Knowledge Base RS
Knowledge Base RS
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This article explains how to disable automatic iCloud Desktop and Documents storage that can cause issues accessing files from Photoshop on Catalina. “
- Open System Preferences from Applications or by clicking the System Preferences icon in the dock
- Click Apple ID or search iCloud in the search bar
- Uncheck iCloud Drive 
- You will receive a prompt if you would like to copy over any files currently stored in iCloud to a local copy or to remove from computer. Click “Keep a Copy” if you would like to migrate iCloud files over.
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For further support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com”
If the Photoshop document is tampered with in anyway, the user may be asked to add new colors when running an RS file that had previously been worked on with colorways, and saved. The user must say no or yes at the prompt, then click Apply. They will then get a pop up saying that colorways have been found. This is normal. If they click File > Save, this issue should not happen again, unless the Ps document is tampered with. To avoid this, make sure the Photoshop layers stay in tact, and no one moves or adds pixels to the artwork.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
Yes! To export artwork, from RS Colorist, go to file > export. Then, you have the option to export colorways including technical information and color chips as an indexed tiff OR just the repeat swatch.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
Right click onto the layer you want to turn into a smart object and choose the “convert to smart object” option in the dropdown. You can also select the layer and go to filter- convert for smart filters. Double click into the smart object layer to make edits later on.
Please note: DesignPro RS doesn’t recognize smart objects YET. We’re working on it! You can use smart objects to create complex repeats and make quick edits, but you’ll have to rasterize them before bringing the file into RS.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
This article explains how to fix a file that when launched in RS appears to have the wrong canvas size. Option 1: Open the file in Photoshop and go to image>trim. Choose how you want to trim and click OK. Save the file in PS. Click Run on the RS panel to re-open the file in RS.
Option 2: Open the file in Photoshop. Copy the entire artwork into a new file. Copy all the layers together or the entire canvas and then go to file>new so that the clipboard will automatically make the new file the same image size. Save the new file in PS. Click Run on the RS panel to re-open the file in RS.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
When Adobe is updated, Aquario Design needs to be updates as well to have the toolset available in the new version. We strongly recommend turning Adobes auto-update off to ensure you don’t run into any issues with our tools. Here is how to do it:
- Open up the creative cloud module and click the three vertical dots on the top right of the module.
- From there, click Preferences.
- Inside Preferences, select the Creative Cloud option.
- At the bottom of creative cloud, there is a section called “auto update”. If it’s checked, uncheck it.
When you want to take an update, contact the support team to update with you. We will make sure your Adobe tools and Aquario tools work seamlessly together.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
To change a color's information or properties in AI, follow the steps below.
1-Open the color in AI Swatches panel.
2-Double click on the color chip or select the color and choose Swatch Options from the menu at the top right corner.
3-When you get the Swatch Options panel open, there are a few items that can change based on what is needed. The swatch can be named, the type can be changed and the color mode can be changed as well. Make changes and hit OK to save it.
*If you have added this color to Palette Manager already, you will need to delete it out and re-add this swatch to update the information.
**If you are working with the color in RS, we recommend using RGB Mode. RS does not handle LAB colors and will change the value of a CMYK color to RGB.
If you have any additional questions, please contact support@AquarioDesign.com
There are a couple of reasons that the brush tool may not be drawing on the page in RS. “First make sure that a color has been selected to draw with and that the transparency swatch is not selected in the Solid Colors box. If you have a color selected and the brush still does not work, follow the steps below:
- When the brush (this can be the Single Color Painting tool, Group Painting tool, Blend Brush, Cleaning Brush, or Eraser Brush) is not engaging, switch to an Area drawing tool (this can be the Rectangle/Lasso Single Color Painting tool, Rectangle/Lasso Group Painting tool, Rectangle/Lasso Cleaning tool, or the Rectangle/Lasso Eraser tool).
- Then click on the artwork once with the area tool.
