Adding a Custom Color refers to a power tool in Tableau. Restart your Tableau desktop once you save .tps file. From the Measures pane, drag the one you want to add color to Color. From the color legend menu arrow, select Edit Colors. When a dialog box opens, select the palette drop-down list and customize as per requirement.
Tableau Desktop comes with color palettes that have been carefully designed to work well together and effectively apply color to data in many situations, such as on maps, heat maps, bar charts, etc. You can also create and use your own custom color palettes by modifying the Preferences.tps file that comes with Tableau Desktop. For example, you can create a custom categorical palette that matches your company’s brand.
About the preferences file
You can add as many custom palettes as you like to your Preferences.tps file, each with as many colors as you want. When you modify Preferences.tps to add colors, use the standard HTML format for the new colors (hexadecimal value #RRGGBB or Red Green Blue format). When you save the workbook and restart Tableau Desktop, the color palette names you added to Preferences.tps appear in the Select Color Palette drop-down list (Edit Color dialog). You can use a new palette like you would any other.
Tableau doesn’t test or support custom color palettes, so be sure to back up your workbooks before you continue. Also, there is no guarantee that custom color palettes you create will work with future Tableau Desktop upgrades.
When you edit your Preferences.tps file, be sure to use straight quotation marks (' ' or " ") to delimit the palette name and type, not curly quotation marks (“ ” or ‘ ’).
Edit the preferences file
The Preferences.tps file is located in your My Tableau Repository. The file is a basic XML file that you can open in a text editor to modify. An unedited preferences file looks like this:
To edit your preferences file:
- Go to the My Tableau Repository folder in your Documents directory, and open the Preferences.tps file.
- Between the opening and closing
workbooktags, insert opening and closingpreferencestags.
- Follow one of the next three procedures to create a custom color palette.
Use discontinued (classic) color palettes
In version 10.0, Tableau created new color palettes, updated some existing ones (such as Tableau 10 and Tableau 20), and discontinued others. If you want to keep using a color palette that was discontinued, you can edit your Preferences.tps file to add the hex values for the palette. You can add as many color palettes as you like. See Hex values for discontinued color palettes and Restore a discontinued (classic) palette for details.
Hex values for discontinued color palettes
The table below lists discontinued color palettes, along with the XML code and hex values you can use in your Preferences.tps file to restore them. If you use the code as-is, palette names will start with Classic to indicate that they’re from version 9.3 and earlier. In many cases, there are updated versions of color palettes that have been discontinued. See the “Details” column for specifics.
| Version 9.x palette name | Details | Version 9.x HEX Values |
|---|---|---|
| Tableau 10 |
|Named Tableau Classic 10 in version 10.0 and higher.|<color-palette name="Classic 10" type = "regular"><color>#17becf</color> <color>#bcbd22</color> <color>#7f7f7f</color> <color>#e377c2</color> <color>#8c564b</color> <color>#9467bd</color> <color>#d62728</color> <color>#2ca02c</color> <color>#ff7f0e</color> <color>#1f77b4</color> </color-palette>|
|Tableau 10 Medium
|Named Tableau Classic Medium in version 10.0 and higher.|<color-palette name="Classic 10 Medium" type = "regular"> <color>#6dccda</color> <color>#cdcc5d</color> <color>#a2a2a2</color> <color>#ed97ca</color> <color>#a8786e</color> <color>#ad8bc9</color> <color>#ed665d</color> <color>#67bf5c</color> <color>#ff9e4a</color> <color>#729ece</color> </color-palette>|
|Tableau 10 Light
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic 10 Light" type = "regular"> <color>#9edae5</color> <color>#dbdb8d</color> <color>#c7c7c7</color> <color>#f7b6d2</color> <color>#c49c94</color> <color>#c5b0d5</color> <color>#ff9896</color> <color>#98df8a</color> <color>#ffbb78</color> <color>#aec7e8</color> </color-palette>|
|Tableau 20
|Named Tableau Classic 20 in version 10.0 and higher.|<color-palette name="Classic 20" type = "regular"> <color>#9edae5</color> <color>#17becf</color> <color>#dbdb8d</color> <color>#bcbd22</color> <color>#c7c7c7</color> <color>#7f7f7f</color> <color>#f7b6d2</color> <color>#e377c2</color> <color>#c49c94</color> <color>#8c564b</color> <color>#c5b0d5</color> <color>#9467bd</color> <color>#ff9896</color> <color>#d62728</color> <color>#98df8a</color> <color>#2ca02c</color> <color>#ffbb78</color> <color>#ff7f0e</color> <color>#aec7e8</color> <color>#1f77b4</color> </color-palette>|
|Gray 5
|Discontinued.
