The Color Palette
The color palette lets you edit the colors of Max objects. Colors are specified with red, green, blue, and alpha values. Messages to set colors are usually a list of these four values, which range from 0 to 1. Alpha controls the transparency of the color, with an alpha of 0 being completely transparent and and alpha of 1 being completely opaque.
The color palette is used to edit color attributes and settings in inspectors such as these:
Color attributes consist of four numbers that range from 0-1: red, green, and blue components plus alpha (transparency). More information on color attribute data formats.
Showing the color palette
- In an inspector window, click a color swatch to open the color palette.
- To hide the color palette, click anywhere outside the window.
Three ways to edit colors
The color palette provides several methods for specifying colors. You can:
- Drag the mouse around in the color gradient at the top of the window.
- Set individual color component values numerically by typing in values or using the sliders.
- Pick from the current collection of saved swatches, or load in a new set of swatches.
Color component number formats
The three buttons below the color sliders select the numerical format of the color components.
- 0-255 was the form used by Max 4.x
- hex (00-FF) is often used when specifying web sites
- 0-1 is the native Max 5 color component format
Storing a color into a swatch location
- Click on the Store button above the color swatches, then click on one of the swatches. The current color will be stored in the swatch, which will change to the color you've chosen.
Saving a swatch file
- Click the Save... button above the color swatches.
- Type a filename into the file dialog box and click Save
- Swatch files use the .maxswatches extension A new color palette file will be created with the name you give it.
Loading a swatch file
- Click the Load... button above the color swatches.
- Locate a swatch file (.maxswatches) you previously saved
- The new palette of swatches will appear in the color palette after they are loaded