How to set "Find" Background colour?

[PeterJones]

I still maintain it’s transparency. If it is, there should be a reasonably-consistent mapping from what you program for Find Mark Style > Background to what you measure, compared to the background. Since we know that something that’s 100% transparent will only show the background, and nothing of what you program; and since we know that something that’s 0% transparent will only show the programmed value and nothing of what’s in the background, we can figure out that the formula is: transparency = (measured-programmed)/(background-programmed).

So taking your example of red on white:

background: 255 255 255     WHITE
programmed: 255   0   0     BRIGHT RED
measured  : 255 155 155
=> 155/255=60.8% of the way from programmed to background (ie, 60% transparent)

Change the background to black, with the same programmed value, and I see (100,0,0) as the darker red highlight:

background:   0   0   0     BLACK
programmed: 255   0   0     BRIGHT RED
measured  : 100   0   0
=> 155/255=60.8% of the way from programmed to background

Change the background to charcoal:

background:  63  63  63     CHARCOAL
programmed: 255   0   0     BRIGHT RED
measured  : 138  38  38
R   CALC: (138-255=-117)/(63-255=-192) = 117/192 = 60.9%
G,B CALC: (38-0=38)/(63-0) = 38/63 = 60.3%

After three experiments getting within resolution of each other as far as measured color vs programmed and background, I am going to claim that it’s 60% transparency.

if the user wants to set up a certain color, and after doing so gets something different, what’s the point?

Yeah, it would be nice to have the ability to enable/disable transparency on those “highlight” styles, like Find Mark and Smart Highlighting. Maybe you should suggest it ;-). (I already made and cancelled an issue report for this thread, so I’m not going to do another.)

[Alan Kilborn]

@PeterJones said:

I still maintain it’s transparency

And that’s fine, but I maintain that the sample shown should reflect that to show a representative sample. :)

Maybe I will enter an issue.

BTW, how are you “measuring” to produce your measured values above?

[PeterJones]

@Alan-Kilborn said:

BTW, how are you “measuring” to produce your measured values above?

Taking a screenshot and using the mspaint.exe eyedropper

[PeterJones]

@Alan-Kilborn said:

sample shown should reflect that to show a representative sample

How many different backgrounds should it show the sample against? Because there’s the default background, and the selected-line background, and … All of those will influence what the final result looks like. (Probably my vote would go for default background, but the results will still vary depending on circumstances.) I think if the box at least admitted which styles were used with transparency (even if it doesn’t let you choose how much transparency), then the user could be considered informed that the final result won’t match exactly what’s in the sample box.

[Alan Kilborn]

@PeterJones

Maybe we are just happy that if some sort of red (or blue, or whatever) is chosen…some sort of red (or…) results. :)

[Ronald Fischer]

@Alan-Kilborn You are close! Indeed, you are right in that it takes the background from “selected text colour”, but the foreground is still taken depending on the respective syntax highlighting, which means I have to find a background colour for this, which is different from the current background colour, but at the same time sufficiently distinct from every foreground colour which might be defined by the syntax settings.

[Alan Kilborn]

@Ronald-Fischer

I supposed the true answer is that it is not a simple thing. Regarding foreground and background, even that is complicated because even though both appear for each type of setting, sometimes one or the other is ignored (see @guy038 's table above).

[Alan Kilborn]

@guy038 said:

Off topic : I’m, now, going to have a glance to that recent issue :

https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/issues/5830

How’s that going?

[guy038]

Hello, @peterjones, @alan-kilborn and All,

How are you, all ? You were probably wondering what was happening to me ? Fortunately, nothing serious. I’m just fine ! Actually, since more than a month, I was intensely studying numerous aspects of color, as well as color coding in computer science and, of course, some practical results for our beloved editor ! Be convinced that I’m quite pleased to be back in the Community and to share my searches ;-))

First, in the next post, you’ll see a ( very looooooong ! ) list of links, relative to color and vision, on-line color programs and color lists. Even if you do not plan to visit all the different sites, I strongly advice you to have a look to the first section, named General Information, in order to have an overview on color matters, used in computers, which should be useful for the rest of the discussion !

