I can't delete or merge swatches.
I have 4 separate issues, all stemming from the swatches panel:
1. I can't select a range of swatches and delete them. I have to select them individually and then delete them. Huge waste of time.
2. Sometimes when I delete a swatch, the thumbnail remains in the panel but changes to the red slash for "no color." I now have multiples of these in my swatches panel (see attachment).
3. Merge swatches simply doesn't work, even if they are both global swatches that I've generated.
4. Using the command "select all unused," and then trying to delete the batch, doesn't work regardless of whether I click the trash symbol or use the flyout menu.
These issues are making it maddening to set up production artwork for a client because I obviously want to limit the colors in the swatch panel to the colors that are used in the document.
It's like Illustrator is "remembering" colors that were active in previous versions of the file, and is preventing those global swatches from being deleted or merged even if there is currently no artwork with the swatch applied (I triple checked).
One experiment I've tried is to save a new version of the file, delete all the artwork except for one shape with pure black and one shape with pure white. If I then try the "select all unused" and delete, it deletes most of the swatches, but keeps the ones with the red slash (see attachment).
As always, I feel compelled to ask, why are we the users forced to pay a premium for design software that is full of persistent bugs?
I'm on Illustrator 29.6.1 on an iMac running OS 13.7.6.
Dan
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Dan, let’s try to figure this out.
Can you share the file? If possible, attach one in a comment (will be public), or send to sharewithai@adobe.com (in this case mention the link to this report for backtracking, http://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/50221443). It doesn’t have to be the full document, only enough artwork to keep the behavior happening.
My guess is that there are some other entities that use the swatches deleted... graphic or text styles, symbols, brushes... The default action set Ai provides has a dedicated action to run the Select Unused + Delete for each panel, not only Swatches — please try to run it (or do it manually, if you purged default actions) — would it help?Even if it’s the cause, I don’t say it should work like this, but this would allow to find the exact chain of steps and make it obvious for the team.
Things like this linger since older days, and these stay unfixed only because we don’t talk about these enough — so thank you for the report.
