The swatches panel not only lists many types of swatches but designates the mode of the color.
Process colors. These are CMYK or RGB.
Global process colors. (These colors are automatically updated when edited. Spot colors are always global, but process colors can be global or local.) If a swatch is global, it will be identified by the gray square icon.
Spot colors. These are standardized premixed ink. If a swatch is a spot color, it will be identified by a white square with a gray circle icon.
Gradients. A graduated blend between two or more colors.
Patterns. Patterns are repeating paths, compound paths, text with solid fills or no fill.
Registration. This swatch is a built-in swatch and cannot be removed.
Color Groups. These are colors which are grouped and assigned a group name. They can be spot, process, and global colors. They cannot be pattern, gradient, or registration swatches. These groups are identified by a folder icon.
Tints. A tint is a global process color or spot color with a modified intensity. Tints are identified by a percentage.
The drop down menu in Illustrator has the following options:
The drop down menu in InDesign has the following options:
To change the color mode of a swatch to CMYK, first go to File>Document Color Mode>CM
YK. Double click on its icon in the swatches panel. An options box will appear. Change the color type to “process” and the color mode to “CMYK.”
To change the color mode of a swatch to RGB, first go to File>Document Color Mode>RGB. Double click on its icon in the swatches panel. An options box will appear. Change the color type to “process” and the color mode to “RGB.”
To change the color mode for objects to Grayscale, select the object then go to Edit>Edit Colors>Convert to Grayscale. To change specific swatches to Grayscale, double click on the swatch icon, change the color type to “process color” and color mode to “Grayscale.” (For informational purposes, the name of the swatch was not changed.)
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