OpenOffice.org — Adding Colors to OOo's Initial Selection

When I first started using OpenOffice, I had wanted to change the background of some cells in Calc, but I didn't know how to add my own custom colors to use instead of the standard set of colors that came preinstalled with OpenOffice. Well, if you're in a similar situation, I have good news for you! Yes, you can in fact add your own custom colors to use in OpenOffice :) No longer will you be limited to the existing palette!—all you have to do is:

1. In any OpenOffice application, go to “Tools” > “Options” > “OpenOffice.org” > “Colors”.
2. Click “Add” and choose a name for the new color. Note: if a color is selected before you press “Add”, you'll get a message stating that the name already exists. Press “OK” and at the prompt, type in the name of the new color you're going to create. Now you're back on track.
3. Create the color by changing the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) or Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (CMYK) values (you can switch between RGB and CMYK in the drop-down box to the left of “Delete”). Alternatively, for better fine-tuning (including Hue, Saturation, and Brightness settings), you can click “Edit”. Note: if you change the color values in the Edit window, you'll have to apply the changes by pressing “Modify”. Unfortunately, OpenOffice doesn't accept hexadecimal values.
4. When you're done perfecting your color, simply press “OK”. Caution: if you change an existing color's values and then click “Modify”, the new values will overwrite the old color! Only click “Modify” if you truly want to commit the changes.

Of course, it would be really nice (hint, hint) if OpenOffice allowed you to add custom colors at the same time that you choose the font or background colors, as Microsoft's Office does. Maybe in a future update . . . .