Understanding HTML Color Codes
By Fred Black (c) 2006
When I help people with web pages, I encourage them to edit
the HTML directly and not rely on programs like Microsoft
FrontPage or Adobe GoLive to layout their pages. One of the
things that most people have a hard time grasping is what
HTML Color Codes mean and how they work.
HTML Color Codes are 6 characters wide and look like
"#80FF12". This is really made up of 3 2-digit hex numbers
that represent Red, Green, and Blue. I probably just lost a
good portion of the readers, didn't I? Let me back up and
explain some things about hex values and color.
How to describe a color using numbers? There are a lot of
ways to specify a particular color, but one of the ways
that's used with computers is to specify the values of Red,
Green, and Blue to mix together to achieve the desired
color. As we vary the amounts of Red, Green, and Blue we
can create most any color you desire.
Why does this relate to computers? Computer displays, TVs,
LCDs, and other "projected light" display devices use
pixels to display what you see on the screen. The color
value for those pixels is specified in a RGB (Red, Green,
and Blue) value. For example, if your PC monitor is set to
1024 x 768 resolution, then there are 768 lines (going
across your screen from top to bottom) on your screen, each
line has 1024 pixels or little dots in it. Each of those
pixels or little dots is actually made up of three smaller
dots or light sources: a red one, a green one, and a blue
one.
Ink is different. Printers that you use with your computer
generally specify color as a four (or more) color
"reflective" ink value made up of Yellow, Magenta, Cyan,
and Black which is abbreviated as YMCK. Your computer uses
formulas to convert the RGB values to CMYK values so that
you can print what you see on your screen accurately.
How does the computer represent a RGB color value? As 3
separate values (one for Red, one for Green, and one for
Blue) and each one ranges between 0 and 255. If you count
the 0 as a value, that's a total of 256 possible values.
When you put the Red, Green, and Blue values together to
represent a color, you get a possibility of 16.7 million
colors (256 x 256 x 256). That's a lot of colors and most
people consider this to be "true" color because it can
represent most photographs and images.
OK then, what is a Hex value? I'm glad you asked! Your
computer stores information as single ones and zeros. Each
of these tiny single values is called a "bit". We then
combine 8 of these "bits" to make a "byte". So a byte is 8
bits. If you recall from high school math, you can count in
various "bases". We normally use base 10 or "decimal",
which uses 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 to represent a
number. Likewise, if we use the ones and zeros I just
mentioned, we're talking about just two possible values for
each digit, 0 or 1, and this is called base 2 or "binary".
However, in computers, we also use base 16, or hexadecimal
(hex for short) because it packs more values into a single
space. Hex uses the following digits to represent a number:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. To
represent the number 128 in decimal or base 10 takes 3
digits (128), in binary it takes 8 digits (10000000), and
in hex or base 16 it takes just 2 digits (80). So by using
hex values we save storage space and gain efficiency.
OK, my head hurts now, how does this relate to HTML color
codes? HTML colors codes are made up of 3 sets of hex
numbers, one for Red, one for Green, and one for Blue.
For example:
000000 is black (0's for all three colors)
FFFFFF is white (255's for all three colors)
FF0000 is all RED (255 for Red, 0 green, 0 blue)
00FF00 is all GREEN (0 Red, 255 green, 0 blue)
0000FF is all Blue (0 red, 0 green, 255 blue)
FFFF00 is Yellow (255 red, 255 green, and 0 blue)
808080 is a gray (128 red, 128 green, and 125 blue)
Generally in HTML, you also put a "#" in front of the color
code, but this is not necessary when you specify all 6
digits. If you make profiles for mySpace.com, leave off the
"#" too because they filter them and it won't display the
color correctly if you use the "#".
You can use the calculator that comes with Microsoft
Windows to convert between Decimal and Hex values. Open the
calculator and select View and then Scientific. Once you do
this, you'll see more buttons and controls on the
calculator. Click "Dec" and the key in a number. Now click
"Hex" and it'll convert the number to hex. To convert from
Hex to Dec, click on "Hex", key in the number, and then
click "Dec". Sometimes you'll get a color specification in
Decimal, for example (128, 30, 80) and you can use this
method to convert it to hex (80, 1E, 50) which would look
like this for your HTML color #801E50.
I hope you understand more about HTML Color Codes and how
colors are stored and specified in computers.
=======================================
Visit Fred Black's web site www.InternetMakeMoneyOnline.com
(http://www.InternetMakeMoneyOnline.com). Discover how to
Make Money Online with internet marketing techniques and
skills that are easy to master - 100% Guaranteed.
