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A color picker (also color chooser or color tool) is a graphical user interface widget, usually found within graphics software or online, used to select colors and, in some cases, to create color schemes (the color picker might be more sophisticated than the palette included with the program). Operating systems such as Microsoft Windows or macOS have a system color picker, which can be used by third-party programs (e.g., Adobe Photoshop).

History

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2022)

The concept of color pickers dates back to the early days of computer graphics and digital design. Early versions were rudimentary, often featuring basic color palettes and limited functionality.

Purpose

A color picker is used to select and adjust color values. In graphic design and image editing, users typically choose colors via an interface with a visual representation of a color—organized with quasi-perceptually-relevant hue, saturation and lightness dimensions (HSL) – instead of keying in alphanumeric text values. Because color appearance depends on comparison of neighboring colors (see color vision), many interfaces attempt to clarify the relationships between colors.

Interface

Color tools can vary in their interface. Some may use sliders, buttons, text boxes for color values, or direct manipulation. Often a two-dimensional square is used to create a range of color values (such as lightness and saturation) that can be clicked on or selected in some other manner. Drag and drop, color droppers, and various other forms of interfaces are commonly used as well.

Usually, color values are also displayed numerically, so they can be precisely remembered and keyed-in later, such as three values of 0-255 representing red, green, and blue, respectively.

Eyedropper

The eyedropper is a tool present in most color pickers and graphics software that allows a user to read a color at a specific point in an image, or position on a display. This enables the color to be transferred to other applications particularly quickly.

Working

A color picker has two main parts, first a color slider and second a color canvas. The color slider has a linear or radial gradient of the seven rainbow colors i.e. Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. It allows you to choose any of the seven primary colors.

The color value chosen from the color slider instantly reflects in the color canvas. The color canvas is a mixture of two linear color gradients. First a linear gradient of the current chosen color and second a linear gradient of the black color. This mixture of color gradients lets you choose a lighter and darker version of the current chosen color from the color slider.

See also

• Alexis Spectral Data
• Color balance
• Color management
• Color space
• RGB color spaces

Notes

1. Feisner and Reed 2014, Chapter 5: "Digital Color Media and Technology", Glossary: "Color picker"
2. Bauer, Peter; Foster, Jeff (2002). Using Adobe Photoshop 7. Que Publishing. p. 209. ISBN 9780789727602.
3. alvinashcraft (2024-07-12). "PowerToys Awake utility for Windows". learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
4. alvinashcraft (2024-07-12). "PowerToys Color Picker utility for Windows". learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2024-08-10.

References

• Feisner, Edith Anderson; Reed, Ronald (2014), Color Studies, New York: Fairchild Books, ISBN 9781609015312

External links

• Various color formats

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Color philosophy	Color scheme Color tool Monochromatic colors black-and-white Complementary colors Analogous colors Achromatic colors (Neutral) Polychromatic colors Light-on-dark Web colors Tinctures in heraldry Color theory Color mixing Primary color Secondary color Chromaticity Color solid Color wheel Color triangle Color analysis (fashion) Color realism (art style) On Vision and Colours (Schopenhauer) Theory of Colours (Goethe)
Color terms	Basic terms Blue Green Red Yellow Pink Purple Orange Black Gray White Brown Cultural differences Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate Blue–green distinction in language Color history Black-and-white dualism Blue in culture Color in Chinese culture Traditional colors of Japan Human skin color Color dimensions Hue Dichromatism Colorfulness Pastel colors Luminance Lightness Darkness Brightness Iridescence Fluorescence Grayscale Tint, shade and tone
Color organizations	Pantone Color Marketing Group Color Association of the United States International Colour Authority International Commission on Illumination (CIE) International Color Consortium International Colour Association
Names	Lists List of colors: A–F List of colors: G–M List of colors: N–Z List of colors (compact) List of colors by shade List of color palettes List of color spaces List of Crayola crayon colors history Color chart List of RAL colors List of web colors Shades of: Red Orange Yellow Green Cyan Blue Violet Purple Magenta Pink Brown White Gray Black
Related	Vision Contrast Qualia Lighting
Category Index

• Color
• Color schemes
• Graphics software