- Then switch back to the brush tool and start drawing on the page again.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
In Colorist in Illustrator and in RS, you can use the Regions tool to present a certain size of the artwork and present multiple colorways per page. To present Regions in Illustrator:
- Create Colorways in Colorist
- Set the Artboard to be the desired size
- Go to the Regions Tab
- Use the Illustrator Rectangle tool to make a rectangle on the artwork area that you want to present.
- Click Set in the Region tab
- Go to the Colorist tab and select the colorways you want to present
- Click the 4th button down on the right side of the tool.
- It will throw a pop up message asking how many colorways per page you want to export or if you want to put them all on one page. If the colorways do not fit it will ask you to change the artboard size or the region size, or adjust the amount of colorways per page. Click OK.
- It will make a new Illustrator file called “File name_All Colorways.ai” with the colorways and color chips on the page.
To present Regions in RS:
- Create Colorways in Colorist.
- Go to the Page tab and set the page size. Make sure “Show Page Border” is checked off
- Go to the Regions Tab
- Use the Rectangle tool on the left side of the RS window to make a rectangle on the artwork area that you want to present
- Click Set in the Region tab
- Go to the Colorist tab and select the colorways you want to present
- Go to File>Export
- Choose where you want to export the files to in the Directory
- Check off Colorways and Multiple per Page
- Check off Use One Page or set the amount of colorways vertically and horizontally
- Click OK at the bottom of the export panel
For more information email support@AquarioDesign.com for further assistance.
Although Aquario Design has the functionality in it’s palette manager and palette utility tools to house information such as color name, pantone number, LAB/RGB values and so on, sometimes you may want more of that information to be displayed on one line for colleagues or vendors who may not have access our tools. Adding the color code to the color name in your Illustrator ASE palette is the easiest workaround for displaying more color information without having access to our tools. Please note though that Illustrator has a 31 character limit when it comes to naming a color.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
In RS Colorist, select all of the colorways you want to export by holding down command. Then, go to file- export. Choose the destination where you would like the swatches to go from the directory section. Next, check the box that says repeat swatches and choose the file type you would like the colorways to be exported as. You can also choose to have the colorways exported as “indexed TIFF’s”.
For additional information or support, please contact support@AquarioDesign.com
This article explains how to add a pattern file into your artwork in RS. “There are two workflows you can do to add in a pattern swatch as an image into RS artwork.
Import pattern swatch as image on its own layer:n
- Make sure your pattern is available as a png, jpg, tiff, or psd.
- Launch a file in RS and apply the colors.
- Go to Edit>Add Image
- Select the pattern file
- Apply the colors to pattern layer
nNow the pattern will be an image on its own layer that you edit, draw on, resize, and utilize in your artwork. 
Import pattern swatch to a specific color position:n
- Launch a file in RS and apply the colors.
- You can add the pattern in on its own layer at this point if you want to scale and color reduce it in RS
- Go to Edit>Fill Pattern
- If the pattern is already on its own layer, check “Select From Layer” and select the pattern layer
- If the pattern is an external image that is not in the artwork, check “Open From File”
- Click “Pick Color” to select which color¬†position the pattern will get filled into
- Check “Use Current Colors” or “Add New Colors” to decide whether to¬†import the pattern swatch's color or reduce it to the currently applied colors in the artwork
- Check “Scale To Fit” to scale the pattern to the repeat size, or select how many times you would like the pattern to tile across the artwork
- Click OK
nThis workflow will place the pattern into the specified color positions in the artwork for you. For more information please email support@AquarioDesign.com
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Select art in Illustrator. It can be vector art or placed raster images. When you click the Dimension or Ruler Tool, you will see dimensions or gridded rulers around the art. If you hold down shift and multi-select more than one image or motif, you can get dimensions around all of it. To remove the dimensions or rulers, click the Dimension and Ruler buttons again.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
You can use a .bak file to recover artwork when a psd file that has been run through RS has been lost, deleted or corrupted. Click on the .bak file and edit the name so that the “.bak” is removed and hit Enter. This will ask “Do you want to use .bak or .psd?”. Choose “Use .psd”. Open that file in Photoshop or directly in RS to use like the original artwork file.
The .bak can also be deleted at any time without effecting the original psd file saved from RS. The file is just a copy of the original and unneeded for sharing or editing the artwork. 