Check out Seattle Grays in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Gray 5" type = "regular"> <color>#cfcfcf</color> <color>#8f8782</color> <color>#414451</color> <color>#a5acaf</color> <color>#60636a</color> </color-palette>|
|Color Blind 10
|Discontinued.
Check out Color Blind in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Color Blind" type = "regular"> <color>#cfcfcf</color> <color>#ffbc79</color> <color>#a2c8ec</color> <color>#898989</color> <color>#c85200</color> <color>#5f9ed1</color> <color>#595959</color> <color>#ababab</color> <color>#ff800e</color> <color>#006ba4</color> </color-palette>|
|Traffic Light
|Discontinued.
Check out Traffic Light in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Traffic Light" type = "regular"> <color>#9fcd99</color> <color>#ffdd71</color> <color>#f26c64</color> <color>#69b764</color> <color>#ffc156</color> <color>#d82526</color> <color>#309343</color> <color>#dba13a</color> <color>#b10318</color> </color-palette>|
|Purple-Gray 6
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Purple-Gray 6" type = "regular"> <color>#d7d5c5</color> <color>#d098ee</color> <color>#995688</color> <color>#94917b</color> <color>#dc5fbd</color> <color>#7b66d2</color> </color-palette>|
|Purple-Gray 12
|Discontinued.
Check out Purple-Pink-Gray in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Purple-Gray 12" type = "regular"> <color>#dbd4c5</color> <color>#8b7c6e</color> <color>#d098ee</color> <color>#ab6ad5</color> <color>#d898ba</color> <color>#995688</color> <color>#b4b19b</color> <color>#5f5a41</color> <color>#ffc0da</color> <color>#dc5fbd</color> <color>#a699e8</color> <color>#7b66d2</color> </color-palette>|
|Green-Orange 6
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Green-Orange 6" type = "regular"> <color>#b85a0d</color> <color>#39737c</color> <color>#ffd94a</color> <color>#3cb7cc</color> <color>#ff7f0f</color> <color>#32a251</color> </color-palette>|
|Green-Orange 12
|Discontinued.
Check out Green-Orange-Teal in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Green-Orange 12" type = "regular"> <color>#ccc94d</color> <color>#82853b</color> <color>#86b4a9</color> <color>#39737c</color> <color>#ffd94a</color> <color>#b85a0d</color> <color>#98d9e4</color> <color>#3cb7cc</color> <color>#ffb977</color> <color>#ff7f0f</color> <color>#acd98d</color> <color>#32a251</color> </color-palette>|
|Blue-Red 6
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Blue-Red 6" type = "regular"> <color>#e9c39b</color> <color>#ea6b73</color> <color>#6ba3d6</color> <color>#ac613c</color> <color>#f02720</color> <color>#2c69b0</color> </color-palette>|
|Blue-Red 12
|Discontinued.
Check out Blue-Red-Brown in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Blue-Red 12" type = "regular"> <color>#f4737a</color> <color>#bd0a36</color> <color>#ddc9b4</color> <color>#ac8763</color> <color>#b5dffd</color> <color>#6ba3d6</color> <color>#e9c39b</color> <color>#ac613c</color> <color>#ffb6b0</color> <color>#f02720</color> <color>#b5c8e2</color> <color>#2c69b0</color> </color-palette>|
|Cyclic
|Discontinued.
Check out Hue Circle in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Cyclic" type = "regular"><color>#6f63bb</color> <color>#8a60b0</color> <color>#ba43b4</color> <color>#c7519c</color> <color>#d63a3a</color> <color>#ff7f0e</color> <color>#ffaa0e</color> <color>#ffbf50</color> <color>#bcbd22</color> <color>#78a641</color> <color>#2ca030</color> <color>#12a2a8</color> <color>#1f83b4</color> </color-palette>|
|Green
|Discontinued.
Check out Green in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Green" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#09622a</color> <color>#1a7232</color> <color>#27823b</color> <color>#339444</color> <color>#69a761</color> <color>#94bb83</color> <color>#bccfb4</color> </color-palette>|
|Gray
|Discontinued.
