Using the Color Chooser

Most drawing properties editors only provide a limited list of colors to choose from for setting the color of a particular layer element. However, some Properties editors let you use the Color Chooser to pick a color for the layer element. The Color Chooser affords great flexibility for select default colors. The Color Chooser has three tabs: Swatches, HSB, and RGBA, offering three methods for choosing a color. For each method, the preview area shows you how your selected color will look—review it carefully before applying your changes (clicking OK).

Swatches

To select a color from the Swatches tab ("Figure: Color Chooser - Swatches Tab"), click on the swatch of the color you want. The Recent panel keeps track of your choices so you can return to them easily.

HSB Colors

HSB stands for Hue, Saturation and Brightness. Hue is the basic color. Saturation is how dark the color is (how much black is added). Brightness is how light the color is (how much white is added). To select a color from the HSB tab ("Figure: Color Chooser - HSB Tab"):

• Start by selecting the Hue—select the Hue radio button then select a color by moving the rainbow slider bar in the middle of the tab panel. A value will appear in the Hue textbox representing your color selection and the associated values of Red, Green, and Blue that make up that hue will be shown.
• The large box to the left of the slider bar will fill to show the range of saturation and brightness you can select from for the Hue you chose. Click in the box to pick a shade of your selected Hue. The Saturation and Brightness values will update to reflect your selection. The Red, Green, and Blue fields will also update to show the equivalent RGB values for your selected color.

If using Hue is not effective for finding the color you want, you can also select a color by choosing the Saturation or Brightness radio buttons and adjusting your color selection with the slider bar and the shade box.

• Hue (H) is measured in a circle from 0 to 359 degrees (0=red, 60=yellow, 120=green, 180=cyan, 240=blue, 00=magenta).
• Saturation (S) is the intensity or density of the hue, measured from 0 (grey) to 100 (vivid color).
• Brightness (B) is the relative lightness or darkness of a color from 0 (black) to 100 (while).

RGBA Colors

To select a color from the RGBA tab ("Figure: Color Chooser - RGBA Tab"), use the sliders or type in values to select the Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha values to produce the color you want.

We all know what Red, Green, and Blue are, but when mixing these colors as light, not paint, most folks don't know how to produce certain familiar colors, so "Table: Example Colors in RGB Values" has some examples.

Alpha is another aspect of defining the color of light that may be unfamiliar, but it is really just opacity or transparency. The larger the alpha value, the darker (and denser) the color; the smaller the alpha value, the lighter and more transparent the color.