Color
-
- Overview
- Color
- Color in MetaPost
-
- Cmd general
- \color
- \MPcolor
- \definecolor
- \setupcolors
- \showcolor
- \usecolor
-
- Cmd Logical palettes
- \definepalet
- \setuppalet
- \showpalet
- \comparepalet
-
- Grps of similar colors
- \definecolorgroup
- \showcolorgroup
-
- Src MkIV color def
- colo-imp-dem.mkiv
- colo-imp-rgb.mkiv
- colo-imp-xwi.mkiv
- colo-imp-ema.mkiv
- colo-imp-x11.mkiv
Contents
Before you start ...
1. It’s usually bad style to use explicit color switches in the text. It’s better to define a semantic command that takes care of the color switching. For example, instead of using \color[red]{important text}
, define
\definehighlight[important][color=red]
and then use \important{important text}
in the text.
2. Colors are not enabled by default in MkII. To enable colors in MkII, use
\setupcolors[state=start]
3. To disable colors in a document, use
\setupcolors[state=stop]
Last manual dedicated to color was issued in 2016
Basic Usage
To color text, use
\color[defined-color]{ ... text ... }
or
\startcolor[defined-color] ... text ... \stopcolor
where defined-color
is a color defined using \definecolor. For example, red
is one of the predefined colors. So, we can use:
Three \color[red]{cool} cats |
or
\startcolor[red] \input tufte \stopcolor
It is also possible to use RGB or CMYK or hex values to color text. The syntax for these is
\colored[settings]{... text ...}
where settings
are the same settings as used by \definecolor. For example:
Three \colored[r=0.1, g=0.8, b=0.8]{colorful} cats |
Note. There is no need to use the color commands directly. Almost all ConTeXt commands accept a color
key, and you can use color=defined-color
. For example,
- To color the section titles red, use
\setuphead[color=red]
- To color the footnotes red, use
\setupfootnotes[color=red]
etc.
Pre-defined colors
Default pre-defined colors
The following colors are pre-defined in ConTeXt (see colo-imp-rgb.mkiv).
Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
black | white | ||||||
gray | lightgray | middlegray | darkgray | ||||
red | lightred | middlered | darkred | ||||
green | lightgreen | middlegreen | darkgreen | ||||
blue | lightblue | middleblue | darkblue | ||||
cyan | middlecyan | darkcyan | |||||
magenta | middlemagenta | darkmagenta | |||||
yellow | middleyellow | darkyellow |
X11 Colors
In addition to the above basic color, ConTeXt also includes a definition of the X11 colors. To load this list (colo-imp-xwi.mkiv), use
\usecolors[xwi]
This loads the following additional colors:
Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aliceblue | antiquewhite | aquamarine | azure | ||||
beige | bisque | black | blanchedalmond | ||||
blue | blueviolet | brown | burlywood | ||||
cadetblue | chartreuse | chocolate | coral | ||||
cornflowerblue | cornsilk | cyan | darkgoldenrod | ||||
darkgreen | darkkhaki | darkolivegreen | darkorange | ||||
darkorchid | darksalmon | darkseagreen | darkslateblue | ||||
darkturquoise | darkviolet | deeppink | deepskyblue | ||||