Best Regards,

guy038

[guy038]

Hi, All,

----------------------------------- General Information ----------------------------------------------------------

https://blog.asmartbear.com/color-wheels.html                             ( Introduction )

http://www.surendranath.org/GPA/General/ColorAS/ColorAS.html              ( Additive and Subtractive coloring )

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/default.asp                              ( Excellent Color Tutorial )

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-2/Color-Subtraction   ( Color Subtraction process )

https://htmlcolorcodes.com/color-picker                                   ( See section "Color Harmonies", below the Color Picker area )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhslhexuse.html                    ( Color Schemes Definitions / Examples )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorshadesuse.html                    ( Color Schemes Definitions / Examples )


---------------------------------- Wikipedia Documentation -------------------------------------------------------

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterimage


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tints_and_shades


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_black ( or blue, brown, cyan, green, gray, magenta, orange, pink, red, violet, white, yellow )


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMY_color_model

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RYB_color_model

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_scheme


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_color_models_in_computer_graphics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSL_and_HSV

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_difference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_correction#Simple_monitor_tests

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_compositing


----------------------------------- Color Code Converters / Conversion Formulas ----------------------------------

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/color/index.html             ( Converter / Conversions )

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/number/hex-to-decimal.html   ( Hex - Decimal Conversion )

https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/color/hex-to-rgb.html        ( Hex - RGB Conversion )


----------------------------------- On-Line Color Pickers (0) ----------------------------------------------------

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_picker.asp                                             ( Hex, RGB, HSL input )

http://chir.ag/projects/name-that-color  [ /#xxxxxx ]                                    (1)   ( Hex input )

https://www.color-blindness.com/color-name-hue                                           (1)   ( Hex, RGB, HSV  input )

https://www.tydac.ch/color                                                                     ( Hex, RGB, HSV, Dec input )

https://www.colorhexa.com  [ /xxxxxx ]                                                         ( All formats input )

https://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.html                                           ( Hex, RGB, HSV input )

https://www.color-hex.com  [ /xxxxxx ]                                                         ( Hex, RGB, HSL, HSV input )

https://htmlcolorcodes.com/color-picker                                                  (2)   ( Hex, RGB input )

https://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip143.htm                                             (3)   ( Mouse gestures )

http://www.copysense.co.uk/mixem.php                                                           ( Hex, RGB input )

http://davidjohnstone.net/pages/lch-lab-colour-gradient-picker  [#xxxxxx[,yyyyyy]...]    (4)   ( All formats input )

https://www.colorschemer.com/color-picker                                                      ( Hex, RGB, HSL input )

https://encycolorpedia.com   [ /xxxxxx ]                                                 (5)   ( All formats input )

https://encycolorpedia.com/paints  [ ?color=xxxxxx ]

https://www.colorcombos.com/combotester.html  [ ?color0=xxxxxx&color1=yyyyyy&.....&show_text=[N/Y] ]   ( All formats input )


----------------------------------- Notes on Color Pickers -------------------------------------------------------

(0) - The syntaxes 'xxxxxx' and 'yyyyyy' refer to the HTML 6-Hexadecimal Digits color

(1) - Displays also the Color Name

(2) - Input in HSL or CMYK Color Space zones does not produce correct results !

(3) - 2 simultaneous colors-pickers

(4) - Preferably, select the "show all" option for the "Color Selection Mode", in order to display controls in all Color Spaces

    - Possibility of several simultaneous Color Pickers

    - To be sure to display all step colors, in the gradient list, for all color spaces, simply choose the swatches number, according to the formula :

          Swatches Number = Stops Number + ( Stops Number - 1 ) * k , where k is an integer >= 0

(5) - Beware : Erroneous Gradient to Complementary if CIELCHuv or HSL Color Space choice


----------------------------------- Color Gradient Generators ----------------------------------------------------

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_gradient.asp

https://www.colorhexa.com/color-gradient


http://davidjohnstone.net/pages/lch-lab-colour-gradient-picker

http://davidjohnstone.net/pages/cubehelix-gradient-picker


https://meyerweb.com/eric/tools/color-blend/#:::hex


----------------------------------- Color Contrast Calculators ---------------------------------------------------

https://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html   ( Color Contrast Check )

http://www.msfw.com/Services/ContrastRatioCalculator     ( Color Contrast Ratio Calculator with samples )


----------------------------------- Color Blind Simulators -------------------------------------------------------

https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator


----------------------------------- Color Scheme Generators [ and Color Pickers ] --------------------------------

https://coolors.co/app                      ( Click on Space key to generate a NEW 5-colors palette )

https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel

https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator   ( From 1 to 3 simultaneous colors-pickers )

https://bahamas10.github.io/ryb             ( Use option Mask in "Color Harmonies" and choose Color Space in "Interpolation" ! )


----------------------------------- Color Palette Generators from an Image or URL --------------------------------

http://www.colr.org

https://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/color-tester.html

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/color-summarizer/?analyze

https://labs.tineye.com/color/

https://color.adobe.com/create

http://colormind.io/image

https://www.canva.com/colors/color-palette-generator

http://www.colorfavs.com

https://coolors.co/app

https://encycolorpedia.com


----------------------------------- NET Image Search Engines -----------------------------------------------------

https://color.adobe.com/explore

https://labs.tineye.com/multicolr          ( Search images on Flickr, from 1 to 5 given colors, in adjustable proportions )

http://designspiration.net/colors/xxxxxx   ( Search design images with colors similar to color with HTML value xxxxxx )

https://www.tineye.com

https://images.google.com                  ( Search [ similar ] images from text or from the uploaded image less than ~ 5.5 Mb )

https://www.shutterstock.com               ( Search [ similar ] images from text or from the uploaded image less than 5 Mb )


