Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

When I import Swatch collections from the Swaystairs web site, sometimes I see "Image Not Available" thumbnails. Why does this happen?

When I sort my search results, sometimes the table shows items with 3 matches before items with 4 or 5 matches. Why does this happen?

Why does Color Hints show me lots of colors when my shorts are a single color of blue?

Why are the colors Color Hints shows me not what I expect?

How do I get a palette I created with Adobe Kuler™ into Color Hints?

Have another question? Please EMail us with your questions.

 

FAQ Answers

Why does Color Hints show me lots of colors when my shorts are a single color of blue?

Under the right lighting conditions, your shorts might be a single color of blue. However, slight shadows created by wrinkles in the fabric, or even the weave of the cloth can cause minor variations in the color recorded by your camera.

Color Hints attempts to group very similar colors into a single color. But overuse of this technique might obscure subtle color variations that actually appear in the fabric.

 

Why are the colors Color Hints shows me not what I expect?

Colors recorded in photographs are influenced by the light illuminating the object you are photographing. Many light sources are not true white — fluorescent or sodium lights are good examples.

Light color can be changed by reflecting off colored surfaces. For example, a blue wall near your photographic subject will likely add a blue cast to your photograph.

For best results, try to make sure you have a true white light source with no chance of reflections off nearby colored objects. In practice this is almost impossible to achieve in a store or other setting.

You can correct for some of these issues by adjusting the white balance of your photographs. Color Hints (and most photograph apps) provides a means to adjust the white balance of a photograph. To achieve the best white balance correction, put a pure white (like a very white piece of paper) or neutral gray object in your photograph. This object can then be used as a reference point for the white balance processing.

How do I get a palette I created with Adobe Kuler™ into Color Hints?

While not elegant, the following approach will work.

EMail the Kuler palette to yourself. The EMail you receive will contain an image (essentially a photograph) of your palette. In the Mail application on your device, press and hold on the image of your palette. You will be presented with a list of options, one of which is "Save Image." Tap "Save Image" - this will add your palette to your photograph roll of saved images.

Now create a new palette using the photograph option. Select the photo of the palette from your camera roll. After selecting the eyedropper, select the colors from your palette photograph. Save the resulting palette.

™Adobe and Kuler are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

When I sort my search results, sometimes the table shows items with 3 matches before items with 4 or 5 matches. Why does this happen?

When Color Hints sorts search results, it gives exact matches, bullseye icon, more weight than shade matches (more white or black) triangle icon. Color Hints also gives more weight to shade matches than similar matches, sideways H icon. As a result, an item with 3 exact matches may be ranked higher than 4 or 5 shade or similar matches.

When I import Swatch collections from the Swaystairs web site, sometimes I see "Image Not Available" thumbnails. Why does this happen?

Some Swatch collections get their images and thumbnails from other web sites. It can take a while for these images to download to your device. If you attempt to look at an image before the download is complete, the "Image Not Available" image is displayed. Usually the image will show up within a few moments - depending upon your internet connection speed.

In some cases, the image may have been removed from the web site. In this case the image will never become available and you may want to delete such items from your collections.