dodgerblue | firebrick | floralwhite | forestgreen | ||||
gainsboro | ghostwhite | gold | goldenrod | ||||
green | greenyellow | honeydew | hotpink | ||||
indianred | ivory | khaki | lavender | ||||
lavenderblush | lawngreen | lemonchiffon | lightblue | ||||
lightcoral | lightcyan | lightgoldenrod | lightgoldenrodyellow | ||||
lightpink | lightsalmon | lightseagreen | lightskyblue | ||||
lightslateblue | lightsteelblue | lightyellow | limegreen | ||||
linen | magenta | maroon | mediumaquamarine | ||||
mediumblue | mediumorchid | mediumpurple | mediumseagreen | ||||
mediumslateblue | mediumspringgreen | mediumturquoise | mediumvioletred | ||||
midnightblue | mintcream | mistyrose | moccasin | ||||
navajowhite | navy | navyblue | oldlace | ||||
olivedrab | orange | orangered | orchid | ||||
palegoldenrod | palegreen | paleturquoise | palevioletred | ||||
papayawhip | peachpuff | peru | pink | ||||
plum | powderblue | purple | red | ||||
rosybrown | royalblue | saddlebrown | salmon | ||||
sandybrown | seagreen | seashell | sienna | ||||
skyblue | slateblue | snow | springgreen | ||||
steelblue | tan | thistle | tomato | ||||
turquoise | violet | violetred | wheat | ||||
white | whitesmoke | yellow | yellowgreen |
Crayola crayon colors
The following colors are defined in colo-imp-crayola.mkiv. These can be loaded using
\usecolors[crayola]
Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red | Maroon | Scarlet | BrickRed | ||||
EnglishVermilion | MadderLake | PermanentGeraniumLake | MaximumRed | ||||
IndianRed | OrangeRed | SunsetOrange | Bittersweet | ||||
DarkVenetianRed | VenetianRed | LightVenetianRed | VividTangerine | ||||
MiddleRed | BurntOrange | RedOrange | Orange | ||||
MacaroniandCheese | MiddleYellowRed | MangoTango | YellowOrange | ||||
MaximumYellowRed | BananaMania | Maize | OrangeYellow | ||||
Goldenrod | Dandelion | Yellow | GreenYellow | ||||
MiddleYellow | OliveGreen | SpringGreen | MaximumYellow | ||||
Canary | LemonYellow | MaximumGreenYellow | MiddleGreenYellow | ||||
Inchworm | LightChromeGreen | YellowGreen | MaximumGreen | ||||
Asparagus | GrannySmithApple | Fern | MiddleGreen | ||||
Green | MediumChromeGreen | ForestGreen | SeaGreen | ||||
Shamrock | MountainMeadow | JungleGreen | CaribbeanGreen | ||||
TropicalRainForest | MiddleBlueGreen | PineGreen | MaximumBlueGreen | ||||
RobinsEggBlue | TealBlue | LightBlue | Aquamarine | ||||
TurquoiseBlue | OuterSpace | SkyBlue | MiddleBlue | ||||
BlueGreen | PacificBlue | Cerulean | MaximumBlue | ||||
BlueI | CeruleanBlue | Cornflower | GreenBlue | ||||
MidnightBlue | NavyBlue | Denim | BlueIII | ||||
CadetBlue | Periwinkle | BlueII | WildBlueYonder | ||||
Indigo | Manatee | CobaltBlue | CelestialBlue | ||||
BlueBell | MaximumBluePurple | VioletBlue | BlueViolet | ||||
UltramarineBlue | MiddleBluePurple | PurpleHeart | RoyalPurple | ||||
VioletII | MediumViolet | Wisteria | LavenderI | ||||
VividViolet | MaximumPurple | PurpleMountainsMajesty | Fuchsia | ||||
PinkFlamingo | VioletI | BrilliantRose | Orchid | ||||
Plum | MediumRose | Thistle | Mulberry | ||||
