The Stroke
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Save Swatch Libraries
You can edit Illustrator’s startup documents to customize your palettes, but this doesn’t really help if you are constantly changing sets of swatches. Instead, consider saving and using libraries. Add and delete swatches until the Swatches palette contains your choice of swatches and then use the palette’s flyout menu to choose Save Swatch Library. Name it and save it in the Swatches folder in the Illustrator CS2 Applications (PC: Program Files) folder. (Illustrator CS2>Presets>Swatches). Restart Illustrator, and from then on you can access your library from the Window>Swatch Libraries>(yourlibrary).
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Find A Color
If you need to pick a specific Pantone color, go to the Window menu and choose the appropriate Pantone library from the Swatch Libraries. Use the flyout menu in the Pantone palette and choose Show Find Field. Then enter the Pantone number you need in the Find field (type in only the number, there’s no need for “Pantone”).
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Grayscale Or Color Gray
Huh? Okay, so you want to fill an object with 60% gray. You could change the Color palette (Window>Color) to Grayscale from the flyout menu and enter 60 in the Tint Percentage field. However, that means that your object will always be gray, so you won’t be able to change it to color in the Color palette, unless you first change the mode of that object to CMYK. Instead, stick with CMYK and just enter 60 in the K field—that way you can always change to a color from the Color palette whenever you want.
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Replace One Swatch With Another
If you’ve used a color or gradient for various objects and you want to replace that color with another one, press-and-hold the Option key (PC: Alt key), and drag the new replacement swatch over the original swatch. If you’re using global color, meaning you’ve checked Global in the New Swatch dialog when you created the color, all objects using the original global color will change to the new color. (Note: Doing this will remove the original swatch from the palette. So, if you want to keep the original color, drag the swatch onto the New Swatch icon to duplicate it before using this replacement method.)
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Invert The Color
To pick the inverse of the current fill or stroke (depending on which one is active in the Toolbox) of a selected object, press-and-hold Command-Shift (PC: Control-Shift), and click on the color ramp on the bottom of the Color palette. (Or, use the flyout menu in the Color palette and choose Invert).
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Complementary Colors
To choose the complementary color of the current fill or stroke (depending on which one is active in the Toolbox) of a selected object, hold down the Command and Control keys (PC: Control only), and click in the color ramp at the bottom of the Color palette. (Or, use the flyout menu in the Color palette and choose Complement.)
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Make A Spot Color
When you click on the New Swatch icon in the Swatches palette (Window>Swatches), you’ll get, yes, a new swatch. However, the swatch will be a process color. If you want a spot color swatch, hold down the Command key (PC: Control key) as you click on the New Swatch icon. To edit your spot color, head to the Color palette (Window>Color).
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Want The Opposite?
Okay, so you have an object that has a red fill and a black stroke and now you want to see it the other way around. Press Shift-X and the fill and stroke will be swapped (in this case resulting in a black fill and red stroke).
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