# Color and Indicator Area

Color and Indicator Area in the Toolbox

By default, only the Foreground/Background Colors area is visible. You can add the Brush/Pattern/Gradient area and Active Image area through Edit Preferences Toolbox : .

## Foreground/Background Colors Area

Foreground/Background Colors Area in the Toolbox

Color area

  The color area shows GIMP's current foreground and background colors, which are used for painting, filling, and many other operations. Clicking on either one of them brings up a color selector dialog that allows you to change to a different color.

Default colors

  Clicking on the small symbol in the lower left corner resets the foreground and background colors to black and white. Pressing the D key has the same effect.

Swap Foreground/Background colors

  Clicking on the double-headed arrow symbol swaps the foreground and background colors. Pressing the X key has the same effect.

  You can click-and-drag one of these colors directly into a layer: it will fill the whole layer.

Toolbox Color Area
Color Area
Foreground color
Background color

## Brush/Pattern/Gradient Area

Active Brush, Pattern and Gradient Area in the Toolbox

This part of the Toolbox shows the currently selected brush, pattern, and gradient. Clicking on any of them brings up a dialog that allows you to change it.

Toolbox Indicator Area
Brushes Toolbox Indicator Area
Patterns Toolbox Indicator Area
Gradient Toolbox Indicator Area

## Active Image Area

Active Image Area in the Toolbox

A thumbnail of the active image is displayed in this area. If you click on this thumbnail, the Images dialog is opened. This can be useful if you have many images on your screen.

If you use GIMP on a Unix-like operating system with the X Window System, you can also drag and drop the thumbnail to an enabled XDS file manager to directly save the corresponding image.

Toolbox Active image area