In Paint, it is not difficult to find out the hex code of a color. You need the color code, for example, when programming web pages with HTML.
Paint – how to find out the hex code of a color
Paint is one of the tools that comes free as standard with Windows. You can't do much with this small graphics program, but it's enough to quickly find out basic things like the hex code of a color. First, open the graphic or image whose hex code you want to find out in the program.
- You have two options for this: First, open the Paint app and then upload the relevant image via “File”. Alternatively, go to the relevant image and right-click on it. In the context menu, select the “Open with” option and then choose the “Paint” program.
- After you have opened the image in Paint, go to the “Tools” section in the ribbon. There you select the icon that looks like an eyedropper – the so-called “color picker”. Use the color picker to click on a color in the image whose hex code you want to find out.
- You will now see the selected color in the “Color” area of the menu bar. If you click on the colorful color palette on the far right in the “Color” area, the hex code of the previously selected color will be displayed.
- The hex code begins with “#”, followed by six characters, letters and numbers. Below you will find the corresponding RGB values, which you can modify if necessary.
Paint under Windows 7 – how to find the hex code of a color
If you are still using Windows 7, follow these instructions. The procedure is the same under Windows XP, but the arrangement of the tool selection and the color palette is slightly different. The tool selection in Paint is on the left; the color palette is called up in the menu bar at the top via “Colors” -> “Edit Colors”.
- After you have opened the image from which you want to find out the hex code of a color, select the “Home” tab. Under “Tools” you will find the “Color Picker” tool.
- Click on the corresponding place in the image to select the color. In the next step you will learn how to find out the RGB values of the color.
Finding the RGB values of a color
By default, colors in Paint are specified in RGB (red-green-blue) values. Using these values, you can find out the hex code of the corresponding color. To do this, first follow these steps:
- After selecting the color with the Color Picker tool, click Edit Palette on the Home tab at the top right.
- At the bottom right you will find the decimal values for the red, green and blue values of the color. In our example we get the values red 89, green 132 and blue 189. Write down these values. In the next chapter you will learn how to convert these values into the hex code.
Convert RGB values to hexadecimal values
The RGB values of the color are decimal values. To find out the hex code of the color, you have to convert them. To do this, proceed as follows:
- In the conversion tool, enter the red value of the color under “Value” and click on “dec -> hex”. Make a note of the value. In our example: 81 decimal -> 51 hexadecimal
- Then enter the green value of the color under “Value” and click on “dec -> hex”. Make a note of the value. In our example: 132 decimal -> 84 hexadecimal
- Then enter the blue value of the color under “Value”, click on “dec -> hex” and note down the value. In our example: 189 Decimal -> BD Hexadecimal
- The individual hexadecimal values of the color together form the hex code. In some cases the hex code is indicated with a hash symbol. In our example the hex code of the color is: #5184BD