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Palette generator
The Palette Generator has been significantly improved starting from version 1.0.9.8, introducing smarter distribution, multi-color support, and a powerful effects system.
| Feature | 1.0.9.8+ |
Older Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Palette distribution method | Intelligent approximation based on the currently opened aspect | Random distribution |
| Number of base colors allowed | One or multiple colors | One color (optional inverted second color) |
| Visual effects support | Yes | No |
| Random generation history | No | Yes |
| Control over max colors, quality, brightness | Not needed (palette adapts to current aspect) | Available |
Instead of randomly assigning generated colors, the new version intelligently adapts the palette to the currently opened aspect. This produces more balanced and visually coherent results.
You can apply effects to:
- The current palette
- A newly generated palette
This feature is also available in WallStudio: https://github.com/Abdelrhman-AK/WinPaletter/wiki/WallStudio
| Effect | Description |
|---|---|
| macOS Semantic | Reorganizes and quantizes the palette to follow macOS-style semantic color grouping (background, accent, control, warning, etc.), producing a clean and system-consistent look. |
| Material Design Expressive 3 | Applies the 2025 expressive variant of Material Design 3, generating dynamic, tone-balanced accent sets with richer contrast and adaptive color relationships. |
| Material Design | Maps the palette to Android Material Design principles, creating structured primary, secondary, and surface tones with balanced light/dark harmony. |
| 2016 | Simulates a nostalgic mid-2010s photo filter with slightly boosted contrast and subtle tonal warmth. |
| Metro | Quantizes the palette to match the flat, bold, high-contrast Metro UI style. |
| Frutiger Aero | Applies glossy, soft-gradient-inspired tones associated with early Windows Vista/7 aesthetics. |
| 256 Colors | Reduces the palette to a classic 256-color limit for a retro or constrained-color appearance. |
| Web Safe | Snaps each color to the nearest web-safe value for improved compatibility across limited color environments. |
| Monochrome | Converts the palette strictly to pure black and white without gradients. |
| Posterize | Reduces color depth into distinct tonal blocks for a stylized, graphic-art effect. |
| Hard Light | Simulates strong contrast blending, increasing intensity between highlights and shadows. |
| Soft Light | Applies gentle blending that smooths transitions and reduces harsh contrast. |
| Vibrance | Boosts muted colors while protecting already saturated tones. |
| Highlight Tint | Adds a selected tint primarily to bright areas. |
| Shadow Tint | Applies color emphasis to darker regions. |
| Blend | Mixes the entire palette with a specified color for controlled color biasing. |
| Glow Boost | Enhances luminosity in bright regions for a more radiant look. |
| X-Ray | Produces a cool bluish glow with partial inversion for a futuristic appearance. |
| Infrared | Swaps red and green tonal relationships to mimic infrared-style imagery. |
| Thermal Vision | Remaps brightness values to heat-map colors (blue â red â white). |
| Underwater | Applies a blue-green overlay with softened contrast. |
| Fog (Haze) | Blends the palette with white to simulate misty lighting. |
| Matte | Flattens contrast and reduces shine for a cinematic matte appearance. |
| Faded | Lowers contrast and slightly desaturates colors for an aged look. |
| Pop Art | Intensifies saturation and contrast for bold, eye-catching visuals. |
| Pastel | Softens saturation and increases lightness for gentle, airy tones. |
| Noir | Converts to high-contrast black and white with deep shadows. |
| Vintage (Retro) | Applies sepia-like warmth with reduced contrast to simulate aged film. |
| Filmic (Cinematic Tone) | Balances cool shadows with warm highlights for cinematic color grading. |
| Night (Moonlight) | Adds a cool, slightly desaturated blue tone to mimic nighttime lighting. |
| Sunset (Golden Hour) | Introduces warm orange and amber tones resembling late afternoon sunlight. |
| Hot | Shifts the palette toward warmer red and orange hues. |
| Cool | Shifts the palette toward cooler blue tones. |
| Saturate | Adjusts overall color intensity while preserving hue relationships. |
| Hue Rotation | Rotates all hues along the color wheel while maintaining tonal balance. |
| Sepia | Applies a warm brown vintage tint across the palette. |
| Grayscale | Removes color information while preserving luminance. |
| Invert | Reverses RGB values to produce complementary colors. |
| Lighten | Raises overall brightness while preserving color relationships. |
| Darken | Lowers overall brightness for a deeper theme. |
| Brightness | Adjusts global luminance without significantly altering hue or saturation. |
| Reverse | Swaps RGB channel order (RGB â BGR), resulting in alternative color mapping. |
Open any aspect that contains colors.
For example, open Classic Colors.
Aspects like Sounds do not support palette generation.
Modify the current colors as desired.


You will see three available modes:


- Uses the current palette of the opened aspect.
- Useful if you want to refine or enhance your existing setup.
- Effects can be applied afterward.
Generate a palette from one or multiple custom colors.
Click the + button:

- Right-click a color to remove it.
- Click a color to edit it.
- Even a single color can generate multiple harmonious shades automatically.
Example result:

Effects can be applied afterward.
Generate a palette from:
- Any image
- Your current wallpaper
- The wallpaper used in the current theme

The generator extracts dominant and complementary tones automatically.
Effects can be applied afterward.

You can stack multiple effects for advanced styling.
Example using the 2016 effect:
| Before | After |
|---|---|
![]() |
![]() |
To reset everything, click Uncheck all effects.
Enable Show me the generated palette to preview all colors:


- Click
OKto apply the generated palette. - Click
Cancelto revert to your previous palette.
The following section documents the legacy palette generator system used before version 1.0.9.8.


Use:
- Current wallpaper
- Any image from your device

Control:
- Maximum number of colors
- Extraction quality
- Whether to ignore white tones

Adjust color strength to improve readability or accessibility.


Older versions randomly assigned colors:



-
Donekeeps the new palette. -
Cancelrestores the previous palette.


Select:
- A main color
- Minimum number of generated colors
- Optional inverted shades

Adjust intensity for better balance.





-
Donekeeps changes. -
Cancelrestores previous colors.
The new Palette Generator provides more intelligent color distribution, multi-source input flexibility, and a powerful effects engine, making it significantly more consistent and predictable than older versions.
- Main form parts
- Color picker
- WallStudio; Generate a WinPaletter theme from an image
- Palette generator
- Skeleton of a feature modification
- How to design and apply a theme
- Theme info
- Windows colors and theme
- LogonUI screen
- Classic colors
- Cursors
- Consoles (Command Prompt and PowerShell)
- Windows Terminal
- Metrics and fonts
- Wallpaper
- Windows Effects
- Windows switcher (Alt+Tab appearance)
- Screen Saver
- Sounds
- WinPaletter application theme
- Basics
- Design themes to be uploaded to servers\GitHub repositories
- Use GitHub manager to upload and publish themes
- For Developers
- Introduction
- Sign in\out GitHub using WinPaletter
- Use GitHub manager to manage and upload themes
- GitHub Manager and security analysis
- Disable Explorer restart
- Advanced options to patch PE files
- Theme log verbose level
- Synchronize ExplorerPatcher settings with WinPaletter preview
- Apply preferences to all users and LogonUI screen
