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.NET Development
.NET Framework 3.5
Colors Class
This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
Colors Class

Updated: November 2007

Implements a set of predefined colors.

Namespace:  System.Windows.Media
Assembly:  PresentationCore (in PresentationCore.dll)
XMLNS for XAML: http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/xaml/presentation

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public NotInheritable Class Colors
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As Colors
C#
public sealed class Colors
Visual C++
public ref class Colors sealed
J#
public final class Colors
JScript
public final class Colors
XAML
<p>
                    You cannot declare this managed class in XAML, but you can use its static properties to assign values in XAML.
                </p>

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) color names match the Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.0, Windows Forms, and Microsoft Internet Explorer color names. This representation is based on UNIX X11 named color values.

The following image shows each predefined color, its name, and its hexadecimal value.

Color Table including a color swatch, the color name, and the hexadecimal value

Predefined colors

See the Brush class for a variety of other more complex ways you can color an area, including gradients (LinearGradientBrush, RadialGradientBrush) or images (ImageBrush).

To paint an area with a solid color, you can use a predefined system brush, such as Red or Blue, or you can create a new SolidColorBrush and describe its Color using alpha, red, green, and blue values. In XAML, you may also paint an area with a solid color by using hexidecimal notation.

The following examples uses each of these techniques to paint a Rectangle blue.

Using a Predefined Brush

In the following example uses the predefined brush Blue to paint a rectangle blue.

XAML
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Fill="Blue" />

C#
// Create a rectangle and paint it with
// a predefined brush.
Rectangle myPredefinedBrushRectangle = new Rectangle();
myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Width = 50;
myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Height = 50;
myPredefinedBrushRectangle.Fill = Brushes.Blue;

For a list of predefined brushes, see the Brushes class.

xaml

Using Hexadecimal Notation

The next example uses 8-digit hexadecimal notation to paint a rectangle blue.

XAML
<!-- Note that the first two characters "FF" of the 8-digit
     value is the alpha which controls the transparency of 
     the color. Therefore, to make a completely transparent
     color (invisible), use "00" for those digits (e.g. #000000FF). -->
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50" Fill="#FF0000FF" />

Using ARGB Values

The next example creates a SolidColorBrush and describes its Color using the ARGB values for the color blue.

XAML
<Rectangle Width="50" Height="50">
  <Rectangle.Fill>
    <SolidColorBrush>
     <SolidColorBrush.Color>

        <!-- Describes the brush's color using
             RGB values. Each value has a range of 0-255.  
             R is for red, G is for green, and B is for blue.
             A is for alpha which controls transparency of the
             color. Therefore, to make a completely transparent
             color (invisible), use a value of 0 for Alpha. -->
        <Color A="255" R="0" G="0" B="255" />
     </SolidColorBrush.Color>
    </SolidColorBrush>
  </Rectangle.Fill>
</Rectangle>

C#
Rectangle myRgbRectangle = new Rectangle();
myRgbRectangle.Width = 50;
myRgbRectangle.Height = 50;
SolidColorBrush mySolidColorBrush = new SolidColorBrush();

// Describes the brush's color using RGB values. 
// Each value has a range of 0-255.
mySolidColorBrush.Color = Color.FromArgb(255, 0, 0, 255);
myRgbRectangle.Fill = mySolidColorBrush;           

For other ways of describing color, see the Color structure.

Related Topics

For more information about SolidColorBrush and additional examples, see the Painting with Solid Colors and Gradients Overview overview.

This code example is part of a larger example provided for the SolidColorBrush class. For the complete sample, see the Brushes Sample.

System..::.Object
  System.Windows.Media..::.Colors
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows Vista

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0
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