Color models describe the colors we see and work with in digital graphics. Each color model, such as RGB, HSB, or CMYK, represents a different method for describing and classifying color. Color models use numeric values to represent the visible spectrum of color. A color space is a variant of a color model and has a specific gamut (range) of colors. For example, within the RGB color model are a number of color spaces: Adobe® RGB, sRGB, and Apple® RGB. While each of these color spaces defines color using the same three axes (R, G, and B), their gamuts are different.
When you work with the colors in a graphic, you are actually adjusting numerical values in the file. It’s easy to think of a number as a color, but these numerical values are not absolute colors in themselves—they only have a color meaning within the color space of the device that is producing the color.
Because each device has its own color space, it can reproduce colors only in its gamut. When an image moves from one device to another, image colors may change because each device interprets the RGB or HSB values according to its own color space. For example, it is impossible for all the colors viewed on a monitor to be identically matched in a print from a desktop printer. A printer operates in a CMYK color space and a monitor operates in an RGB color space. Their gamuts are different. Some colors produced by inks cannot be displayed on a monitor, and some colors that can be displayed on a monitor cannot be reproduced using inks on paper.
When creating colors for use in Flash documents, keep in mind that even though it is impossible to perfectly match all colors on different devices, you can achieve good results by considering the graphic display capabilities of the devices in use by your target audience.
Adobe® Flash® Professional lets you apply, create, and modify colors using the RGB or HSB color models. Using the default palette or a palette you create, you can choose colors to apply to the stroke or fill of an object you are about to create, or an object already on the Stage.
When applying a stroke color to a shape, you can do any of the following:
Apply a solid color, gradient, or bitmap to a shape’s fill. To apply a bitmap fill to a shape, you must import a bitmap into the current file. Select any solid color, gradient, and the style and weight of the stroke.
Create an outlined shape with no fill by using No Color as a fill.
Create a filled shape with no outline by using No Color as an outline.
Apply a solid color fill to text.
With the Color panel, you can create and edit solid colors and gradient fills in RGB and HSB modes.
To access the system color picker, select the Color Picker icon 
from
the Stroke Color or Fill Color control in the Color panel, the Tools
panel or Shape Property inspector.
The Color panel
Import, export, delete, and otherwise modify the color palette for a FLA file by using the Swatches panel.
Select colors in hexadecimal mode.
Create multicolor gradients.
Use gradients to produce a wide range of effects, such as giving an illusion of depth to a two-dimensional object.
The Color panel contains the following controls:
- Stroke Color
- Changes the color of the stroke, or the border, of a graphic object.
- Fill Color
- Changes the color of the fill. The fill is the area of color that fills up the shape.
- Color Type menu
- Changes the fill style:
- None
- Removes the fill.
- Solid Color
- Provides a solid, single fill color.
- Linear Gradient
- Produces a gradient that blends on a linear path.
- Radial Gradient
- Produces a gradient that blends outward in a circular path from a central focal point.
- Bitmap Fill
- Tiles the selected fill area with a bitmap image that you can select. When you choose Bitmap, a dialog box lets you select a bitmap image on your local computer, and add it to the library. You can apply this bitmap as a fill; the appearance is similar to a mosaic tile pattern with the image repeated within the shape.
- HSB
- Lets you change the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness of the colors in a fill.
- RGB
- Lets you change the density of the red, green, and blue (RGB) colors in a fill.
- Alpha
- Sets the opacity for a solid fill, or the currently selected slider for a gradient fill. An alpha value of 0% creates an invisible (or transparent) fill; an alpha value of 100% creates an opaque fill.
- Current Color Swatch
- Displays the currently selected color. If you select a gradient fill type (Linear or Radial) from the fill Type menu, the Current Color Swatch displays the color transitions within the gradient you create.
- System Color Picker
- Lets you select a color visually. Click System Color Picker and drag the cross-hair pointer until you find the color you want.
- Hexadecimal value
- Displays the current color’s hexadecimal value. To change the color using the hexadecimal value, type in a new value. Hexadecimal color values (also called hex values) are 6‑digit alphanumeric combinations that represent a color.
- Flow
- Lets you control colors applied past the limits of a linear
or radial gradient.
