System Requirements

The AutoCAD Color Book Editor has been verified to work with the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer 9/10+
• Chrome v24+
• Firefox v16+
• Safari v6+
• Opera 12+

For the best results, use Internet Explorer 10 or Chrome with a display resolution of 1024x768 or greater.

About Creating a Color Book

The AutoCAD Color Book Editor starts in your browser with a default color book that includes one color page containing a single color, white. After you create and save a color book, a file with an .acb extension will be stored locally in a folder that you designate. This ACB file can then be used in any AutoCAD-based product.

To Load a Color Book

• Click the Open button, and navigate to the location of a saved ACB file. The ACB files that are included with the product are encrypted and cannot be edited.

To Add a Color Page

• Click the + button to the right of the button. The result adds a color page row to the bottom of the color pages.

To Add a New Color

• Click the + icon at the end of any color page row, and enter the values for the new color. There is a limit of 10 colors for each color page.

To Make Changes to a Selected Color

1. In the left panel, click to select a color.
2. In the right panel, click a color selection method: Square, Circle, or Arc.
3. Click a color in the color selection area.
   • With the Square method, click the strip of hues below the square saturation area.
   • With the Circle method, click the gray scale strip to determine the Key (K) value.
4. Adjust the values of the color in the RGB, HSV, CMYK, or HEX input boxes.
5. When you are satisfied with the changes that you made to the color, click Apply.

To Edit the Name of a Color Book or a Color

• Color book. Click the gray box that displays the color book name, and enter your changes.
• Color. Click a color swatch, click the gray box that appears below the color page, and enter your changes.

About Saving, Previewing, and Printing a Color Book

To Save a Color Book

Depending on your browser, the following steps will vary as follows:

• Internet Explorer 10. When you click the Save button, IE 10 will display a popup at the bottom of the screen that requests a location for saving the file.

• Chrome. When you click the Save button, Chrome will save the ACB file automatically to the default download folder.

• Firefox/Safari/Opera/Internet Explorer 9. When you click the Save button, a new browser tab or window will be opened with the contents of the ACB file. Use the browser's Save Page As option to save the ACB file. For example, in Opera, click the application menu (Opera) > Page > Save As.

To Preview and Print a Color Book:

1. Click the Preview This Color Book button.
2. In the preview window, click Printer Friendly Version and click Print.

Depending on your browser, the details on saving the image and printing will be different. All browsers disable Background Printing by default, preventing the colors from displaying in Print and Print Preview.

• Internet Explorer 10
  
  • In the Image Friendly Version page, click the Save As Image button to display a popup window at the bottom of the screen in which you can specify the location of the saved file.
  • In the Printer Friendly Version page, click the Print button to display the Print dialog box.
  • To enable background printing, click Tools (the Gears icon) > Print > Page Setup, and then select Print Background Colors and Images.

• Chrome
  
  • In the Image Friendly Version page, click the Save As Image button to save the ACB file automatically to the default download folder.
  • In the Printer Friendly Version page, click the Print button to display the Print Preview with the option to enable background printing in the configuration panel.

• Firefox
  
  • In the Image Friendly Version page, click the Save As Image button to save the ACB file automatically to the default download folder.
  • In the Printer Friendly Version page, click the Print button to display the Print Preview with the option to enable background printing in the configuration panel.
  • To enable background printing, click Firefox > Print > Page Setup, and select Print Background (colors and images).

• Opera
  
  • In the Image Friendly Version page, right-click the image and select Print to display the Print dialog box.
  • In the Printer Friendly Version page, click the Print button to display the Print dialog box.
  • To print the background color, click the Opera application button > Print > Print Options. In the Print Options dialog box, select Print Page Background.
    

    Note Opera does not correctly print more than a single page at a time.

• Safari
  
  • In the Image Friendly Version page, click the Save As Image button to create a new browser tab or window that displays the image file. Right-click the image and select Save Image As.
  • In the Printer Friendly Version page, click the Print button to display the Print dialog box.
  • To enable background printing, click File > Print and select Print Backgrounds.
    

    Note The saved image file extension needs to be entered manually in Safari.

About Working With a Color Book in AutoCAD

To Configure AutoCAD to Locate a Custom Color Book

1. At the AutoCAD Command prompt, enter the OPTIONS command.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Files tab, and then click to expand Color Book Locations.
3. If the path to where the ACB file is saved is not listed, add the path to the list.
   

   Note AutoCAD will load all color books found in the added location automatically.

To Select a Color From a Color Book

1. At the AutoCAD Command prompt, enter the COLOR command.
2. In the Select Color dialog box, click the Color Books tab.
3. Click the name of the color book from the drop-down list.
4. Click a color page and then a color.