Keyword
Specify a color.
[color] COLOR
COLOR
A color keyword, a string value representing a color keyword, or an integer value representing a color number corresponding to a color available on your system. Refer to the appropriate object definition, action statement, or drawing statement for the proper format within which the COLOR specification must appear.
The standard ESL color set consists of the following keywords and numbers:
Color Keyword |
Color Number |
|
red |
1 |
|
green |
2 |
|
yellow |
3 |
|
blue |
4 |
|
magenta |
5 |
|
purple |
5 |
|
cyan |
6 |
|
aqua |
6 |
|
white |
7 |
|
black |
8 |
You may also be able to use color numbers 18-25; see "Additional ESL Colors." The specific set of color numbers available to you is dependent on your computer's graphics hardware.
Description
Use this statement to specify the color used for any of the following:
Foreground of a key
Foreground, background, and/or border of a graphical, image, or textual region
Foreground and/or background of text in a colored textual region
Color of a drawing statement
Foreground or background of all dialog controls
If you use an integer value or a string value to describe a color, you must precede it with the keyword color. The color keyword is only optional if you specify a keyword indicating a color, without quotation marks.
Colors in Dialog Control Objects
To change the foreground and background color of objects at runtime, use the make COLOR action statement. You can use the built-in functions background of and foreground of to report the background and foreground colors of all controls.
Additional ESL Colors
You can specify colors 18-25 for objects. The following table lists the colors that correspond to these color numbers.
Color Number |
Windowed Color |
18 |
dark gray |
19 |
dark blue |
20 |
dark red |
21 |
dark purple |
22 |
dark green |
23 |
turquoise |
24 |
mustard |
25 |
light gray |
Default Background and Foreground Colors
Colors 26 and 27 are set in the Windows Control Panel. These colors cannot be used in a colored textual region.
ESL Color 26 (Background)
The default background color for a control object is color 26 (the system background color for the object). The actual color used depends on the type of control to which you are applying it, as shown in the following table:
Control |
Color of Object Used |
|
Window Background |
||
Simple Drop-down Drop-down List |
Entry field/List box Background |
|
Entry field/List box Background |
||
Window Background |
||
Entry field/List box Background |
||
Window Background |
||
Push button Background |
||
Window Background |
||
Entry field/List box Background |
||
Window Background |
||
Window Background |
ESL Color 27 (Foreground)
The default foreground color for an object is color 27 (the system foreground color for the object). The actual color used depends on the type of control to which you are applying it, as shown in the following table.
Control |
Color of Object Used |
|
Menu Text |
||
Simple Dropdown Dropdown List |
Window Text |
|
Window Text |
||
Static Text |
||
Window Text |
||
Window Text |
||
Menu Text |
||
Menu Text |
||
Window Text |
||
Static Text |
||
Window Text |
Default Values
If you do not specify a color for a drawing statement, the drawing statement uses the foreground color specified in the object definition.
If no color is specified in the object definition, the following default colors are used in windowed and fullscreen programs:
Object |
Default Color |
|
Key |
white |
|
Graphical, Image, and Textual Region |
white foreground black background white border |
Example
disabled yellow key Box_Key at position 50 50
blue box 25 25
move to 100 100
circle radius 20
color ColorChoice textual region Blackboard_TR
window size 30 30
at position 100 100
color 24 key Help_Key at position 45 30
See Also
graphical region, image region, textual region Definitions
key Definition
make background and make foreground COLOR Action Statement
make block and make segment COLOR Action Statements
make border COLOR Action Statement
make color Action Statement
check box, combination box, dropdown list, entry field, group box, list box,
multi line entry field, push button, radio button, spin button, static text Definitions