Saving/Loading Palettes
Currently, there is a way to save a GIMP palette file in Inkscape, though this method is not directly exposed anywhere (to my knowledge) except in the "Save As" dialog. What this creates is a situation where a very real feature of Inkscape is not exposed to the user - and though you could use swatches, this is not the same, and not necessarily as intuitive.
By the same token, installing new palette files currently requires navigating to the folder where they're stored (which is different for each OS), or, opening the folder from within the preferences. This requires too many steps for the average user, and so they would not be aware of Inkscape's flexibility in this area.
My proposal:
- Add a "Create palette" action to the palette menu.
- Add a "Palettes" panel, in which users can manage their user-installed palettes, and possibly create their own.
- Allow for the creation of custom palettes within the Inkscape UI*.
*I can expand on this with details of a potential way to achieve it.
Image:
Note: This proposal would not call for replacing the current interface for selecting palettes and colours from those palettes, which I think is great, even if it can be improved in small ways. Besides, that would change what existing users have come to expect rather abruptly, which is bad practice. Instead, I think this panel could exist in complement to the existing interface, and would serve as a means of exposing two critical features of Inkscape in one place.