Check out Gray in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Gray" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#1e1e1e</color> <color>#282828</color> <color>#333333</color> <color>#3f3f3f</color> <color>#4b4b4b</color> <color>#585858</color> <color>#666666</color> <color>#747474</color> <color>#838383</color> <color>#929292</color> <color>#a2a2a2</color> <color>#b2b2b2</color> <color>#c3c3c3</color> </color-palette>|
|Blue
|Discontinued.
Check out Blue in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Blue" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#26456e</color> <color>#1c5998</color> <color>#1c73b1</color> <color>#3a87b7</color> <color>#67add4</color> <color>#7bc8e2</color> <color>#b4d4da</color> </color-palette>|
|Red
|Discontinued.
Check out Red in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#9c0824</color> <color>#b10c1d</color> <color>#c21417</color> <color>#cf1719</color> <color>#d8392c</color> <color>#e35745</color> <color>#f57667</color> <color>#f89a90</color> <color>#eac0bd</color> </color-palette>|
|Orange
|Discontinued.
Check out Orange in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Orange" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#7b3014</color> <color>#a33202</color> <color>#d74401</color> <color>#f06511</color> <color>#fd8938</color> <color>#fdab67</color> <color>#f0c294</color> </color-palette>|
|Area Red
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Area Red" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#bd1100</color> <color>#c92b14</color> <color>#d43e25</color> <color>#e04e35</color> <color>#ea5e45</color> <color>#f46b55</color> <color>#fd7864</color> <color>#fe8b7a</color> <color>#fd9c8f</color> <color>#fbb3ab</color> <color>#f5cac7</color> </color-palette>|
|Area Green
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Area Green" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#3c8200</color> <color>#4a8c1c</color> <color>#569735</color> <color>#60a24d</color> <color>#6cae59</color> <color>#7abc5f</color> <color>#8ac765</color> <color>#9ad26d</color> <color>#acdc7a</color> <color>#c3e394</color> <color>#dbe8b4</color> </color-palette>|
|Area Brown
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Area-Brown" type = "ordered-sequential"> <color>#bb5137</color> <color>#bb6348</color> <color>#bb7359</color> <color>#c08262</color> <color>#cc8f63</color> <color>#d89c63</color> <color>#e4aa63</color> <color>#f0b763</color> <color>#f7c577</color> <color>#f6d29c</color> <color>#f3e0c2</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-Green Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Red-Green Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-Green" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#09622a</color> <color>#1e7735</color> <color>#2f8e41</color> <color>#69a761</color> <color>#a2c18f</color> <color>#cacaca</color> <color>#fc8375</color> <color>#df513f</color> <color>#d11719</color> <color>#bd1316</color> <color>#9c0824</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-Blue Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Red-Blue Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-Blue" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#26456e</color> <color>#1c5998</color> <color>#1c73b1</color> <color>#3a87b7</color> <color>#67add4</color> <color>#cacaca</color> <color>#fc8375</color> <color>#df513f</color> <color>#d11719</color> <color>#bd1316</color> <color>#9c0824</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-Black Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Red-Black Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-Black" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#1e1e1e</color> <color>#383838</color> <color>#565656</color> <color>#777777</color> <color>#9b9b9b</color> <color>#cacaca</color> <color>#fc8375</color> <color>#df513f</color> <color>#d11719</color> <color>#bd1316</color> <color>#9c0824</color> </color-palette>|
|Area Red-Green Diverging
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Area Red-Green" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#4a8c1c</color> <color>#559633</color> <color>#5ea049</color> <color>#69aa56</color> <color>#75b65d</color> <color>#82c162</color> <color>#90cb68</color> <color>#a0d571</color> <color>#b1de7f</color> <color>#c7e298</color> <color>#e9dabe</color> <color>#fca294</color> <color>#fe8e7e</color> <color>#fd7e6b</color> <color>#f7705b</color> <color>#ef654d</color> <color>#e6583e</color> <color>#dc4930</color> <color>#d23a21</color> <color>#c82912</color> <color>#bd1100</color> </color-palette>|
|Orange-Blue Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Orange-Blue Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Orange-Blue" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#26456e</color> <color>#1c5998</color> <color>#1c73b1</color> <color>#3a87b7</color> <color>#67add4</color> <color>#7bc8e2</color> <color>#cacaca</color> <color>#fdab67</color> <color>#fd8938</color> <color>#f06511</color> <color>#d74401</color> <color>#a33202</color> <color>#7b3014</color> </color-palette>|
|Green-Blue Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Green-Blue Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Green-Blue" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#26456e</color> <color>#1c5998</color> <color>#1c73b1</color> <color>#3a87b7</color> <color>#67add4</color> <color>#cacaca</color> <color>#a2c18f</color> <color>#69a761</color> <color>#2f8e41</color> <color>#1e7735</color> <color>#09622a</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-White-Green Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Red-Green-White Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-White-Green" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#09622a</color> <color>#297839</color> <color>#428f49</color> <color>#74af72</color> <color>#b9d7b7</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#fcb4a5</color> <color>#e86753</color> <color>#cc312b</color> <color>#b41f27</color> <color>#9c0824</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-White-Black Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Red-Black-White Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-White-Black" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#1e1e1e</color> <color>#393939</color> <color>#575757</color> <color>#838383</color> <color>#bfbfbf</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#fcb4a5</color> <color>#e86753</color> <color>#cc312b</color> <color>#b41f27</color> <color>#9c0824</color> </color-palette>|
|Orange-White-Blue Diverging
|Discontinued.
