• Global community
    • Language:
      • Deutsch
      • English
      • Español
      • Français
      • Português
  • 日本語コミュニティ
    Dedicated community for Japanese speakers
  • 한국 커뮤니티
    Dedicated community for Korean speakers
Exit
0

Gradients and the eye dropper tool

Guest
Aug 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

When you're editing a gradient within the shape (as opposed to in the Gradients palette), is there any way to use the eye dropper tool to sample an existing color? In-shape gradient editing (or whatever Adobe calls it) is useless without the eye dropper.

Views

47.3K

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Adobe
Community Expert ,
Aug 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

It's not totally accurate but if you use the Shift key with the eyedropper, you will get the screen color at that point.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Explorer ,
May 22, 2016 May 22, 2016

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

In response to 2nd or 3rd answer (by @Larry G) Why is it not accurate (as you said), Using shift key for this purpose is fully accurate (though the original asker is not asking for this solution).

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Advocate ,
Aug 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

May be this technique could help you in some way see here the flash video named "GradientPantone.swf" I think is not exactly wat you want but could help..

let me know

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Explorer ,
May 22, 2016 May 22, 2016

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

In response to @Mario Arizmendi), the video/link you sent is no longer working. Though the original poster/asker might not be interested in this solution. Many others were interested in it (but now I've been able to locate this very solution by hit and trial method).

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Aug 25, 2009 Aug 25, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I'm not talking about using the Gradients palette; I said that already. This is the interface I want to use the eyedropper tool with.

gradients.gif

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 03, 2009 Sep 03, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Hi, I came looking for an answer to this very question... but now I have figured out a way to do what you want to do.

1. Select the object you want to make into a gradient and make it so... it'll be the dreaded white to black

2. Select the colour that has the fil that you want to use for one end of the gradient

Picture 1.png

3. Now Select the gradient and notice that the fill you previously selected is in the "last color" box in the color tab group.

Picture 2.png

4. Now drag the color from the "last color" box to the gradient color box

Picture 3.png

5. repeat as necessary... click color, then gradient, then drag the previous colour to the gradient color box.


Picture 4.png

Hope this helps 🙂

Picture 5.png

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 03, 2009 Sep 03, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

People. Please do not bother to reply if you're not even going to read the question. I am not asking how to change a gradient with the Gradients palette, or with the Color palette, or any other palette for that matter. In fact, I have stated twice already that the Gradients palette is not involved in this operation. I explained it in words, then I explained it in pictures. And at no point did you even mention the eye dropper tool in your "solution".

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
LEGEND ,
Sep 03, 2009 Sep 03, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

There does not seem to be a way.

Oops I took another look a the diagram the closest you get is this if you access the color panel from the pop up and the from the gradients panels
drop down select rgb or cmyk.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Advisor ,
Sep 04, 2009 Sep 04, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Good thing you said Panel and not Palette. I don't think the OP likes Palettes.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Explorer ,
May 22, 2016 May 22, 2016

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

LATEST

In response to @Landsharkz, the answer you prepared with images was wonderful, but alas it didn't apply to Illustrator 6. Rather in CS6, there is another way. Just select any one node in the gradient panel and then shift click with eye dropper tool anywhere on screen.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 03, 2009 Sep 03, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Sometimes there is more than one way to do something. If you can't figure out how to do it one way, then you try another. If this doesn't enable you to solve your problem, then that's unfortunate... maybe it'll help someone else. Sorry if the end result is not what you're after. If you are stuck on doing it one way only, then maybe you'll be SOL because you need to do it a different way. Note to self... be careful who you try to help out, you may get flamed. This is likely my last ever post here... bye.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Kris,

Larry did use the word, did read and fully understand the question, and did present one step (3, which in itself only helps through straining your memory) in the answer:

The mysterious eyedropper inside gradient object sampling:

1) Beside the gradient, create a Receiving Object in the form of a filled path (it could be a copy, a rectangle with solid colour or gradient, or whatever);

2) With the Receiving Object selected, click to grasp the Eyedropper Tool;

3) Place the dropper on the spot with the colour to sample, Press Shift and then Click;

4) With Shift still pressed, Unclick, and enjoy the solid colour in the Receiving Object.

Hint: the selection in 2).

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Wade, thank you. You are the only one who made any sense. Other than the largely useless appearance of the eyedropper in the color sampler box you mentioned, it just doesn't seem to be possible to conjure up the eyedropper to sample colors from other shapes in your document. The lack of the eyedropper functionality in the "in-shape gradient editing" (or whatever it's called) seems to be a glaring omission. The only way to adjust the colors precisely is to know the RGB values you need beforehand.

Jacob, you're right—Larry did mention the eyedropper tool once, but you're wrong in saying he understood my question. I almost appreciated his in-depth explanation to an entirely different question I didn't ask. Larry talked about adjusting gradients with the gradients panel and colors panel (I know, I know... they're not called palettes anymore. Old habits). I've been using Illustrator for 15 years; I know how to do that. And your set of steps makes no sense. If I want to adjust the colors of a shape's gradient, the moment I select a receiving object, the gradient controls disappear from the first object.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Expert ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Kris,

Jacob, you're right—Larry did mention the eyedropper tool once, but you're wrong in saying he understood my question. I almost appreciated his in-depth explanation to an entirely different question I didn't ask. Larry talked about adjusting gradients with the gradients panel and colors panel (I know, I know... they're not called palettes anymore. Old habits). I've been using Illustrator for 15 years; I know how to do that. And your set of steps makes no sense. If I want to adjust the colors of a shape's gradient, the moment I select a receiving object, the gradient controls disappear from the first object.

