Adding colors from other documents and merging swatch names

When you copy objects from one document to another, any swatches (global process colors, spot colors, patterns, or gradients) contained in the object are added to the destination document's Swatches palette. If swatches in the two documents have the same name, but different color values, a warning dialog appears and you can choose to either add the duplicate swatch or merge the swatches together and use only one set of color values.

If the color spaces of the source file from which you are copying or dragging the object do not match the color spaces of the destination document, the color spaces will be determined by options that you select in the Color Settings dialog box. (See Producing Consistent Color.)

You can also merge swatches together using the Merge Swatches command. When you merge swatches together, all objects painted with either of the swatch colors will be updated with the merged swatch color.

To add color, gradient, or pattern swatches from one document to another:

1. Copy an object into the current document using drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste, or the Place command. You can also use the Swatch Libraries command to add new swatch palettes. (See Using the Swatch Libraries command.)
2. If one or more swatches have the same name (but with different color values), select from the following options in the Swatch Conflict dialog box:
• Add Swatches adds the new swatch to the Swatches palette, appending the word copy to the name of the new swatch.
• Merge Swatches combines the two swatches into a single swatch, using the color value of the destination document's swatch.
3. If there are multiple naming conflicts, select the Apply to All check box to automatically apply the selected method (either adding swatches or merging swatches) to all naming conflicts in the document. This prevents the Swatch Conflict dialog box from appearing for each naming conflict in the document.

To merge multiple colors in the Swatches palette:

1. In the Swatches palette select two or more swatches to merge. Press Shift and click to select a range of swatches; press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) and click to select non-contiguous swatches.
2. Choose Merge Swatches from the Swatches palette menu. The first selected swatch name and color value replaces all other selected swatches.