Turn off the .bak from being created by opening RS, going to the following locations and unchecking the option for “Save Backup File”
Mac: RS > DesignProRS > Preferences
PC: RS > Edit > Preferences
For additional help please contact support@AquarioDesign.com
When working in RS and RS Colorist, palettes will populate automatically if they have been built into Palette Manager in Illustrator to provide easy access to seasonal color palettes. If you have not build palettes yet, here's how to get started. “
- To build a palette into Palette Manager, open Illustrator and go to Window>DesignPro>Design Utility>Palette Manager.
- Add the Brand, Year and Palette information to each of the top three drop downs by entering the name and hitting + after each one on Palette Manager
- Add colors into Palette Manager by selecting the color(s) in the Swatches panel, an open ASE file or eye dropping from a file and hitting + next to the Colors section. Do this until all necessary colors are added to the palette.
- Once this is finished open RS and click on the Swatches panel to the right side on the window. This should reflect the palettes made in Illustrator.
n¬† ¬† ¬† ¬† ¬† ¬†*If this does not reflect the same palettes, please contact support@AquarioDesign.com for further help”
You can create and save templates for production and presentation in RS Colorist. You will need to have your configuration file set up in order to save templates. To have this set up please¬†please reach out to¬†support@AquarioDesign.com. “To make a template in RS Colorist:n
- Launch an artwork file in RS and apply the colors. 
- Go to Window>Colorist
- Navigate through the Show, Layout, and Page tabs. Select the desired information, color chip size/orientation, and page size. Move the information, color chips, and page where you want it to be placed around the artwork. 
- Go to the Template tab. You can add text and images or logos if desired.
- Click the Floppy Disc icon at the bottom of the Template tab to save the template. 
- Your template will be added to the list of templates. Double click the template name to rename it.
- To apply a template select it from the list and click the check button.
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Yes, you can make new palettes in RS. Use the Custom Swatch Manager tab, which can be found under Window>Custom Swatch Palette. Click the green + button to make a new palette, name the palette and save it as an ASE or XML file. You can drag in colors from the artwork from the Solid Colors box or Blend Groups, or from the Color Picker. The Swatches Tab is for seasonal palettes created with the Palette Manager tool in Illustrator. You can use palettes there to recolor the artwork, but cannot edit these palettes in RS like you can in Custom Swatch Manager. You can open an external ASE file by clicking the + button at the bottom of the Swatches and Custom Swatch Manager tabs.
For more information email support@aquariodesign.com for further assistance.
The .bak file is a back up file created by RS automatically. It can be used as a recovery file in case something happens to the original artwork psd. For more information on the .bak file please see the following article: How-to-use-the-BAK-file-created-by-RS.
For any additional help please contact support@aquariodesign.com for more info.
If RS opens after a file is run from Photoshop but it does not appear in the RS window, look at the bottom left corner and see if it says No License in gray. Most likely the machine does not have an active license. Please check your license in License Manager.
Please feel free to reach out to support@aquariodesign.com for further assistance.
After picking all of your solid colors and blend groups, make sure to hit APPLY in yellow to physically apply the colors. If you choose colors and DO NOT hit apply, all editing tools including Colorist will not work.
For additional information or support, please contact support@aquariodesign.com
Colors in any ASE file or Palette Manager palette will not show up in RS or RS Colorist if they are currently set as a LAB color in the color information in Illustrator. We recommend all colors to be in RGB for usability in RS and RS Colorist. If you have any additional questions, please contact the team at contact@aquariodesign.com
RS converts all colors to RGB mode. If your AI color palette was created in CMYK mode, you’ll notice the colors change once you bring them into RS. Best practice is to always work with color in RGB mode to avoid any issues later on. For more information or support, please contact contact@aquariodesign.com
You may notice that the after you launch an artwork file in RS, the file closes within Photoshop. This is because it is now being open within the RS application, and to avoid creating duplicates of the Photoshop file. Any saving done in RS will be saved directly to this file.
