Select Color Dialog Box

Summary

Define the color of objects. You can select from the 255 AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) colors, true colors, and Color Book colors.

The Select Color dialog box is separated into three tabs; Index Color, True Color, and Color Books.

List of Options

The following options are available.

Index Color Tab

Specifies color settings using the 255 AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) colors.

AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) Palettes

Specifies a color from the AutoCAD Color Index. If you hover over a color, the number of the color and its red, green, blue value are displayed below the palette. Click a color to select it, or enter the color number or name in the Color box.

The large palette displays colors 10 through 249.

The second palette displays colors 1 through 9; these colors have names as well as numbers.

The third palette displays colors 250 through 255; these colors are shades of gray.

Index Color

Indicates the ACI color number when you hover over a color.

Red, Green, Blue

Indicates the RGB color value when you hover over a color.

ByLayer

Not available in AutoCAD. For new objects created in AutoCAD.

ByBlock

Not available in AutoCAD. For new objects created in AutoCAD.

Color

Specifies a color name, BYLAYER or BYBLOCK color, or an AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) number of 1 through 255. The New color swatch shows the most recently selected color.

Old Color Swatch

Displays the previously selected color.

New Color Swatch

Displays the currently selected color.

True Color Tab

Specifies color settings using true colors (24-bit color) with either the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance (HSL) color model or the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) color model. Over sixteen million colors are available when using true color functionality. The options available on the True Color tab are dependent on whether the HSL or RGB color model is specified.

HSL Color Model

Specifies to use the HSL color model for selecting colors.

Hue, saturation, and luminance are properties of colors. By manipulating the values of these properties, you can specify a wide range of colors.

Hue

Specifies the hue of a color. Hues represent a specific wavelength of light within the visible spectrum. To specify a hue, move the crosshair (from side to side) over the color spectrum or specify a value in the Hue box. Adjusting this value affects the RGB value. Valid hue values are from 0 to 360 degrees.

Saturation

Specifies the purity of a color. High saturation causes a color to look more pure while low saturation causes a color to look washed-out. To specify color saturation, move the crosshair (from top to bottom) over the color spectrum or specify a value in the Saturation box. Adjusting this value affects the RGB value. Valid saturation values are from 0 to 100%.

Luminance

Specifies the brightness of a color. To specify color luminance, use the color slider or specify a value in the Luminance box. Valid luminance values are from 0 to 100%. A value of 0% represents the color black, 100% represents white, and 50% represents the optimal brightness for the color. Adjusting this value also affects the RGB value.

Red

Specifies the red component of a color. Adjust the slider on the color bar or specify a value from 1 to 255 in the Red box. If this value is adjusted, it will be reflected in the HSL color mode values.

Green

Specifies the green component of a color. Adjust the slider on the color bar or specify a value from 1 to 255 in the Green box. If this value is adjusted, it will be reflected in the HSL color mode values.

Blue

Specifies the blue component of a color. Adjust the slider on the color bar or specify a value from 1 to 255 in the Blue box. If this value is adjusted, it will be reflected in the HSL color mode values.

RGB Color Model

Specifies to use the RGB color model for selecting colors. The options available on the True Color tab are dependent on whether the HSL or RGB color model is specified.

Colors can be broken down into components of red, green, and blue. The values specified for each component represent the intensity of the red, green, and blue components. The combination of these values can be manipulated to create a wide range of colors.

Color

Specifies the RGB color value. This option is updated when changes are made to HSL or RGB options. You can also edit the RGB value directly using the following format: 000,000,000.

True Color Stored as RGB

Indicates the value for each RGB color component.

Old Color Swatch

Displays the previously selected color.

New Color Swatch

Displays the currently selected color.

Color Books Tab

Specifies colors using third-party color books (such as PANTONE®) or user-defined color books. Once a color book is selected, the Color Books tab displays the name of the selected color book.

Color Book

Specifies the color book to be used when selecting colors. The list consists of all the color books that are found in the Color Book Locations specified in the Options dialog box, Files tab.

Displays the pages of the selected color book and the colors and color names on each page. Color books containing up to ten colors per page are supported. If a color book is not paginated, the colors are organized into pages containing seven colors per page. To view color book pages, select an area on the color slider or use the up and down arrows to browse.

RGB Equivalent

Indicates the value for each RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) color component.

Color

Indicates the currently selected color book color.

Old Color Swatch

Displays the previously selected color.

New Color Swatch

Displays the currently selected color.