- Extend Color
- (Default) Applies the colors you specify past the end of the gradient.
- Reflect Color
- Causes the gradient colors to fill the shape using a reflective mirroring effect. The gradients you specify are repeated in a pattern from the beginning of the gradient to the end, and then repeated in the opposite sequence from the end of the gradient to the beginning, and then back to the beginning of the gradient to the end until the selected shape is filled.
- Repeat Color
- Repeats the gradient from the beginning of the gradient to
the end until the selected shape is filled.Note: Overflow modes are supported only in Adobe Flash Player 8 and later.
- Linear RGB
- Creates a SVG-compliant (Scalable Vector Graphics) linear or radial gradient.
Color palettes
Each Flash Professional file contains its own color palette, stored in the Flash Professional document. Flash Professional displays a file’s palette as swatches in the Fill Color and Stroke Color controls and in the Swatches panel. The default color palette is the web-safe palette of 216 colors. To add colors to the current color palette, use the Color panel.
You can import and export both solid and gradient color palettes between Flash Professional files, as well as between Flash Professional and other applications.
The default palette and the web-safe palette
Save the current palette as the default palette, replace the current palette with the default palette defined for the file, or load the web-safe palette to replace the current palette.
Sort color by hue in the palette
To make it easier to locate a color, sort colors in the palette by hue.
In the Swatches panel, select Sort by Color from
the menu in the upper-right corner.Import and export color palettes
To import and export both RGB colors and gradients between Flash Professional files, use Flash Professional Color Set files (CLR files). Import and export RGB color palettes by using Color Table files (ACT files). You can also import color palettes, but not gradients, from GIF files. You cannot import or export gradients from ACT files.
Import a color palette
- In the Swatches panel, select one of
the following commands from the menu in the upper-right corner:
To append the imported colors to the current palette, select Add Colors.
To replace the current palette with the imported colors, select Replace Colors.
- Navigate to the desired file, select it, and click OK.
Create or edit a solid color
You can create any color using the Color panel. If an object is selected on the Stage, the color modifications you make in the Color panel are applied to the selection. You can select colors in RGB or HSB, or you can expand the panel to use hexadecimal mode. You can also specify an alpha value to define the degree of transparency for a color. In addition, you can select a color from the existing color palette.
You can expand the Color panel to display a larger color space in place of the color bar, a split color swatch showing the current and previous colors, and a Brightness slider to modify color brightness in all color modes.
To apply the color to existing artwork, select an object or objects on the Stage, and select Window > Color.
Click the Stroke or Fill icon to specify which attribute to modify.
Note: Click the icon, not the Color control, or the Color Picker opens.If you selected the Fill icon in step 3, verify that Solid is selected in the Type menu.
If an object is selected on the Stage, the color modifications you make in the Color panel are applied to the selection. Do one of the following:
To select a color, click in the color space in the Color panel. To adjust the brightness of the color, drag the Brightness slider.
Note: To create colors other than black or white, make sure the Brightness slider is not set to either extreme.Enter values in the color value boxes: Red, Green, and Blue values for RGB display; Hue, Saturation, and Brightness values for HSB display; or hexadecimal values for hexadecimal display. Enter an Alpha value to specify the degree of transparency, from 0 for complete transparency to 100 for complete opacity.
To return to the default color settings, black and white (black stroke and white fill), click the Black and White button
.To swap colors between the fill and the stroke, click the Swap Colors button
. To apply no color to the fill or stroke, click the No Color button
. Note: You cannot apply a stroke or fill of No Color to an existing object. Instead, select the existing stroke or fill, and delete it.Click the Stroke or Fill Color control, and select a color.
To add the new color to the color swatch list for the current document, select Add Swatch from the menu in the upper-right corner.
Duplicate, delete, and clear colors
To duplicate or delete a color, select Window > Swatches, click the color to duplicate or delete, and select Duplicate Swatch or Delete Swatch from the panel menu. When duplicating a swatch, the paint bucket appears. Click in the empty area of the Swatches panel with the paint bucket to make a duplicate of the selected color.
To clear all colors from the color palette, in the Swatches panel, select Clear Colors from the panel menu. All colors except black and white are removed from the palette.