----------------------------------- Color Charts / Palettes ------------------------------------------------------

https://htmlcolorcodes.com/color-chart                    ( Color charts )

http://html-color-codes.com                               ( HTML Color Chart in Hex )

http://html-color-codes.com/rgb.html                      ( HTML Color Chart in RGB )


https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhslhex.html       ( Hue intervals of 30° )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhslhex10.html     ( Hue intervals of 10° )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhslhex6.html      ( Hue intervals of  6° )


https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhsltable.html     ( Hue intervals of 30° )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhsltable10.html   ( Hue intervals of 10° )

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorhsltable6.html    ( Hue intervals of  6° )


https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorspottable.html


http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colornames/#color-name-swatches     ( Hue intervals of 30° and Luminance intervals of 20 )

https://www.color-hex.com/color-palettes                  ( 58520 palettes listed ! )

https://www.canva.com/learn/100-color-combinations        ( 100 Brilliant Palette Combinations )

http://files.culturenumerique.webnode.fr/200000039-4f4605138d/nuancier_quadri.pdf  ( 1,900 colors )


----------------------------------- Miscellaneous ----------------------------------------------------------------

http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/Dictionaries.html                 ( List of color lists ! )

https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-education/color-iq-test   ( Hues Vision Tester : funny and informative ! )

https://www.canva.com/colors/color-meanings                                ( Color meanings )

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/color                                                ( 'Colorconvert' and 'colorsnap' DOS mode software )


http://pngimg.com/download/19631    ( Google logo )

        Red = EA4335               Green = 34A853                Yellow = FBBC05                  Blue = 4285F4
    ( ~ Cinnabar E34234 )    ( ~ Chateau Green 40A860 )    ( ~ Selective Yellow FFBA00 )    ( ~ Dodger Blue 1E90FF )


----------------------------------- Lists of Named colors --------------------------------------------------------

https://www.color-hex.com/color-names.html                                       505 colors

http://chir.ag/projects/ntc/ntc.js                                             1,566 colors

https://www.colorhexa.com/color-names                                            746 colors

https://color-ize.com/color-list.php#D                                           170 colors   ( Extract with Source Code )

http://www.agence-casanova.fr/professionnel/identitaire/pantone.html             907 colors

https://www.toutes-les-couleurs.com/nuancier-pantone.php                         992 colors   ( Extract with Source Code )

http://www.stardustcolors.com/documents/fr/nuancier-pantone.pdf                  992 colors

https://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.html#color-table                 155 colors

http://www.resene.co.nz/swatches/download_pencils.xls                         10,125 colors

https://sashat.me/2017/01/11/list-of-20-simple-distinct-colors                    20 colors

https://htmlcolorcodes.com/color-names                                           140 colors   ( HTML  + CSS Color Names )

https://www.computerhope.com/htmcolor.htm                                        342 colors

http://www.workwithcolor.com/color-chart-full-01.htm                             258 colors

https://www.colorcombos.com/color-tags.html                                    1,598 Color Names

https://github.com/bahamas10/css-color-names/blob/master/css-color-names.json    148 colors   ( HTML  + CSS Color Names )


https://cloford.com/resources/colours/500col.htm                                 552 colors

https://cloford.com/resources/colours/namedcol.htm                               140 colors   ( HTML + CSS Color Names )


https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_crayola.asp                              318 colors

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_names.asp                                140 colors   ( HTML Color Names )

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_trends.asp                               126 colors


http://applied-r.com/download/6568/                                              657 colors   ( PDF file with Colors by Name )

http://applied-r.com/download/6577/                                              657 colors   ( PDF file with Hex Color values )


http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/resenecolours.txt                     1,383 colors   ( 2007 )

http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/Resene-2010-rgb.txt                   1,378 colors   ( Use preferably the previous list ! )

http://people.csail.mit.edu/jaffer/Color/rgb.txt                                 732 colors   ( X Consortium )


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors:_A%E2%80%93F                        334 colors   \
                                                                                              |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors:_G%E2%80%93M                        235 colors    >  956 colors
                                                                                              |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors:_N%E2%80%93Z                        387 colors   /


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors_%28compact%29                     1,537 colors   ( Extract with Source Code )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors_by_shade                            526 colors   ( Extract with Source Code )


