Steve's Color Page
| 000000 through 00FFFF |
|---|
| 000000 |
000033 |
000066 |
000099 |
0000CC |
0000FF |
| 003300 |
003333 |
003366 |
003399 |
0033CC |
0033FF |
| 006600 |
006633 |
006666 |
006699 |
0066CC |
0066FF |
| 009900 |
009933 |
009966 |
009999 |
0099CC |
0099FF |
| 00CC00 |
00CC33 |
00CC66 |
00CC99 |
00CCCC |
00CCFF |
| 00FF00 |
00FF33 |
00FF66 |
00FF99 |
00FFCC |
00FFFF |
| 330000 through 33FFFF |
|---|
| 330000 |
330033 |
330066 |
330099 |
3300CC |
3300FF |
| 333300 |
333333 |
333366 |
333399 |
3333CC |
3333FF |
| 336600 |
336633 |
336666 |
336699 |
3366CC |
3366FF |
| 339900 |
339933 |
339966 |
339999 |
3399CC |
3399FF |
| 33CC00 |
33CC33 |
33CC66 |
33CC99 |
33CCCC |
33CCFF |
| 33FF00 |
33FF33 |
33FF66 |
33FF99 |
33FFCC |
33FFFF |
| 660000 through 66FFFF |
|---|
| 660000 |
660033 |
660066 |
660099 |
6600CC |
6600FF |
| 663300 |
663333 |
663366 |
663399 |
6633CC |
6633FF |
| 666600 |
666633 |
666666 |
666699 |
6666CC |
6666FF |
| 669900 |
669933 |
669966 |
669999 |
6699CC |
6699FF |
| 66CC00 |
66CC33 |
66CC66 |
66CC99 |
66CCCC |
66CCFF |
| 66FF00 |
66FF33 |
66FF66 |
66FF99 |
66FFCC |
66FFFF |
| 990000 through 99FFFF |
|---|
| 990000 |
990033 |
990066 |
990099 |
9900CC |
9900FF |
| 993300 |
993333 |
993366 |
993399 |
9933CC |
9933FF |
| 996600 |
996633 |
996666 |
996699 |
9966CC |
9966FF |
| 999900 |
999933 |
999966 |
999999 |
9999CC |
9999FF |
| 99CC00 |
99CC33 |
99CC66 |
99CC99 |
99CCCC |
99CCFF |
| 99FF00 |
99FF33 |
99FF66 |
99FF99 |
99FFCC |
99FFFF |
| CC0000 through CCFFFF |
|---|
| CC0000 |
CC0033 |
CC0066 |
CC0099 |
CC00CC |
CC00FF |
| CC3300 |
CC3333 |
CC3366 |
CC3399 |
CC33CC |
CC33FF |
| CC6600 |
CC6633 |
CC6666 |
CC6699 |
CC66CC |
CC66FF |
| CC9900 |
CC9933 |
CC9966 |
CC9999 |
CC99CC |
CC99FF |
| CCCC00 |
CCCC33 |
CCCC66 |
CCCC99 |
CCCCCC |
CCCCFF |
| CCFF00 |
CCFF33 |
CCFF66 |
CCFF99 |
CCFFCC |
CCFFFF |
| FF0000 through FFFFFF |
|---|
| FF0000 |
FF0033 |
FF0066 |
FF0099 |
FF00CC |
FF00FF |
| FF3300 |
FF3333 |
FF3366 |
FF3399 |
FF33CC |
FF33FF |
| FF6600 |
FF6633 |
FF6666 |
FF6699 |
FF66CC |
FF66FF |
| FF9900 |
FF9933 |
FF9966 |
FF9999 |
FF99CC |
FF99FF |
| FFCC00 |
FFCC33 |
FFCC66 |
FFCC99 |
FFCCCC |
FFCCFF |
| FFFF00 |
FFFF33 |
FFFF66 |
FFFF99 |
FFFFCC |
FFFFFF |
Each color in this system is composed of 3 parts, each with 2 digits. The first 2 digits are the amount of red in the color, in hexadecimal (see below). The second 2 digits are the amount of green in the color, also in hex, and the final 2 digits are the amount of blue in the color, in hex.
The theory is that you can create any color you'd like by combining different amounts of red, green, and blue.
Hexadecimal is not hard - it's base 16 (relax - you'll get it). What that means is that instead of counting from 01 to 09 and then changing the first digit (going to "10"), you count from 01 to 09, then you still have 0A through 0F before you change the first digit (again, "10"). So, a list of the first 35 numbers in hex:
| 00 |
01 |
02 |
03 |
04 |
05 |
06 |
07 |
08 |
09 |
0A |
0B |
0C |
0D |
0E |
0F |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
1A |
1B |
1C |
1D |
1E |
1F |
20 |
21 |
... |
And here's a list of the last 35 numbers in hex:
| ... |
DE |
DF |
E0 |
E1 |
E2 |
E3 |
E4 |
E5 |
E6 |
E7 |
E8 |
E9 |
EA |
EB |
EC |
ED |
EE |
EF |
F0 |
F1 |
F2 |
F3 |
F4 |
F5 |
F6 |
F7 |
F8 |
F9 |
FA |
FB |
FC |
FD |
FE |
FF |
Time to use hex in colors. Let's start simple and try pure red. We want the highest possible value for the 2 red digits, and the lowest possible values for the green and blue. That means the red digits will be "FF", green will be "00" and blue will be "00". This gives us "FF0000".
Let's see:
<FONT COLOR="FF0000">Sample Text</FONT>
Let's try another color - one with a little red (40), lots of green (A0) and tons of blue (EA). That totals "40A0EA".
<FONT COLOR="40A0EA">Sample Text</FONT>
The idea is that you can create any color you can imagine by combining the three primary colors. White is FFFFFF and black is 000000 and there are limitless possibilities in between.
If you stick to the numbers 0, 3, 6, 9, C, and F, you're likely to end up with one of the 216 colors that Windows is guaranteed to support. In fact, you should choose one of those numbers and use it for both digits of a color (such as CC33FF. You'll notice that all of the colors in this chart were created this way. You CAN choose other numbers, but your users may not be using a computer that can show them the way you intended. If you REALLY want to play it safe, use the 16 color names that Microsoft and Netscape both support.
I've created some scripts to help show you the possible colors - check out Steve's Javascript Page and look under the COLOR SCRIPTS heading.
And if you want to take your chances, there's a page with all 216 of the named colors that you can use with later edition browsers.
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