How to Load a Custom Palette in Paint.NET

Paint.NET allows users to expand their creative workflow by importing custom color palette files saved in a plain text format. This guide covers how to locate the dedicated palettes directory, add your custom palette files, and activate them directly from the Paint.NET interface.

Step 1: Prepare Your Palette File

Paint.NET palettes are saved as standard text files (.txt). Each file consists of up to 96 color codes listed line by line, typically formatted as eight-character hexadecimal values representing alpha and color channels (AARRGGBB), or standard six-character hex codes (RRGGBB). Ensure your custom palette file has a .txt extension and uses a descriptive name.

Step 2: Open the Palettes Folder

The easiest way to place your custom palette file into the correct directory is through the application itself:

  1. Launch Paint.NET.
  2. If the Colors panel is not visible, press F8 or click the palette icon in the upper-right corner to open it.
  3. Click the small folder icon located directly above the color wheel (the Color Management or Palettes button).
  4. Click Open Palettes Folder from the dropdown menu.

This automatically opens File Explorer to the correct destination:
Documents\paint.net User Files\Palettes

(Note: If you are navigating manually, go to your system's Documents directory, open paint.net User Files, and then open the Palettes folder. Create the Palettes folder if it does not already exist.)

Step 3: Add Your Custom Palette

  1. Copy your prepared .txt palette file.
  2. Paste it into the Palettes folder opened in Step 2.
  3. Close the File Explorer window.

Step 4: Load and Apply the Palette in Paint.NET

  1. Return to Paint.NET.
  2. In the Colors panel, click the Color Management button again.
  3. Your newly added palette will now appear in the list under its file name.
  4. Click on the palette name to load the custom colors into the active color grid.