RedViolet | MiddlePurple | MaximumRedPurple | JazzberryJam | ||||
Eggplant | Magenta | Cerise | WildStrawberry | ||||
LavenderII | CottonCandy | CarnationPink | VioletRed | ||||
Razzmatazz | PigPink | Carmine | Blush | ||||
TickleMePink | Mauvelous | Salmon | MiddleRedPurple | ||||
Mahogany | Melon | PinkSherbert | BurntSienna | ||||
Brown | Sepia | FuzzyWuzzy | Beaver | ||||
Tumbleweed | RawSienna | VanDykeBrown | Tan | ||||
DesertSand | Peach | BurntUmber | Apricot | ||||
Almond | RawUmber | Shadow | RawSiennaI | ||||
Timberwolf | GoldI | GoldII | Silver | ||||
Copper | AntiqueBrass | Black | CharcoalGray | ||||
Gray | BlueGray | White | RadicalRed | ||||
WildWatermelon | OutrageousOrange | AtomicTangerine | NeonCarrot | ||||
Sunglow | LaserLemon | UnmellowYellow | ElectricLime | ||||
ScreaminGreen | MagicMint | BlizzardBlue | ShockingPink | ||||
RazzleDazzleRose | HotMagenta | PurplePizzazz | AztecGold | ||||
BurnishedBrown | CeruleanFrost | CinnamonSatin | CopperPenny | ||||
CosmicCobalt | GlossyGrape | GraniteGray | GreenSheen | ||||
LilacLuster | MistyMoss | MysticMaroon | PearlyPurple | ||||
PewterBlue | PolishedPine | QuickSilver | RoseDust | ||||
RustyRed | ShadowBlue | ShinyShamrock | SteelTeal | ||||
SugarPlum | TwilightLavender | WintergreenDream | Amethyst | ||||
Citrine | Emerald | Jade | Jasper | ||||
LapisLazuli | Malachite | Moonstone | Onyx | ||||
Peridot | PinkPearl | RoseQuartz | Ruby | ||||
Sapphire | SmokeyTopaz | TigersEye | AquaPearl | ||||
BlackCoralPearl | CaribbeanGreenPearl | CulturedPearl | KeyLimePearl | ||||
MandarinPearl | MidnightPearl | MysticPearl | OceanBluePearl | ||||
OceanGreenPearl | OrchidPearl | RosePearl | SalmonPearl | ||||
SunnyPearl | SunsetPearl |
RAL colors
RAL color system (Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung) approximate RGB colors (from www.ralcolor.com). These can be loaded using
\usecolors[ral]
Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RAL1000 | RAL1001 | RAL1002 | RAL1003 | RAL1004 | RAL1005 | ||||||
RAL1006 | RAL1007 | RAL1011 | RAL1012 | RAL1013 | RAL1014 | ||||||
RAL1015 | RAL1016 | RAL1017 | RAL1018 | RAL1019 | RAL1020 | ||||||
RAL1021 | RAL1023 | RAL1024 | RAL1026 | RAL1027 | RAL1028 | ||||||
RAL1032 | RAL1033 | RAL1034 | RAL1035 | RAL1036 | RAL1037 | ||||||
RAL2000 | RAL2001 | RAL2002 | RAL2003 | RAL2004 | RAL2005 | ||||||
RAL2007 | RAL2008 | RAL2009 | RAL2010 | RAL2011 | RAL2012 | ||||||
RAL2013 | RAL3000 | RAL3001 | RAL3002 | RAL3003 | RAL3004 | ||||||
RAL3005 | RAL3007 | RAL3009 | RAL3011 | RAL3012 | RAL3013 | ||||||
RAL3014 | RAL3015 | RAL3016 | RAL3017 | RAL3018 | RAL3020 | ||||||
RAL3022 | RAL3024 | RAL3026 | RAL3027 | RAL3028 | RAL3031 | ||||||
RAL3032 | RAL3033 | RAL4001 | RAL4002 | RAL4003 | RAL4004 | ||||||
RAL4005 | RAL4006 | RAL4007 | RAL4008 | RAL4009 | RAL4010 | ||||||
RAL4011 | RAL4012 | RAL5000 | RAL5001 | RAL5002 | RAL5003 | ||||||
RAL5004 | RAL5005 | RAL5007 | RAL5008 | RAL5009 | RAL5010 | ||||||
RAL5011 | RAL5012 | RAL5013 | RAL5014 | RAL5015 | RAL5017 | ||||||
