Calc: Use self-defined colors in style / add them to palette

[sweber]

I’m using LibreOffice 5.3.5.2 as provided by the reporitories of my OpenSuse 42.3 installation.

If I want to change the background color of a cell in CALC by hand, there is an option to choose any possible color below the predefined palette.

Now, I would like to define a style, but there, only the predefined palette is available.
My first thought was that this is just inconvenient, since one can add colors to the palette somewhere in tools > options.
But I’m, quite surprised that there is no entry to alter the color palette

Furthermore, this only applies to background color, text and border color can be defined freely!

So, how do I use self-defined colors in CALC styles? Since I’d like to set up my own color scheme, how do I add colors to the palette?

[khanson679]

In recent versions of LO (including 5.4) the full color selection controls are not available in some dialogs.

Not exactly what you mean when you talk about “defining a template”. Style maybe?

In any case, there are several bugs reported. See bug #10352 for background color in Calc.

A workaround in the linked bug report for accessing the full color menu in Calc is to insert any shape, right click, and open the area dialog. You can add a color to the “Custom” palette there.

Then you can apply your new color using the background color button on the toolbar or sidebar. Actually, this is all you need to do if you find an acceptable color in one of the other bundled palettes.

Assuming you want to get the color into a style, you should be able to do it using the “update style” button.

You may also want to download or create a .soc palette file and save it in your user directory. The new “standard” palette for 5.4 is quite nice. Google will give plenty of hits.

Edit (spurred by Regina’s answer): You can also use the button on the sidebar, not just the toolbar. Corrections for clarity.

[sweber]

You are right, I mean styles. And the workaround works fine - but I hope this will be fixed in a future release. Thanks!

[Persnickety1]

Thank you!
Just to expand upon the comment “you should be able to do it using the ‘update style’ button” (for the benefit of anyone for whom this is unclear), here’s what I do:

1. Focus on a cell that does not have the style to update.
2. Click the Background Color icon (the bucket), and select your own custom color.
3. Go to a cell with the style to be updated (with your custom color) and click the Background Color icon. Your custom color will appear at the bottom of that control, under “Recent”; select it there.
4. Then at the top of the Properties pane, where your style is shown, click “Update Style” button (circular arrows).

[Regina]

Do not use Format > Cell > Background, but use the section Cell Appearence in the sidebar. It has a drop-down to choose the color. There you can select one of the predefined palettes or define an own color.

You cannot add own colors to a palette from within LibreOffice, but use an editor to add the color to the .soc file. Own colors, which you define inside LibreOffice, are not stored in a palette but in the file registrymodifications.xcu.

[khanson679]

Own colors, which you define inside LibreOffice, are not stored in a palette but in the file registrymodifications.xcu.

You’re referring to the “custom” option in the palette selection dropdown, right? Is there a principled reason why these colors are stored differently?

[Regina]

Yes, about the “custom” option. The entire palette management was removed to simplify the dialogs for normal users. I personally do not like the decision, to put just another information into the already huge registrymodificatons.xcu, and I do not know why the decision was done. Nevertheless, the palette management is no problem for advanced users, because generating or changing a palette manually is easy.