=======================================
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By Jeff Houdyschell providing proven income opportunities, ideas and information for the best work at home jobs, visit:
http://www.eSmartJob.com
When I help people with web pages, I encourage them to edit
the HTML directly and not rely on programs like Microsoft
FrontPage or Adobe GoLive to layout their pages. One of the
things that most people have a hard time grasping is what
HTML Color Codes mean and how they work.
HTML Color Codes are 6 characters wide and look like
"#80FF12". This is really made up of 3 2-digit hex numbers
that represent Red, Green, and Blue. I probably just lost a
good portion of the readers, didn't I? Let me back up and
explain some things about hex values and color.
How to describe a color using numbers? There are a lot of
ways to specify a particular color, but one of the ways
that's used with computers is to specify the values of Red,
Green, and Blue to mix together to achieve the desired
color. As we vary the amounts of Red, Green, and Blue we
can create most any color you desire.
Why does this relate to computers? Computer displays, TVs,
LCDs, and other "projected light" display devices use
pixels to display what you see on the screen. The color
value for those pixels is specified in a RGB (Red, Green,
and Blue) value. For example, if your PC monitor is set to
1024 x 768 resolution, then there are 768 lines (going
across your screen from top to bottom) on your screen, each
line has 1024 pixels or little dots in it. Each of those
pixels or little dots is actually made up of three smaller
dots or light sources: a red one, a green one, and a blue
one.
Ink is different. Printers that you use with your computer
generally specify color as a four (or more) color
"reflective" ink value made up of Yellow, Magenta, Cyan,
and Black which is abbreviated as YMCK. Your computer uses
formulas to convert the RGB values to CMYK values so that
you can print what you see on your screen accurately.
How does the computer represent a RGB color value? As 3
separate values (one for Red, one for Green, and one for
Blue) and each one ranges between 0 and 255. If you count
the 0 as a value, that's a total of 256 possible values.
When you put the Red, Green, and Blue values together to
represent a color, you get a possibility of 16.7 million
colors (256 x 256 x 256). That's a lot of colors and most
people consider this to be "true" color because it can
represent most photographs and images.
OK then, what is a Hex value? I'm glad you asked! Your
computer stores information as single ones and zeros. Each
of these tiny single values is called a "bit". We then
combine 8 of these "bits" to make a "byte". So a byte is 8
bits. If you recall from high school math, you can count in
various "bases". We normally use base 10 or "decimal",
which uses 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 to represent a
number. Likewise, if we use the ones and zeros I just
mentioned, we're talking about just two possible values for
each digit, 0 or 1, and this is called base 2 or "binary".
However, in computers, we also use base 16, or hexadecimal
(hex for short) because it packs more values into a single
space. Hex uses the following digits to represent a number:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. To
represent the number 128 in decimal or base 10 takes 3
digits (128), in binary it takes 8 digits (10000000), and
in hex or base 16 it takes just 2 digits (80). So by using
hex values we save storage space and gain efficiency.
OK, my head hurts now, how does this relate to HTML color
codes? HTML colors codes are made up of 3 sets of hex
numbers, one for Red, one for Green, and one for Blue.
For example:
000000 is black (0's for all three colors)
FFFFFF is white (255's for all three colors)
FF0000 is all RED (255 for Red, 0 green, 0 blue)
00FF00 is all GREEN (0 Red, 255 green, 0 blue)
0000FF is all Blue (0 red, 0 green, 255 blue)
FFFF00 is Yellow (255 red, 255 green, and 0 blue)
808080 is a gray (128 red, 128 green, and 125 blue)
Generally in HTML, you also put a "#" in front of the color
code, but this is not necessary when you specify all 6
digits. If you make profiles for mySpace.com, leave off the
"#" too because they filter them and it won't display the
color correctly if you use the "#".
You can use the calculator that comes with Microsoft
Windows to convert between Decimal and Hex values. Open the
calculator and select View and then Scientific. Once you do
this, you'll see more buttons and controls on the
calculator. Click "Dec" and the key in a number. Now click
"Hex" and it'll convert the number to hex. To convert from
Hex to Dec, click on "Hex", key in the number, and then
click "Dec". Sometimes you'll get a color specification in
Decimal, for example (128, 30, 80) and you can use this
method to convert it to hex (80, 1E, 50) which would look
like this for your HTML color #801E50.
I hope you understand more about HTML Color Codes and how
colors are stored and specified in computers.
=======================================
Visit Fred Black's web site www.InternetMakeMoneyOnline.com
(http://www.InternetMakeMoneyOnline.com). Discover how to
Make Money Online with internet marketing techniques and
skills that are easy to master - 100% Guaranteed.
=======================================
About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By Jeff Houdyschell providing proven income opportunities, ideas and information for the best work at home jobs, visit:
http://www.eSmartJob.com
posted by Jeff Houdyschell at
1:54 PM
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