So, what you wish to do is to pick the colour from some other object and drop it into an object with a gradient, thus changing the gradient, in other words something that corresponds to the insertion of a square with that value in the Color palette (bear with me, I am stil with 10)?

If so, you are right in saying that I was wrong in saying that Larry understood your question, and that was because I did not either. And if so, I believe it would be rather difficult for Illy to guess what you want to do with the rest of the gradient, and therefore something to be best handled in the Gradient palette.

If not, at least I need some more clues to understand the question.

My steps may make sense, although they may not be helpful in this case, when seen as a way to pick the actual colour at a specific spot in an object with a gradient with the purpose of storing its exact values and/or using it elsewhere, which is how I (mis)understood your question.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Well, there's your problem—this functionality was introduced in Illustrator CS3. No wonder you don't know what I'm talking about.

Attached is a video showing how to change a gradient shape's colors precisely with the Gradients panel. As far as I know, this procedure can be accomplished with any version of Illustrator. Here are the steps:

1. Create a gradient shape, a shape with a solid color fill (A) and another shape with a solid color fill (B).

2. Select the gradient shape

3. Click on the first gradient stop

4. Select the eyedropper tool

5. Shift-click shape A to loads its color into the gradient stop

6. Select the second gradient stop

7. With the eyedropper tool still selected, shift-click shape B to loads its color into the gradient stop

My original question is: how do you do that with the new gradient-editing functionality in CS3 or CS4 using only the gradient tool (not panel)? Sorry for not originally stating this question applies only to CS3 and up.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
LEGEND ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Some user relate easily to my responses and some do not get it at all,

that is true for all of all the contributors here on the forum.

They are very useful and please keep in mind some of the contributors

are working with older software, I don't know why, which sometimes

makes it difficult for them to relate to

what's happening in the current version though they are very

knowledgeable about Illustrator in spite of that fact.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Participant ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

The primary reason why you can't use the Eye Dropper with the Gradient Annotator has to do with the fact that the Gradient Annotator only appears when the Gradient Tool is active (unless somebody knows of a way to keep the Annotator active without having the Gradient Tool active). If you had the Eye Dropper active, the Gradient Annotator wouldn't be there, because you wouldn't have the Gradient Tool as your active tool. This isn't a factor when trying to do the same thing with the Gradient Palette/Panel, because you can have the Eyedropper active and still use the Gradient Palette/Panel. In the end, while the Gradient Annotator is set up very similarly to the Gradient Palette, it is still, in essence, a tool. When I first started using CS4, I found the Annotator to be quite worthless, since it was so similar to the Gradient Palette, but now I've become accustomed to having it there and find it to be a nice addition.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

There's no reason why they couldn't add a temporary eyedropper tool to the interface, like this:

mockup.gif

Also, in Flash, double clicking a gradient stop automatically gives you the eyedropper tool (see the attached video). There's no reason why Illustrator couldn't do the same thing.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Advisor ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Well Kris it seems then that the answer to your question is no, it can't be done in Illustrator currently. Yes you have shown us you can do this in other programs. So you might want to post this in Feature requests.

Seems a lot of people who frequent this forum are reluctant to just give a No, or It can't be done answer to a question like yours. To me, saying no, or it can't be done, period, merely negates any progress to an end solution (although I have had to accept this answer to a few of my questions). Weather it be using a panel or other means to reach the perceived end result. Many people post questions daily without understand the specificity of what tools and or panels to use to effect an end result. No one could have guessed you to have 15 years in Illustrator and how specific you were in your desire to use only the grad tool and eye dropper tool. People here just want to help. And I am always very appreciative of all responses to my questions even if not completely targeted at the specific tools and panels I refer to. Being a vet of years in Illustrator, I still know there is something I can learn from an open exchange of ideas and opinions.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
LEGEND ,
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Sometimes there is no defense for an oversight like this and I believe when the original feature request qwas made this part of the feature brough up as a important component of this feature. Why it was not included is a mystery.

We should probably all make a trip to the featurre request forum about this issue.

It is that Kris notice this missing feature. The gradient upgrade was excellent but not complete and the power of an illustration program lies with a pen tool feature, selection, color, layers and gradients and gradient meshes.

We need transpancy in gradient messhes and we need other forms of gradients other than linear and radial and we need a real world way of selecting colors for our gradients and what Kris is looking for is definitely what is needed in that reagard.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Guest
Sep 05, 2009 Sep 05, 2009

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

It's not that I really want or need to be able to do it; the new gradient editing functionality is great for adjusting the stop positions of existing gradients, but almost completely useless for creating gradients from scratch, which in my opinion makes the entire interface almost completely useless. Why bother implementing the feature, unless you're going to do it right?

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Enthusiast ,
Sep 29, 2010 Sep 29, 2010

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

I enjoyed landsharkz workaround even though older software, was a good way to see things differently, I appreciate the intention of those who post (to show other methods if one wanted is not available), remember the intention, were all busy and just to get feedback is wonderful and insightful in how others work, you always learn other ways, which benefit down the line,

and thanks for showing shift with eyedropper even though for gradient panel,

this is why I use the forum to find the answers to other things too,

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Community Beginner ,
Jan 23, 2012 Jan 23, 2012

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

http://http://formattc.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/how-to-edit-a-gradient-with-the-eye-dropper-tool-in-...

This worked for me when looking for a solution to the same original problem.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Mentor ,
Jan 23, 2012 Jan 23, 2012

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

That is not the same problem. Once again, your method uses the Gradients palette. I already know how to do it that way; I am only talking about the interface you get from within the shape itself while using the Gradient tool. By selecting the Eyedropper tool from the main tool palette, you are no longer using the Gradient tool.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines