InDesign

Applying colors by dragging and dropping

An easy way to apply colors or gradients is to drag them from a color source to an object or panel. Dragging and dropping lets you apply colors or gradients to objects without first selecting the objects. You can drag the following:

  • The Fill or Stroke box in the Toolbox or a panel.

  • The Gradient box in the Gradient panel.

  • Swatches from the Swatches panel.

  • The last-used, in-gamut color swatch located next to the out-of-gamut icon  in a panel.

You can drop colors or gradients on the following objects and panels:

  • The fill or stroke of a path. To drop color on a fill or stroke, position the center of the drag icon precisely over the path’s fill or stroke while you drag a color, and then release the mouse button.

  • The Swatches panel.

If you drag one or more Swatches panel swatches, or the color swatch next to an out‑of‑gamut icon, you can drop them into another InDesign document window, which adds the swatches to that document’s Swatches panel.