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X11_color_names#Color_name_chart                   145 colors   ( X11 Color Names )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors#X11_color_names                         140 colors   ( X11 Color Names )


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_colors#Color_table                             216 colors   ( = 6 * 6 * 6 Web-Safe Colors )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors                      164 colors


https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorcodes.html                             1,109 colors

https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorucl.html      \
                                                       >                         932 colors   ( + 42 NON-defined )
https://www.december.com/html/spec/colorucl2.html     /


https://encycolorpedia.com/html                                                  148 colors   ( HTML  + CSS Color Names )

https://encycolorpedia.com/named                                               1,690 colors


http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colornames/color.names.rgbonly.txt                       9,284 colors

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colornames/color.names.txt                               9,284 colors

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colornames/rgb.names.txt.gz                                             ( 217 Mo file ! )

http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/colornames/#color-name-swatches                          7,820 colors


https://xkcd.com/color/rgb                                                       954 colors

https://xkcd.com/color/rgb.txt )                                                 954 colors

https://blog.xkcd.com/2010/05/03/color-survey-results                             48 colors   ( Section "RGB values" )


https://www.colorschemer.com/roblox-color-codes                                  208 colors

https://www.colorschemer.com/color-names                                         139 colors   ( HTML and CSS Color Names )

https://www.colorschemer.com/rgb-color-codes                                     139 colors   ( RGB Color Names )


----------------------------------- Additional Theoretical Information on Color ----------------------------------

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/wcolor.html   ( Color Theory )

http://www.handprint.com/LS/CVS/color.html    ( Color Vision )

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/wtech.html    ( Color Techniques )


http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color1.html   ( Light and the Eye )

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color4.html   ( Color Constancy )

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/tech13.html   ( Color Harmony and Design )


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

guy038

[guy038]

Hi, @peterjones, @alan-kilborn and All,

Now, that you’ve got some color notions, here are, in this post, the general algorithms to switch from RGB color space encoding to HSL space encoding and vice versa. I, intentionally, used natural language and the different calculations are very basic. I also made sure that the areas of validity, of each entry, were indicated !

So, you should apply these 2 algorithms to your preferred programming language, very easily ! I personally tested them and all results are correct :-))

#-----------------------
# Conversion RGB -> HSL
#-----------------------


# ---------- Assumptions on Red, Green and Blue components -----------------------------------------

   Red in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Grn in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Blu in interval [ 0 - 255 ]

# ---------- Normalization to interval [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------

    r = Red / 255    g = Grn / 255    b = Blu / 255

# ---------- Calculus of min RGB [ 0 - 1 ] and max RGB [ 0 - 1 ]------------------------------------

    min = MIN ( r , g , b )    max = MAX ( r , g , b )

# ---------- Calculus of c [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    c = max - min

# ---------- Calculus of h [ 0 - 6 [ ---------------------------------------------------------------

    IF c = 0 THEN

      h = 0        # in fact, " undefined " !

    ELSE

      IF max = g THEN h = 2 + ( b - r ) / c

      IF max = b THEN h = 4 + ( r - g ) / c

      IF max = r THEN h = ( 6 + ( g - b ) / c ) MOD 6

    END IF

# ---------- Calculus of l [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    l = ( max + min ) / 2

# ---------- Calculus of s [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    IF l = 0 OR l = 1 THEN    #  Or if c = 0

      s = 0

    ELSE

      s = c / ( 1 - ABS ( max + min - 1 ) )

    END IF

# ---------- Results : Hue [ 0 - 360 [ , Saturation [ 0 - 100 ] and Lightness [ 0 - 100 ] ----------

    Hue = 60 * h    Sat = 100 * s    Lgt = 100 * l

    IF c > 0 THEN PRINT Hue ; ELSE PRINT "N/A" ;

    PRINT Sat ; Lgt

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


#-----------------------
# Conversion HSL -> RGB
# ----------------------


# ---------- Assumptions on Hue, Saturation and Lightness ------------------------------------------

    Hue in interval [ 0 - 360 [    Sat in interval [ 0 - 100 ]    Lgt in interval [ 0 - 100 ]

# ---------- Normalization to intervals [ 0 - 6 [ and [ 0 - 1 ] ------------------------------------

    h = Hue / 60    s = Sat / 100    l = Lgt / 100

# ---------- Additional hypothesis -----------------------------------------------------------------

    IF l = 0 OR l = 1 THEN s = 0

# ---------- Calculus of c [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    c = s * ( 1 - ABS ( 2 * l - 1 ) )

# ---------- Calculus of min RGB [ 0 - 1 ] and max RGB [ 0 - 1 ] -----------------------------------

    min = l - c / 2    max = l + c / 2

# ---------- Calculus of the intermediate value x [0 - 1 ] -----------------------------------------

    x = c * ( 1 - ABS ( h MOD 2 - 1 ) )

