To replace colors across an Affinity design, edit the global colors already linked to its shapes. If the artwork uses ordinary colors, batch-select matching fills or strokes and assign global swatches first. This preserves the original shapes while making future palette changes easier.

This guide covers editable vector artwork in the current Affinity desktop app on Mac, using its official Help Center menu names. The task is to change an existing design’s colors while retaining its objects and intended color relationships.

Which palette changes will update your artwork?

Affinity distinguishes between a palette that stores swatches and a global color applied to objects. Editing an applied global color updates the objects using it. Converting an ordinary swatch with Make Global, however, does not automatically link objects that previously used that color. Those objects need the global swatch applied to them. Global colors

The documentation describes palette import as loading swatches and global-color editing as updating linked artwork. It does not describe importing a replacement palette as an automatic mapping between the old and new colors. Use the following decision aid to choose your workflow. Color palettes, Global colors

Your starting point Appropriate action
Shapes already use the intended global colors Edit those existing global swatches.
Shapes use ordinary solid colors Select matching objects in batches and apply global swatches.
One visible color serves several independent purposes Separate those purposes before assigning shared swatches.
A replacement palette has been imported Use its colors as targets; establish or preserve the artwork’s links separately.

Preserve the palette type

Open Window > General > Swatches. Affinity provides three relevant custom palette types: Document, saved inside the current file; Application, available across Affinity documents; and System, available through macOS to Affinity and other apps. Keep a reusable application or system palette in its existing role, and use a document palette for the design’s global colors. Swatches panel, Color palettes

This distinction matters when importing: Affinity explicitly states that importing a document palette containing global colors as an Application or System palette converts them to standard colors. Choose the document import type when those global colors need to remain global. Global colors

How do you replace colors that are already global?

Save a separate working copy before changing the design. Then identify which existing swatches control its main color roles—for example, background, large shapes and small accents. Preserve separate swatches for roles that must remain independently editable, even if they currently look identical.

A global swatch has a small tab at its bottom-left corner. Affinity also documents checking the Color panel to see whether an object’s fill or stroke has a global color assigned. Inspect representative shapes before choosing this workflow. Global colors

  1. Select the relevant document palette in Swatches.
  2. Control-click an existing global swatch and choose Edit Fill.
  3. Choose its replacement color in the dialog.
  4. Repeat for each existing global color that needs changing.

All objects using the edited global color update automatically. A global color can control a solid fill, a stroke or a color within a gradient. An entire gradient cannot itself be saved as one global color. Global colors

Inspect the result after each edit. If only some expected shapes change, treat the unchanged shapes as a separate linkage problem; do not assume that their similar appearance means they share the same swatch. Continue with the batch-assignment workflow below for those objects.

How do you recolor ordinary colors in batches?

Affinity’s Select Same feature supports bulk conversion from non-global colors to global colors. With a representative object selected, use Layer > Select > Same and choose the relevant attribute. Available matches include Fill Color, Stroke Color and Fill & Stroke Color. Selecting by attribute

Set up the destination swatches

In Swatches, open Panel Preferences and choose Add Document Palette if you need a new document palette. Create the global swatches there with Add Global Color. Name them for their intended roles so you can distinguish colors that happen to share the same value. These palette and swatch commands are documented in the Swatches panel reference.

For an initial conversion, consider giving each destination swatch its role’s existing color. This lets you establish the relationships first, inspect the unchanged-looking artwork, and then edit the palette. It also avoids introducing replacement colors into later color-matching selections.

Assign fills, then strokes

  1. Use the Move Tool to select one original shape with the fill you want to replace.
  2. Choose Layer > Select > Same > Fill Color.
  3. Inspect the selection and remove any objects that should remain independent.
  4. Activate the solid fill selector in Swatches, then click the intended global swatch.
  5. Repeat for the remaining fill colors.
  6. For outlines, repeat the process with Stroke Color and activate the stroke selector before applying the swatch.

Matching by fill selects objects according to their fill attribute; a matching outline requires the stroke criterion. Review the selection before applying a color, especially when different design elements share a color. Selecting by attribute

In the vector interface, the fill selector is solid and the stroke selector is a cutout ring. The selector shown in front receives the new color. Hold Option while choosing a swatch when you want to retain the object’s existing color opacity and noise attributes. Selecting colors

These steps operate on the selected original objects. The workflow does not require rebuilding the illustration, merging shapes or flattening it. Once the intended batches have their global swatches, use the global-editing steps above to change their colors.

How do you avoid merging colors that should stay independent?

Plan the mapping by purpose before changing values. The following synthetic example uses only ordinary geometric shapes; its values illustrate a decision, not measured application behavior.

Original objects Existing color Intended replacement Link decision
Large circles #246BCE #D47A36 Share one circle-role global swatch.
Small squares #D47A36 #568D73 Use a separate square-role global swatch.
Thin outlines #246BCE Keep existing color Leave independent from circle fills.

Here, the circles’ replacement equals the squares’ original color. Changing the circles first and then selecting everything with that fill could include both sets. That follows from selecting by color rather than by design purpose. Establishing the separate global assignments before changing their values avoids that ambiguity. Selecting by attribute

The same principle applies to existing global colors. If two global swatches happen to have identical values but control separate roles, edit their existing links separately. Using a broad color match to consolidate them would change the design’s future editing behavior.

For a practical check, temporarily change one role to a conspicuous test color in your working copy. Inspect which shapes respond, restore its intended value, and repeat for the next role. This is a suggested diagnostic sequence: it tests the relationships you established without replacing the original geometry.

What should you check when some objects do not change?

First check selection scope. The current documentation says Edit within current container on the Layers panel controls the scope of Select Same: enabled, matching objects can be selected across artboards or spreads; disabled, matching is limited to the current artboard or spread. The corresponding submenu’s Select Hidden Objects option controls whether hidden objects participate. Selecting by attribute

Next, check that you targeted the correct property. A shape can have separate fill and stroke colors. For a gradient, the Fill Tool exposes the color of the selected gradient stop, so inspect the stop you intend to change rather than replacing the entire fill with a solid swatch. Selecting colors

Finally, distinguish collecting colors from establishing links. Creating a palette from the document produces a collection of its colors or fills; it is useful for reference. Global assignment remains the step that makes objects respond together. Color palettes, Global colors

Finish by checking the full design and representative fills, outlines and gradients. Keep independent roles separate and confirm that each shared swatch controls the intended shapes. The resulting file retains its original artwork, with palette changes handled through existing global links or a one-time batch assignment.

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