• Introduction
• Manual has moved!
• Why use Inkscape?
• Professional Software
• About this Book
• Installing Inkscape
• Windows
• Mac OS X
• Gnu/Linux
• Getting Around in Inkscape
• Interface
• Managing the Workspace
• Drawing with Geometrical Shapes
• Ways of Drawing with Inkscape
• Shape Tools
• The Selector Tool
• Squares and Rectangles
• Circles, Ellipses and Arcs
• Stars and Polygons
• Spirals
• 3D-Boxes
• Freehand Drawing
• Freehand Drawing
• The Pencil Tool
• The Pen Tool
• The Calligraphy Tool
• Boolean Operations
• About Nodes
• Editing Paths
• Stacking Order
• Align and Distribute
• The Node Tool
• Tracing an Image
• The Tweak Tool
• Color
• Colors
• The Color Palette
• The Fill And Stroke Dialog
• Custom Colors
• Copying a Color
• Creating Gradients
• Creating a Mesh Gradient
• Using Patterns
• Modifying Patterns
• Creating Custom Patterns
• Strokes
• Markers
• Ordering Markers, Stroke and Fill
• Customizing Markers
• Text
• Text
• Writing Text
• Styling Text
• Changing Text Color
• Moving and Rotating Letters
• Putting Text on a Path
• Flowing Text into a Frame
• Creating Custom Fonts
• Advanced Techniques
• Beyond the Basics
• Saving Your Work
• Exporting a PDF File
• Exporting a PNG File
• Exporting to other File Formats
• Importing Pictures into a Document
• Importing other File Formats
• Copying and Duplicating Objects
• Cloning Objects
• Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts
• Clipping and Masking
• Filters
• Extensions
• Live Path Effects
• Where to Go from Here
• Test Chapter (for trying out styling)

The Color Palette

At the bottom of the Inkscape window, you can find the color palette.

The quickest way to apply a color to an object is to:

• 1. Select the object with the Selector tool.
• 2. Left-click on the color of your choice in the palette.
• 3. The color will be immediately applied to your object.

You can also click-and-drag the color on your object to use that color for your object.

Each vector object can have a stroke color and a fill color. To apply a color to the stroke:

• 1. Select the object with the Selector tool.
• 2. Hold down the Shift key and left-click on the color field of your choice.
• 3. The color will immediately be applied to the object's stroke.

If you do not like the colors offered by the current palette, you can use one of the other palettes Inkscape supplies. To switch the palette:

• 1. Click on the tiny triangle to the right of the palette, near the margin of the Inkscape window.
• 2. Click on the name of another palette.

You will also notice that there are options for changing the palette's appearance at the top of the right-click menu, which allow you to make the palette more or less tightly arranged.

Custom palettes

It's also possible to create your own color palette. To do so, create an empty text file with the file extension .gpl, which contains the name of the palette in the first line, and your colors in RGB hexadecimal format each in a separate line. Save this file in the folder /palettes, which you create in the folder indicated at Edit > Preferences > System: User config. Restart Inkscape to see the new palette in the list.

An object with a light blue fill and a dark blue stroke

The colorful palette is located at the bottom of the window. The palette options menu is unfolded.

The fill color can be dragged from the palette onto the object.