# ---------- Calculus of r [ 0 - 1 ] , g [ 0 - 1 ] and b [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------

    IF h >= 0 AND h < 1 THEN    r = max        g = x + min    b = min

    IF h >= 1 AND h < 2 THEN    r = x + min    g = max        b = min

    IF h >= 2 AND h < 3 THEN    r = min        g = max        b = x + min

    IF h >= 3 AND h < 4 THEN    r = min        g = x + min    b = max

    IF h >= 4 AND h < 5 THEN    r = x + min    g = min        b = max

    IF h >= 5 AND h < 6 THEN    r = max        g = min        b = x + min

# ---------- Results : Red [ 0 - 255 ] , Green [ 0 - 255 ] , Blue [ 0 - 255 ] components -----------

    Red = 255 * r    Grn = 255 * g    Blu = 255 * b

    PRINT Red ; Grn ; Blu

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

However, when you’re using the traditional Windows Color dialog, below :

You may have noticed that Microsoft varies the 3 values ( Hue, Saturation, Lightness ) in ranges [0 - 240] !

Thus, here are, below, 2 similar algorithms to get correct HSL and RGB values, when using the Windows Color dialog :

#------------------------------------------------
# Conversion RGB -> HSL, in Windows Color dialog
#------------------------------------------------


# ---------- Assumptions on Red, Green and Blue components -----------------------------------------

   r in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    g in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    b in interval [ 0 - 255 ]

# ---------- Calculus of min [ 0 - 255 ] and max [ 0 - 255 ] ---------------------------------------

    min = MIN ( r , g , b )    max = MAX ( r , g , b )

# ---------- Calculus of c [ 0 - 255 ] -------------------------------------------------------------

    c = max - min

# ---------- Calculus of h [ 0 - 6 [ ---------------------------------------------------------------

    IF c = 0 THEN

      h = 0        # in fact, " undefined " !

    ELSE

      IF max = g THEN h = 2 + ( b - r ) / c

      IF max = b THEN h = 4 + ( r - g ) / c

      IF max = r THEN h = ( 6 + ( g - b ) / c ) MOD 6

    END IF

# ---------- Calculus of l [ 0 - 255 ] -------------------------------------------------------------

    l = ( max + min ) / 2

# ---------- Calculus of s [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    IF l = 0 OR l = 255 THEN    #  Or if c = 0

      s = 0

    ELSE

      s = c / ( 255 - ABS ( max + min - 255 ) )

    END IF

# ---------- Results : Hue [ 0 - 240 [ , Saturation [ 0 - 240 ] and Lightness [ 0 - 240 ] ----------

    Hue = 40 * h    Sat = 240 * s    Lgt = 16 * l / 17

    IF c > 0 THEN PRINT Hue ; ELSE PRINT "N/A" ;

    PRINT Sat ; Lgt

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


#------------------------------------------------
# Conversion HSL -> RGB, in Windows Color dialog
#------------------------------------------------


# ---------- Assumptions on Hue, Saturation and Lightness ------------------------------------------

    Hue in interval [ 0 - 240 [    Sat in interval [ 0 - 240 ]    Lgt in interval [ 0 - 240 ]

# ---------- Normalization to intervals [ 0 - 6 [ and [ 0 - 1 ] ------------------------------------

    h = Hue / 40    s = Sat / 240    l = Lgt / 240

# ---------- Additional hypothesis -----------------------------------------------------------------

    IF l = 0 OR l = 1 THEN s = 0

# ---------- Calculus of c [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------------------------------------

    c = s * ( 1 - ABS ( 2 * l - 1 ) )

# ---------- Calculus of min [ 0 - 1 ] and max [ 0 - 1 ] -------------------------------------------

    min = l - c / 2    max = l + c / 2

# ---------- Calculus of the intermediate value x [0 - 1 ] -----------------------------------------

    x = c * ( 1 - ABS ( h MOD 2 - 1 ) )

# ---------- Calculus of r [ 0 - 1 ] , g [ 0 - 1 ] and b [ 0 - 1 ] ---------------------------------

    IF h >= 0 AND h < 1 THEN   r = max        g = x + min     b = min

    IF h >= 1 AND h < 2 THEN   r = x + min    g = max         b = min

    IF h >= 2 AND h < 3 THEN   r = min        g = max         b = x + min

    IF h >= 3 AND h < 4 THEN   r = min        g = x + min     b = max

    IF h >= 4 AND h < 5 THEN   r = x + min    g = min         b = max

    IF h >= 5 AND h < 6 THEN   r = max        g = min         b = x + min

# ---------- Results : Red [ 0 - 255 ] , Green [ 0 - 255 ] , Blue [ 0 - 255 ] components -----------

    Red = 255 * r    Grn = 255 * g    Blu = 255 * b

    PRINT Red ; Grn ; Blu

# --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

After a while, it seemed obvious to me that the study of color schemes, shades, tints and tones is considerably simplified when using the HSL color space instead of the RGB one. Briefly, for a color Cx, with HSL values equal, respectively, to Hx, Sx and Lx :

