Linking your Master Palettes
Since Toon Boom Digital Pro is a stand-alone application, every scene is local to the machine. This means that all of the
scene’s data is only accessible from that particular scene. Palettes are also local to the scene: they can be shared
between all elements (layers), but not between scenes.
However, some users may want to share their palette across a whole project. Digital Pro offers that possibility. There
are two levels of sharing available:
By default, all palettes are local to the scene. This is a completely safe method and it avoids any palette loss. Full
Link sharing implies that all the scenes are linked to a single palette master directory. Although this method is a useful
and quick way of updating all the colours throughout the whole project, if the directory is moved, the link to the original
palettes can be broken. The Clone method avoids this and updates the colours in the project. This method takes identical
copies of the master palettes and uses these clones in the scenes. This is a safer but longer procedure than using the Full
Link method.
 Full Link
By default, a palette is an independent file stored in your Toon Boom Digital Pro scene. This file can be copied, moved
or deleted.
To fully link a palette throughout an entire project, you need to create a central directory where you can copy all
of the palettes you have created. Every time you link a palette in an element, it is linked to this folder. If you modify
the palette, it will be updated throughout the whole project.
If you move the scenes or the palette’s master directory to another location, the link between the two will be
broken. Toon Boom Digital Pro has some features which are used to avoid a complete colour and palette loss. These will
be explained later in this section.
To link your master palette:
- In a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene, create your master palette by clicking on the Create Palette
 button in the Colour view.
- Save the scene by selecting File > Save from the top menu or by clicking on the Save button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl] +[S] (for Windows) or [
 ]+[S] (for Mac OS X).
- In your operating system, create a master directory. Ideally, this should be created in your Root folder to keep it
within the project directory. You could also place it inside your Colour Model’s subdirectory.
- Name the folder appropriately, for example: adventure_master_palettes.
- From your operating system, browse to your Toon Boom Digital Pro scene and open the scene’s palette library.
- Select and copy your palette.plt file to copy it to the master palette directory.
- Browse to your master palette directory and paste the palette file in it.
- In Toon Boom Digital Pro, go to the Template Library View menu and select Folder > Open Library.
- Browse to your master palette folder and click on the OK button to open it as a library.
- Open a new Toon Boom Digital Pro scene or open the scene where you will link this palette. In the Top Menu,
select File > Open or click on the Open button. The default keyboard shortcut is
[Ctrl]+[O] (for Windows) or []+[O] (for Mac OS X).
- In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the element to link the palette to.
- In the Template Library, select the master palette library.
- From the Template Library’s right window, select the master palette to be linked and drag it to the Colour view.
Drop it in the Palette list section.
When a palette is external to the scene, the External  icon appears beside the palette name.
To link an element (such as a colour model) to the palette that is stored in the external Palette directory, you
must remove the original palette from the element’s palette list. You will then load the duplicated palette into
the master palette directory by dragging it from the Template Library, like you did for the other elements.
Recovering Broken Links:
When a palette is linked to a scene, Digital Pro creates a backup palette in case the link is broken. This backup can be found in the scene where the external palette was imported.
Digital Pro creates a folder called BKExternal-palette and stores a clone of the palette in it. It also creates an XML file containing the original link to the master palette.
If the scene or the master palette directory is moved and the link is lost, Digital Pro will display a warning message next time the scene is opened.
Until the path is updated in the XML file or the master palette directory or the scene is restored to its original position, the scene will use the backup palette.
When the link is restored, the scene will automatically use the original master palette when you reopen the scene.
Clone Link
The Clone Palette method is a solution that falls in between the local palettes and the fully linked palettes.
The Clone palette is cloned from the master palette. It contains the same values, colour names and colour identification numbers as the master. You can modify the colour values and names, but the colour number identification will remain the same. It allows you to modify the colours in one palette independently from the other.
 This clone principle can be used to create a new palette style, such as a night style. Instead of repainting the character
with a new palette for a scene that takes place during the night, you can simply load the clone night palette. This can
also be used to keep track of a character’s palette across the scenes. By cloning the master palette in the element,
you keep your palette local, but the clone keeps the same properties as the master. If a colour is changed in the master
palette during the production, you can reload the master palette in your scene to update all of the colours to the new
style.
This technique is a bit more tedious but is safer than the full link technique.
Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics Guide to learn about Clone palettes and how to create them.
To share your palettes through clones:
- To use the clone method, you first need to follow the Full Link method’s steps.
- Once your master palette is linked to your drawing element, select the palette to be cloned from the element’s Palette List.
- From the Colour view, click on the Menu button and select Palette > Clone to clone and remove the master palette from the list.
- A warning message will appear if the original palette you are saving was modified and not saved.
- Click on the Yes button to approve or the No button to save your palette before removing it.
The Palette Browser dialog box opens.
- Name the palette. It is recommended that you keep its original name and add "_clone" to the end.
- If you are using the Advanced Palette List mode, store the palette at the Scene or the Element level. It is recommended
to use the Scene level.
- Click on the OK button.
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