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Last Update: Friday, March 13, 1998 - 12:52:14 by Bob Echelmeier

Application Note

Colors on the World Wide Web

 You've gotten your first web site organized and laid out. Now it is time to assign colors. You go through some of the popular books on web programming and see such menus as:

•  Code f0f8ff for alice blue,
  
•  Code 66cdaa for aquamarine,
  
•  Code f0ffff for azure,
  
•  Code f5f5dc for beige
  

 But, upon plugging these values into the color tags, and bringing the file up on your browser, you find that things don't quite work that way.

 The following is based on an application note from Netscape; this recipe works far better than some values that are getting thrown around.

Ref: Netscape Technical Support Pages: http://help.netscape.com/

•  Frequently Asked Questions
  •  Browse Technical Notes
    •  Netscape Navigator's Color Palette on Windows

 Background - in the font and bgcolor color tags, the HTML color specification allows separate control of each of the electron beam intensities for each of the red, green and blue electron guns. The control values can range from 00 (the beam off) to 255/0FFh which is maximum intensity. So conceptually, you have access to 256 * 256 * 256 = 16,777,216 colors.

 In practice, at least for Netscape and apparently other browsers, the full intensity range for each electron beam is covered by only a range of 6 values. i.e.; the red gun is permitted only 6 intensity levels, the green gun only 6 intensity levels, and the blue gun only 6 intensity levels. In other words, the browsers support only a 6*6*6 color palette, for a total palette of 216 different colors.

 This range of 216 values permitted in the font and bgcolor tags maps into an intensity specification only every 51 decimal (33 hex) values. Thus the following are the only color values one need to specify:

 Any other values are apparently dithered into something that may or may not even come close to what you want.

 Now for some examples. Examine the following pages for what shows up on your browser (and let's face it - it also depends on the alignment of your computer monitor!) for some variations on this theme:

 The following pages have been copied from SCCS to the BCN server.

 If you wish to obtain a copy of the source files for your own use or study, activate the download to get a zipped copy.

• This Document
• All Web colors on white background
• All Web colors on black background
• All Web colors on red background
• All Web colors on green background
• All Web colors on blue background

• Download all the above color demonstration files
• Author's Instructions for using the ZIP'd files.

 Permission is hereby given to copy and modify these color demonstration files for personal study. Upon any subsequent publication, acknowlegement to Skunk Creek Computing would, of course, be most appreciated.

 E. Stiltner

 This application note has been brought to you by Skunk Creek Computing Services.

  Legal handwashing -

 The above information is based on the author's experience and observations. This information is supplied with no warranty nor any guarantee. It is the user's sole responsibility to validate it for his or her intended application.

URL of this page: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/tools/colors/sccsfarb.htm

Revised 'Friday, March 13, 1998 - 12:57:14'

Copyright © 1997 SCCS.