• A Pure Hue is a color with values H variable in range [ 0 - 359 ] , S = 100 and L = 50

In RGB, this implies that one of the RGB values must be 255, the second must be 0 and the third is variable in range [ 0 - 255 ]

• Shades of color Cx have HSL values Hx, Sx, and L variable in range [ 0 - 50 ]

• Tints of color Cx have HSL values Hx, Sx, and L variable in range [ 50 - 100 ]

• Tones of color Cx have HSL values Hx, S in range [ 0 - 100 ]] and Lx

• Black achromatic color has HSL values H undefined , S = 0 and L = 0

• All Grey achromatic colors have HSL values H undefined , S = 0 and L variable in range ] 0 - 100 [

• White achromatic color has HSL values H undefined , S = 0 and L = 100

• Colors involved in Gradient between color Cx and its complementary color Cc, have HSL values H variable in range [Hx - Hc], Sx and Lx

---

Now, for all color schemes, regarding the color Cx ( Hx, Sx, Lx ), any other color of a particular scheme keeps the Sx and Lx values. Only, the hue Hx is different for each color of the scheme. Thus, we can summarize :

• In the Complementary scheme : 2 colors, with respective hues Hx and Hx + 180° ( or Hx - 180° and Hx )

• In the Diadic scheme : 2 colors, with respective hues Hx and Hx + 60° ( or hues Hx - 60° and Hx )

• In the Neutral scheme : 3 colors, with respective hues Hx , H - 15° and H + 15°

• In the Analog scheme : 3 colors, with respective hues Hx , H - 30° and H + 30°

• In the Split Complementary scheme : 3 colors, with respective hues Hx , Hx - 150° and Hx + 150°

• In the Triadic scheme : 3 colors, with respective hues Hx , Hx - 120° and Hx + 120°

• In the Tetradic scheme : 4 colors, with respective hues Hx - 60°, Hx, Hx + 120° and Hx + 180°

( or Hx - 180°, Hx - 120°, Hx and Hx + 60° )

• In the Square scheme : 4 colors, with respective hues Hx - 90°, Hx, Hx + 90° and Hx + 180°

• In the Monochromatic scheme, 7 colors are generally involved and have the HSL values Hx, Sx and the following L values :

  • Lx - 15%, Lx - 10%, Lx - 5%, Lx, Lx + 5%, Lx + 10%, Lx + 15%

Remark that when the color hue is equal to :

• 60°, 180° or 300°, this implies that 2 values, of the RGB triplet, are equal to 255

• 0°, 120° or 240°, this implies that 2 values, of the RGB triplet, are equal to 0

At last, when 1 or 2 values, of the RGB triplet are equal to 0 or 255 and the third value in range [ 1 - 254 ], this implies that saturation S = 100

---

In the next post, I’ll speak about the Notepad++ plugin Quick Color Picker +, which is necessary to study color matters, in N++, as well as various calculations to obtain the actual colors resulting after one or simultaneous highlightings from N++ or other plugins

Cheers,

guy038

[guy038]

Hello, @peterjones, @alan-kilborn and All,

To help us,seriously, to study color, in Notepad++, the best is to download the Quick Color Picker + plugin from below :

https://github.com/JetNpp/NppQcp/tree/master/bin

• Double-click on the NppQCP.dll or NppQCP(x64).dll library

• Click on the Download button, on the right of screen

And here is a picture of the main instructions how to use the NppQCP plugin :

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/f9d9fd0ae5eb97944176b2ba62720107b8646d82/68747470733a2f2f73332d61702d736f757468656173742d312e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f6e70707163702f66656174757265732d322e302e706e67

For instance, whatever the N++ language used, if your text contains one of these 3 syntaxes : #b66F37 , rgb(120,40,80) or hsl(150,72%,69%), any double-click on the HEX color value or on the labels rgb or hsl, in lower case, will immediately open the Color Palette

In the tuning swatch, the 4 columns refer, respectively, from left to right, to values H(ue), S(aturation), L(ightness) and A(lpha), which are :

• Greater than current tuned color values ( in the middle ), for colors in the top part of the tuning swatch

• Lower than current tuned color values ( in the middle ), for colors in the bottom part of the tuning swatch.

