How to Add .ASE File in Adobe InDesign: 1-Min Guide

How to Add .ASE File in Adobe InDesign

Updated on:

April 6, 2026

By:

Madhav Bhandari

Use this interactive demo to learn how to add an .ASE file to your Adobe InDesign project.

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Here’s a simple and quick guide on how to add .ASE file in Adobe InDesign:

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To add an .ASE file to your project, go to the top menu bar and click 'Window.'
Select 'Color' → 'Swatches' to open the Swatches panel.
Once the panel is open, click the three-line menu icon in the top-right corner, then select 'Load Swatches.'
Select your .ASE file from an external source to add it to your project’s swatches, and then click 'Open.'‍
Your .ASE file has now been added to the Swatches panel, indicating that you have successfully added the .ASE file to your InDesign project.

📌 Why this matters

Adding .ASE files lets you instantly access pre-made color palettes from brand guidelines, photography, or design systems without manually recreating each color. You maintain perfect color consistency across multiple projects and team members while saving hours of setup time.

Beyond convenience, this workflow connects your designs to broader visual ecosystems—whether you're matching a client's exact brand colors, pulling palettes from mood boards, or syncing with color schemes from other Adobe applications where the palette was originally created.

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