Check out Orange-Blue-White Diverging in 10.0 and higher for the updated version of this palette.|<color-palette name="Classic Orange-White-Blue" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#26456e</color> <color>#2e5f8a</color> <color>#3679a8</color> <color>#6a9ec5</color> <color>#b7cde2</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#ffc2a1</color> <color>#fb8547</color> <color>#d85a13</color> <color>#a84415</color> <color>#7b3014</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-White-Black Light
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-White-Black Light" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#c6c6c6</color> <color>#d1d1d1</color> <color>#dddddd</color> <color>#e8e8e8</color> <color>#f3f3f3</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#fff0f0</color> <color>#ffe0e1</color> <color>#ffd1d3</color> <color>#ffc2c5</color> </color-palette>|
|Orange-White-Blue Light Diverging
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Orange-White-Blue Light" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#c4d8f3</color> <color>#d0e0f6</color> <color>#dce8f8</color> <color>#e8effa</color> <color>#f3f7fd</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#fff5eb</color> <color>#ffead8</color> <color>#ffe0c5</color> <color>#ffd6b1</color> <color>#ffcc9e</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-White-Green Light Diverging
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-White-Green Light" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#b7e6a7</color> <color>#c6ebb8</color> <color>#d5f0ca</color> <color>#e3f5db</color> <color>#f1faed</color> <color>#ffffff</color> <color>#fff0f0</color> <color>#ffe0e1</color> <color>#ffd1d3</color> <color>#ffc2c5</color> <color>#ffb2b6</color> </color-palette>|
|Red-Green Light Diverging
|Discontinued.|<color-palette name="Classic Red-Green Light" type = "ordered-diverging"> <color>#b7e6a7</color> <color>#c1e6b4</color> <color>#cae6c0</color> <color>#d4e6cc</color> <color>#dde6d9</color> <color>#e5e5e5</color> <color>#ecdbdc</color> <color>#f2d1d2</color> <color>#f8c7c9</color> <color>#fcbdc0</color> <color>#ffb2b6</color> </color-palette>|
Restore a discontinued (classic) palette
- Go to the My Tableau Repository folder in your Documents directory, and open the Preferences.tps file.
- Between the opening and closing
workbooktags, insert opening and closingpreferencestags.
- In the Preferences.tps file, between the “preferences” tags, paste the XML code for the discontinued palette (see Hex values for discontinued color palettes). For example:
<color-palette name="Classic Blue Red 12" type = "regular"> <color>#f4737a</color> <color>#bd0a36</color> <color>#ddc9b4</color> <color>#ac8763</color> <color>#b5dffd</color> <color>#6ba3d6</color> <color>#e9c39b</color> <color>#ac613c</color> <color>#ffb6b0</color> <color>#f02720</color> <color>#b5c8e2</color> <color>#2c69b0</color> </color-palette>Use straight quotation marks (as in' 'or" "), not curly quotation marks, to delimit the palette’s name and type. - Save the Preferences.tps file and then restart Tableau Desktop.When you open the Edit Colors dialog box and choose Select Color Palette, the color palette you added will be at the bottom of the palette list.