As soon as you click on the bottom left button or choose the option Plugins > Quick Color Picker + > Pick Color from Screen, the Notepad++ window is hidden for easy color picking from other software. And if you want to pick up some color values of an element of Notepad++ itself, just put all your other opened windows in the background !

Important remark : In the small Color Picker screen, the HTML hexadecimal values shown are erroneous : Indeed, the plugin shows the #BBGGRR values instead of the correct #RRGGBB common values which match the RGB values, just under !

Luckily, in the color palette panel, the HTML code is correctly displayed :-))

---

Now we have to understand how two colors, having each an opacity factor, can be blended and how we can calculate the resulting output color produced !

From the end of the section, below, right after the picture of some compositing image operations, with two colors A and B :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_compositing#Description

And also, from the end of this post :

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/726549/algorithm-for-additive-color-mixing-for-rgb-values

We can read that the over operator is a normal painting operation of alpha compositing, equivalent of the blending process of two colors A and B, both, with an opacity factor, which produces a resulting color R, defined by the equations, in the RGB color space :

Alpha.R  =  1.0 - (1.0 - Alpha.B) * (1.0 - Alpha.A) , which can, also, be written :  Alpha R  =  Alpha.A + Alpha.B * (1 - Alpha.A)

Red.R    =  (Red.A   * Alpha.A + Red.B   * Alpha.B * (1.0 - Alpha.A)) / Alpha.R
Green.R  =  (Green.A * Alpha.A + Green.B * Alpha.B * (1.0 - Alpha.A)) / Alpha.R
Blue.R   =  (Blue.A  * Alpha.A + Blue.B  * Alpha.B * (1.0 - Alpha.A)) / Alpha.R

These are the general formulas. However, it’s important to note that, in the particular case of Alpha.B = 1 ( color B totally opaque ), these equations can be shortened as :

Alpha.R = 1

Red.R    =  Red.A   * Alpha.A + Red.B   * (1.0 - Alpha.A)
Green.R  =  Green.A * Alpha.A + Green.B * (1.0 - Alpha.A)
Blue.R   =  Blue.A  * Alpha.A + Blue.B  * (1.0 - Alpha.A)

which can, simply, be can be re-written as :

Alpha.R = 1

Red.R    =  Red.B   + Alpha.A * (Red.A   - Red.B  )
Green.R  =  Green.B + Alpha.A * (Green.A - Green.B)
Blue.R   =  Blue.B  + Alpha.A * (Blue.A  - Blue.B )

It represents the alpha blending process, which is a convex combination of a translucent foreground color A with an opaque background color B, with an opacity foreground factor, named Alpha.A, in the range [0.0 - 1.0].

• If Alpha.A = 0 ( => foreground A is totally transparent ), then the resulting color R is the background color B

• If Alpha.A = 1 ( => foreground A is totally opaque ), then the resulting color R is the foreground color A

For further information, refer to :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_compositing#Alpha_blending

---

So, here is, below, a very simple algorithm for the calculus of the RGB values of the color Cr, resulting of the mixing of a new color Cn with the current color Cc :

#---------------------
# Blend of TWO colors
#---------------------


#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
#    RESULTING color Cr, from the blend of TWO colors, Cn and Cc, with an OPACITY factor alpha
#
#
#      IMPORTANT : This calculus can be used, EITHER, for the BLEND of :
#
#          - the NEW color, Cn, with the current FOREGROUND color Cc ( a TEXT )
#
#          - the NEW color, Cn, with the current BACKGROUND color Cc
#
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
#    Given a CURRENT color Cc with OPACITY factor = 1 and a NEW color Cn, ADDED, with an OPACITY factor alpha,
#
#        in the [ 0 - 1 ] interval, and the RESULTING color Cr, with an OPACITY factor = 1 :
#
#
#      We apply the general formula :    Cr = alpha * Cn + ( 1 - alpha ) * Cc
#
#          which can be rewritten   :    Cr = Cc + alpha * ( Cn - Cc )
#
#
#    If foreground alpha =  1   then the RESULTING color Cr is the NEW   color Cn ( => The NEW color Cn is totally OPAQUE )
#
#    If foreground alpha = .5   then the RESULTING color Cr is the PERFECT mixing of the TWO colors Cn and Cc
#
#    If foreground alpha =  0   then the RESULTING color Cr is the CURRENT color Cc ( => The NEW color Cn is totally TRANSPARENT )
#
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


# --- Assumptions on opacity component alpha of the NEW color Cn -------------------------------------------------------------

    alpha in interval [ 0 - 255 ]

# --- Normalization to interval [ 0 - 1 ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    alpha = alpha / 255

# --- Assumptions on Red, Green and Blue components of the CURRENT color Cc --------------------------------------------------

