color panel.

1. The eyedropper lets you pick any color from your display, inside or outside of the Mac app. You can quickly access it by pressing ⌃C.
2. Fill types: Switch between solid, gradient, and image fills.
3. Custom / Variables: Toggle between custom colors and your saved Color Variables.
4. The color picker uses the HSB (hue, saturation, brightness) color model. Drag the point left to right to change a color’s saturation, and up or down to change its brightness.
5. The sliders control your color’s hue (color) and alpha (opacity).
6. Color model and values: Switch between color models (HSB, HSL, RGB) and enter values directly, including the HEX value.
7. Blending mode defines how your color will interact with other colors beneath it.
8. Copy copies the current color value to your clipboard.
9. Add Color Variable lets you save a new Color Variable.

Gradient fills

When the color panel is in gradient mode, it has two views: the stop editor and the presets list. For a full guide to creating and editing gradients, see Gradients.

Editing gradient stops

Click a stop in the gradient bar to select it — the color section updates to show that stop’s color. Use the pop-up button in the header to switch between Linear, Radial, and Angular gradient types.

Click Custom or Variables to set a custom color or apply a saved Color Variable to that stop. When browsing Color Variables, use the list/grid toggle next to the search field to switch views.

Gradient presets

Click in the panel header to switch to the gradient presets view. You’ll see all your saved gradient presets, organised by source. Click any preset to apply it to your layer.

To save the current gradient as a preset, click in the panel header and add a name — just like when you create a Color Variable or layer style.

Picking colors with the eyedropper

Press ⌃C or click the eyedropper to open the eyedropper’s loupe to magnify the area under your cursor. Labels next to the loupe show the pixel color’s hex and RGB values.

To resize the loupe, scroll with your mouse, use a two-finger swipe, or pinch on a trackpad. Right-click or ⌃-click to reset it to its default size — the loupe remembers the size you set.

Click anywhere to pick the raw color (the exact pixel value) under the cursor. To preview colors first, hold and drag around the canvas, then release when you find the one you want.

Picking Color Variables with the eyedropper

When you hover over a layer that uses a Color Variable with the loupe, the labels show the variable name and library too. Hold ⇧ and click to apply the Color Variable directly to your layer — your layer stays linked to it and updates automatically if the Color Variable changes.

You can pick Color Variables from:

• Solid fills and borders (including dashed borders).
• Gradient fills and borders (the nearest gradient stop determines the Color Variable).
• Text layers (including text color, fills, and borders). If a text layer uses different Color Variables in different parts of the text (for example, one color for the heading and another for a highlighted word), the loupe picks up the Color Variable applied exactly where you place your cursor.
• Tints.

Note: You can’t pick Color Variables from text-on-path layers, shadows, or other layer effects (except tints).

Copying color values

Right-click a fill, border, or shadow row in the Inspector to copy its color value in popular formats — HEX, RGB, HSL, SwiftUI, NSColor, and UIColor. The last format you used appears at the top of the menu next time.

The Colors section in the Inspector

When you select multiple layers, the Colors section appears in the Inspector and shows every color used across your selection. Click any color to open the Color Panel and change it across all matching layers at once. Learn more about Selection colors.