title: Decoding adobe color files (*.ACO), need input about comprehending the syntax
body: <p>So I'm developing a web application to more easily be able distribute color palettes created with Photoshop in a *.ACO or *.ASE format to colleagues who doesn't have those programs. I've come quite a long way setting up the basics, but now I'm totally stuck for the sole reason that I can't figure out how the swatch files are structured.</p>
  <p>This is what I get when I open the *.ASE file in a text editor:</p>
  <pre><code>ASEF          &amp;      S w a t c h   1  RGB                   &amp;    S w a t c h   2  RGB ?
  Œ ?€  ?€        &amp;    S w a t c h   3  RGB ?oïð?)Ìª&gt;mí      &amp;     S w a t c h   1  RGB                   &amp;    S w a t c h   2  RGB ?
  Œ ?€  ?€        &amp;    S w a t c h   3  RGB ?oïð?)Ìª&gt;mí      &amp;     S w a t c h   1  RGB                   &amp;    S w a t c h   2  RGB ?
  Œ ?€  ?€        &amp;    S w a t c h   3  RGB ?oïð?)Ìª&gt;mí      &amp;     S w a t c h   1  RGB                   &amp;    S w a t c h   2  RGB ?
  Œ ?€  ?€        &amp;    S w a t c h   3  RGB ?oïð?)Ìª&gt;mí  
  </code></pre>
  <p>and when I open it in NP++ it looks like this:
  <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pyCzZ.png" alt="enter image description here" /></p>
  <p>I was hoping (and naively expecting) that the format would be in some comprehensible XML structure, but it's clearly not..</p>
  <p>I've tried researching the subject and found these sources:</p>
  <p><a href="http://www.nomodes.com/aco.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.nomodes.com/aco.html</a></p>
  <p><a href="http://www.selapa.net/swatches/colors/fileformats.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.selapa.net/swatches/colors/fileformats.php</a></p>
  <p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/devnet-apps/photoshop/fileformatashtml/PhotoshopFileFormats.htm#50577411_31265" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.adobe.com/devnet-apps/photoshop/fileformatashtml/PhotoshopFileFormats.htm#50577411_31265</a></p>
  <p>But to be honest it feels to complicated for me to be able to wrap my head around.. If anyone with better knowledge about file coding formats or color coding formats has any input for me I would greatly appreciate it!</p>
  <p>The files are available here for download if you want to have a look at them:</p>
  <p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9vo2h7ophpfc201/p7saMtxi_k" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9vo2h7ophpfc201/p7saMtxi_k</a></p>