I have a template I use every time for a client, but they want different colors every week. Because all of the objects in the template (around 25) are grouped in groups of 5 and clipped and some have color and some have gradients, I now have to click a lot to change every color. Is it possible to link the separate objects to simple squares in the document, and then when I change the color of the squares, the objects also change?
illustrators built in color tool might be more what you're looking for. you can select individual items or groups of items and change their colors using a color wheel (or even pms colors)
here's a pretty decent introduction on how to use it http://veerle-v2.duoh.com/blog/comments/recolor_artwork_using_illustrators_livecolor/
ken