RAL5018 | RAL5019 | RAL5020 | RAL5021 | RAL5022 | RAL5023 | ||||||
RAL5024 | RAL5025 | RAL5026 | RAL6000 | RAL6001 | RAL6002 | ||||||
RAL6003 | RAL6004 | RAL6005 | RAL6006 | RAL6007 | RAL6008 | ||||||
RAL6009 | RAL6010 | RAL6011 | RAL6012 | RAL6013 | RAL6014 | ||||||
RAL6015 | RAL6016 | RAL6017 | RAL6018 | RAL6019 | RAL6020 | ||||||
RAL6021 | RAL6022 | RAL6024 | RAL6025 | RAL6026 | RAL6027 | ||||||
RAL6028 | RAL6029 | RAL6032 | RAL6033 | RAL6034 | RAL6035 | ||||||
RAL6036 | RAL6037 | RAL6038 | RAL7000 | RAL7001 | RAL7002 | ||||||
RAL7003 | RAL7004 | RAL7005 | RAL7006 | RAL7008 | RAL7009 | ||||||
RAL7010 | RAL7011 | RAL7012 | RAL7013 | RAL7015 | RAL7016 | ||||||
RAL7021 | RAL7022 | RAL7023 | RAL7024 | RAL7026 | RAL7030 | ||||||
RAL7031 | RAL7032 | RAL7033 | RAL7034 | RAL7035 | RAL7036 | ||||||
RAL7037 | RAL7038 | RAL7039 | RAL7040 | RAL7042 | RAL7043 | ||||||
RAL7044 | RAL7045 | RAL7046 | RAL7047 | RAL7048 | RAL8000 | ||||||
RAL8001 | RAL8002 | RAL8003 | RAL8004 | RAL8007 | RAL8008 | ||||||
RAL8011 | RAL8012 | RAL8014 | RAL8015 | RAL8016 | RAL8017 | ||||||
RAL8019 | RAL8022 | RAL8023 | RAL8024 | RAL8025 | RAL8028 | ||||||
RAL8029 | RAL9001 | RAL9002 | RAL9003 | RAL9004 | RAL9005 | ||||||
RAL9006 | RAL9007 | RAL9010 | RAL9011 | RAL9016 | RAL9017 | ||||||
RAL9018 | RAL9022 | RAL9023 |
Solarized colors
Colors based on the Solarized color scheme. These can be loaded using
\usecolors[solarized]
Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color | Name | Color |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
base03 | base02 | base01 | base00 | ||||
base0 | base1 | base2 | base3 | ||||
yellow | orange | red | magenta | ||||
violet | blue | cyan | green |
Additional pre-defined colors
In addition to the above, there are other pre-defined colors.
x11 | \usecolors[x11]
|
colo-imp-x11.mkiv | 658 extended Xorg color keywords (WWW), defined in hex RGB |
crayola | \usecolors[crayola]
|
colo-imp-crayola.mkiv | 235 Crayola (Binney & Smith) colors |
ema | \usecolors[ema]
|
colo-imp-ema.mkiv | 549 Emacs colors |
RAL | \usecolors[ral]
|
colo-imp-ral.mkiv | 213 RAL color system (Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung) |
Solarized | \usecolors[solarized]
|
colo-imp-solarized.mkiv | 16 solarized colors |
Defining New Colors
ConTeXt supports several color models:
- CMYK, typically used for printing
- RGB, HSV/HSL and HWB, typically used for screen display,
- Transparencies,
- Spot colors, typically used for offset printing.
New colors may be defined in the following ways
Name | Syntax (and Example) | Explanation |
---|---|---|
RGB color model | \definecolor[...][r=..., g=..., b=...] For example, \definecolor[lime][r=0.75, g=1, b=0] This is \color[lime]{a new color} that we defined |
The values for r , g , and b are floating point number between 0 and 1 .
|
CMYK color model | \definecolor[...][c=.., m=.., y=.., k=..] For example, \definecolor[lime][c=0.25, m=0, y=1, k=0] This is \color[lime]{a new color} that we defined |
The values for c , m , y and k are floating point number between 0 and 1 .