No, they do not. Layers that have blend modes and filters applied in Photoshop will have colors that look different when the file is opened in RS. Since RS only handles true color RGB, Photoshop layers with filters should be flattened or switched to Normal to preserve the artwork’s overall appearance before being launched in RS.
Index mode artwork runs in the Aquario Design RS program as well as RGB mode artwork. For artwork that has been indexed, you will select Yes to add new colors prompt when opening RS. For additional information or support, please contact the team at contact@aquariodesign.com
Check the layers list and make sure that the bottom most layer is the layer that is your desired repeat size. To discern the size of the layer, select it and look for the W and H at the top left corner of the RS window. When the repeat is started it will use the bottom most layer as the repeat size. To re-order the background layer, hit Stop to stop the repeat and then click and drag the layers in the layer list so that the layer with the repeat size is at the bottom of the list. To change the size of a layer, you can use the crop tool, or go to edit > canvas size to adjust the parameters of that layer or edit>scale image to scale that layer.
For more information please email support@aquariodesign.com for further assistance.
You can only clean one layer that is selected at a time in RS. You can merge layers down when you are ready to start cleaning, or clean the artwork first before building up new layers.
For more information please contact contact@aquariodesign.com for further assistance.
Yes! You are able to add images and color reduce them using the same colors as the rest of the artwork OR add new colors into the already reduced art to accommodate the new motifs. Go to Edit>Add Image. Select the image file you want to bring into the file. The new motif will come into the file on its own layer and will need to have the color applied to it.
For additional information or support, please contact support@aquariodesign.com
Before isolating any colors for cleaning, you will want to merge all of your layers into 1 flat image. To merge, select all layers and use the command/control + E keystroke OR go to Edit > merge images.
For additional information or support, please contact the team at support@aquariodesign.com
The color chips are not fixed so you can just drag them down your page. You can also move the artboard around by clicking and dragging it. Use the layout tab to change the scale of the color chips and use the font/pt section above the layout tab to change the font size.
For additional information or support, please contact support@aquariodesign.com
Aquario Design 5.0 consists of many new RSe features including a Design Bar. You will get a “license not active” prompt if you do not have an RSe license. You can still open and use the RS tool by going to Window – extensions – RS. For additional information and support, please contact contact@aquariodesign.com
When a color is selected a sheer grey film covers the color chip and name info, making the color appear to be different. This is just a visual selection method and does not actually change the color chip value. For additional information or support, please contact contact@aquariodesign.com
Aquario Design runs on the same versions of Adobe that Adobe supports. Adobe recently stopped supporting version 2017 and older, so we only support Adobe CC Versions 2018 and later. For additional information or support, please contact contact@aquariodesign.com
Layers can be the biggest culprit in increasing file size, especially on PSD files. Running a large file with many layers can max out the RAM, causing a negative effect the performance of RS. Linked layers of duplicate motifs can be unnecessary and cause major delays in performance.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
If you are experiencing issues while saving or exporting files to a server or share drive from an Aquario Design application, please follow the these steps to fix the issue.
-Save/export to a local location (ie. Desktop) to eliminate all connection issues to external locations. If this is successful, check the list below and then re-try sending the files elsewhere.
-Check that the drive is still connected and hasn’t dropped off by clicking into it via Finder (Mac) or Explorer (PC). Once it is confirmed that the drive location is stable, try exporting or saving there again.
-If the computer is not connected to an Ethernet cable and is working on wifi, please check that the wifi connection is also stable and hasn’t dropped. If it has, reconnect and try again or try plugging into a hard wired connection for more stability.
-Try saving the file locally and closing the program all together. Check all connections above and then try opening the file again and exporting/saving to the server/share drive.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com
Since RS is generally running larger files that may have many layers , colors or colorways created in them, it can cause the RAM to max out on any lower spec machine. An example, color chip functionality in RS can be sluggish and the chips cannot be rearranged. If you are experiencing unexpected behaviors like that, try saving the file and closing the program. This will help clear memory used by that application. Also try closing out any un-needed programs or apps or even restarting the machine for better performance.
For additional information or support, please email support@AquarioDesign.com