You can set the color of an object either by its layer or by specifying its color explicitly, independent of its layer.
- Assigning colors by layer makes it easy to identify each layer within your drawing.
- Assigning colors explicitly provides additional distinctions between objects on the same layer.
All objects are created using the current color, which is displayed in the Properties palette and the Home tab, Properties panel of the ribbon when no objects are selected.
- If the current color is set to ByLayer, objects are created with the color assigned to the current layer.
- If the current color is set to ByBlock, objects are created using color 7 (white or black) until the objects are combined into a block definition. When the block is inserted into the drawing, it displays the current color for those objects.
You can use a variety of color palettes when assigning color to objects, including
- AutoCAD Color Index (ACI)
- True Color
- PANTONE ® Colors
- RAL™ Classic and RAL Design color books
- DIC ® Color Guide
- Colors from imported color books.
Color is also used as a way to indicate lineweight for color-dependent plotting.
ACI Colors
ACI colors are the standard colors used in AutoCAD-based products. Each color is identified by an ACI number, an integer from 1 through 255. Standard color names are available only for colors 1 through 7. The colors are assigned as follows: 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 3 Green, 4 Cyan, 5 Blue, 6 Magenta, 7 White/Black.
Color Books
Several standard PANTONE color books are included in the product. You can also import other color books such as the DIC color guide or RAL color sets. Importing user-defined color books can further expand your available color selections.
You install color books on your system by using the Files tab in the Options dialog box. Once a color book is loaded, you can select colors from the color book and apply them to objects in your drawings.
PANTONE® Color Books
Pantone has updated the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® with the PANTONE® PLUS SERIES of Publications that provides a chromatic arrangement of colors. In AutoCAD-based products, the RGB values of the PANTONE Colors that are assigned to objects are preserved in all current and legacy drawing files.
Color book (.acb) files provide access through the Select Color dialog box to the names of all PANTONE Colors and color books. These .acb files are installed in the \Support\Color folder in the product installation folder.