|
HSV/HSL color model | \definecolor[...][h=.., s=.., v=..] For example, \definecolor[lime][h=75, s=1, v=1] This is \color[lime]{a new color} that we defined |
The value for h (hue) is between 0 and 360 ; the values for s (saturation), v (value/brightness) are floating point numbers between 0 and 1 .
|
HWB color model | \definecolor[...][h=.., w=.., b=..] For example, \definecolor[something][h=75, w=0.5, b=.1] This is \color[something]{a new color} that we defined |
The value for h (hue) is between 0 and 360 ; the values for w (whiteness), b (blackness) are floating point numbers between 0 and 1 . This mostly unknown color model is also used in CSS3/SVG.
|
Hex | \definecolor[...][x=...] For example, \definecolor[lime][x=BFFF00] This is \color[lime]{a new color} that we defined |
The value for x is a three-byte hexadecimal number where the bytes represent the red, green, and blue values. This follows the HTML and CSS style of defining colors.
|
Gray scale | \definecolor[...][s=...] For example, \definecolor[screen][s=0.5] This is \color[screen]{a new color} that we defined |
The value for s is a floating point number between 0 and 1 , representing the grayness value (1 represents white, 0 represents black).
|
Cloning existing colors
You can clone an existing color using
\definecolor[new-color][old-color]
For example
\usecolors[xwi] \definecolor[highlight][yellow] \defineframed [important] [location=low, frame=off, background=color, backgroundcolor=highlight] This is a \important{important}word. \definecolor[highlight][lavenderblush] This is a \important{important}word. |
Adapting existing colors
TODO: add details about this (See: To-Do List) |
Advanced Usage
Changing color of entire document
To change the main text color of the document use
\setupcolors[textcolor=defined-color]
For example,
\setupcolors[textcolor=blue] \starttext text \stoptext |
Changing background color of page
The background color of the page can be changed using
\setupbackgrounds[page][background=color,backgroundcolor=defined-color]
For example,
\setuppapersize[A10] \setupbackgrounds[page][background=color,backgroundcolor=blue] \starttext text \stoptext |
Using colors in MetaPost
A color defined in TeX is available in MetaPost using \MPcolor{...}
. For example:
\definecolor[highlight][r=0.8,g=0.8,b=0] \starttext \color[highlight]{Highlighted text in TeX} \startMPcode label("Highlighted text in MetaPost", origin) withcolor \MPcolor{highlight}; \stopMPcode |
Note that \MPcolor{...}
behaves similar to a color
primitive in MetaPost. For example, the following is valid MetaPost code.
color myColor; myColor = 0.5[\MPcolor{highlight}, white];
For more further reading: Color in MetaPost.
Testing if color is defined
To test if a color is defined, use
Usage:
\doifcolor{color-name}{... if branch ... } \doifcolorelse{color-name}{... if branch ...}{... else branch ...}
Viewing pre-defined color
View all defined colors
To view pre-defined colors, you can use \showcolor. For example, to see all the colors defined in colo-imp-x11.mkiv, use (output truncated for display here ...)
\showcolor[x11] |
If you use \showcolor without any argument, all currently defined colors are shown.
View specific defined colors
To view the components of a defined color, you can use:
\showcolorcomponents[color-1, color-2]
For example,
\showcolorcomponents[red,middlered,darkred] |
\colorcompoents{defined-color} \tranparencycomponents{defined-color} \processcolorcomponents{defined-color}
For example,
\startlines \colorcomponents{red} \transparencycomponents{red} \processcolorcomponents{red} \stoplines |
|
Further reading and specialized topics
- Color Palettes
- Transparency
- Spot Colors
- References
- Paletton - Website to choose color palettes
- ColorBrewer - website to choose colors for maps and graphics.
- Tina Sutton, Bride M Whelan: The Complete Color Harmony. Rockport Publishers (2004). ISBN 978-1592530311 (recommanded in the mailing list)