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Color widget

Keep a colour swatch on a desk. Pick or type a hex value, read its RGB, copy the hex and sample a colour from anywhere on your screen.

All plansUpdated

The Color widget holds one colour on your desk. It shows a large swatch, the colour's hex value (such as #2563eb) and its RGB value, with a button to copy the hex. On computers that support it, you can also sample a colour from anywhere on your screen.

Use it to keep brand colours, a chart palette or the exact shade you are matching right next to the work that needs it.

Before you start

  • The Color widget is on every plan.
  • You need a desk open. Widgets live on desks.

Add a Color widget

  1. Open the desk you want it on.
  2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header bar.
  3. Click Color.

In the Add widget menu, Color is in the Draw & diagram column. You can also type color in Search widgets… and press Enter to add it.

A new Color widget starts as an amber swatch, #fbbf24.

Other ways to add one:

  • Press O. Click an empty part of the desk so no widget is active, then press O. You can change this key. See Add widgets with a single key.
  • The command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type add color and press Enter.
  • Right-click the desk. Right-click an empty part of the desk and choose Add object > Advanced > Color. The swatch appears where you clicked.
  • From another widget. Right-click another widget's title bar and choose Create & link > Color. The new swatch is linked to that widget. See Link widgets and set up wires.

Choose a colour

You can pick a colour or type its hex value.

  1. To pick, click the small colour box under the swatch. Your computer's colour picker opens. Choose a colour and the swatch, the hex value and the RGB value all update.
  2. To type, click the text box beside the colour box, replace the value and type a hex code with its #, such as #2563eb.

The line under the boxes shows the colour as RGB, for example rgb(37, 99, 235). While the text box does not hold a complete six-digit hex code, that line reads invalid hex.

Your colour is saved as you go. There is nothing to confirm.

Copy the hex value

  • Click copy hex. The hex value goes to your clipboard and the button reads copied for a moment.
  • Or right-click the widget's title bar. Near the top of the menu, Copy followed by the hex value, such as Copy #2563eb, copies it too.

Paste it wherever you need it: a design, a document, a stylesheet or a message.

Sample a colour from your screen

  1. Click pick screen.
  2. Move the pointer over the colour you want, anywhere on your screen, and click.
  3. The swatch, hex and RGB change to the colour you sampled.

To stop without sampling, press Esc. The colour stays as it was.

Build a palette

One swatch is useful. Several together make a palette.

  1. Add a Section to the desk, so the swatches stay together. See Section widget Coming soon.
  2. Add one Color widget for each colour, and drag each one into the section.
  3. Give each swatch a name that says what it is for, such as Primary, Accent or Background. Double-click the widget's name in its title bar, type the new name and press Enter.

Share a swatch

When you publish a live view of a desk, each Color widget shows as its colour, so the people you share it with see your palette. See Publish a live view of a desk.

The AI button

Every widget's title bar has an AI button, the sparkle icon at the start of the buttons on the right. A Color widget has no AI settings of its own, so its AI button opens the Plexii panel, where you can ask Plexii anything. See Use a widget's AI button and Meet Plexii, your assistant.

Common questions

The line under the boxes says invalid hex. The text box needs a full six-digit hex code. Type all six characters after the #, for example #ffffff rather than #fff.

I do not see pick screen. Your computer does not offer screen sampling to PlexiDesk. Use the colour box to open the colour picker, or type the hex value.

I pressed O and nothing happened. A widget was active, or the cursor was in a text box, so the key went there instead. Click an empty part of the desk and press O again.

Can I rename the swatch? Yes. Double-click its name in the title bar, or click the pencil button on the title bar. See The controls on every widget.

More about this widget Coming soon

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].