Hi
When I draw a shape in Inkscape and select it I am unable to add fill color. This is a new problem as I never had this before. I think I have done something but I can't work it out. HELP 1

Hi.

Check object opacity and fill alpha. They should be at 100% and 255.
If that doesn't help, the object may be clipped/masked.
Or it supposed to have a pattern fill made of clones which had a parent you modified by accident or something like that.

Hi

Thanks, problem solved. Should have worked it out.

how to fill the color

Shift+Ctrl+F to change fill attribute

Yes, Shift+Ctrl+F is the key shortcut to Object menu > Fill and Stroke. (This is the Fill and Stroke dialog.) But you can also simply click a color from the palette, and the object that's selected will take that color.

Also, just for future searching, and since this is a common problem, here's a little tutorial that will take you through the usual culprits for any tool that doesn't seem to work. If you get through it and still haven't found the problem, you can attach your image to a message, and we can examine the file and hopefully figure out what's happening.

What to Do When a Tool Stops Working (Or Tools are Drawing Invisible Objects)