    Rc in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Gc in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Bc in interval [ 0 - 255 ]

# --- Assumptions on Red, Green and Blue components of the NEW color Cn ------------------------------------------------------

    Rn in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Gn in interval [ 0 - 255 ]    Bn in interval [ 0 - 255 ]

# --- Calculus of Red, Green and Blue components of the RESULTING color Cr ---------------------------------------------------

    Rr = Rc + alpha * ( Rn - Rc )    Gr = Gc + alpha * ( Gn - Gc )    Br = Bc + alpha * ( Bn - Bc )

# --- Results : Red [ 0 - 255 ] , Green [ 0 - 255 ] and Blue [ 0 - 255 ] components of the RESULTING color -------------------

    PRINT Rr ; Gr ; Br

# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

At last, if we apply the above equations to Notepad++, we can explain most of the resulting colors, due to the different user, N++ or plugins highlightings ;-))

From tests, I noticed that all N++ background highlighting seem to use the value alpha = 100/255 ≈ 0,3922

You’ll find some examples, below. Note that :

• All the colors are described with the RGBA color space : (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha)

• I assume the default N++ theme is used ( stylers.xml ). This implies that current text color is Black (0,0,0,1) and current background color is White (255,255,255,1)

• I also assume that the option Settings > Preferences... > Editing > Enable smooth font is unticked

• The opaque current line and current selection styles are the default ones. So, RGBA value of current line Bg and current selection Bg are, respectively, (232,232,255,1) and (192,192,192,1)

0,255,0,0.392   ( Smart Highlighting )         +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 155,255,155,1
0,255,0,0.392   ( Smart Highlighting )         +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 141,241,155,1
0,255,0,0.392   ( Smart Highlighting )         +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 117,217,117,1

255,0,0,0.392   ( Find Mark Style )            +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 255,155,155,1
255,0,0,0.392   ( Find Mark Style )            +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 241,141,155,1
255,0,0,0.392   ( Find Mark Style )            +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 217,117,117,1

255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )               +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 255,205,155,1
255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )               +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 241,191,155,1
255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )               +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 217,167,117,1


128,0,255,0.392 ( Mark Style 4 )               +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 205,155,255,1
128,0,255,0.392 ( Mark Style 4 )               +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 191,141,255,1
128,0,255,0.392 ( Mark Style 4 )               +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 167,117,217,1

0,128,255,0.392 ( Incremental Highlight All )  +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 155,205,255,1
0,128,255,0.392 ( Incremental Highlight All )  +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 141,191,255,1
0,128,255,0.392 ( Incremental Highlight All )  +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 117,167,217,1

0,128,255,0.392 ( Tag match highlighting )     +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 205,155,255,1
0,128,255,0.392 ( Tag match highlighting )     +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 191,141,255,1
0,128,255,0.392 ( Tag match highlighting )     +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 167,117,217,1

255,255,0,0.392 ( Tag Attribute )              +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 241,241,155,1
255,255,0,0.392 ( Tag Attribute )              +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 217,217,117,1

If we apply, both, Mark Style 2 and Mark Style 4 on Current Background, this operation is equivalent to apply :

• Firstly, apply the Mark Style 4 on Current Background

• Secondly, apply the Mark style 2 on the resulting color ( Mark Style 4 + Current Background )

Note that the order is important : the style, of higher value, must be processed first. So, Style 4 then Style 2 !

Hence :

255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )  +  205,155,255,1 ( Mark Style 4  +  White Bg             )  =>  Resulting color = 225,144,155,1
255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )  +  191,141,255,1 ( Mark Style 4  +  Current Line Bg      )  =>  Resulting color = 216,136,155,1
255,128,0,0.392 ( Mark Style 2 )  +  167,117,217,1 ( Mark Style 4  +  Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 202,121,132,1

Now, let’s add a plugin highlighting ! Here is a try with the DSpellCheck plugin. For the test, I changed the default Underline Style for misspelled words, choosing the option Round Box ( Pure Red ) in Plugins > DSpellCheck > Settings... > Advanced > Underline Style

After some tests, I’ve found out that the opacity factor of the DSpellcheck style is 30/255 ≈ 0,1176 and acts, both, on the foreground ( Text ) and the background color. Hence :

255,0,0,0.1176 ( DSpellCheck Round Box Style )  +  255,255,255,1 ( White Bg )              =>  Resulting color = 255,225,225,1
255,0,0,0.1176 ( DSpellCheck Round Box Style )  +  232,232,255,1 ( Current line Bg )       =>  Resulting color = 235,205,225,1
255,0,0,0.1176 ( DSpellCheck Round Box Style )  +  192,192,192,1 ( Current Selection Bg )  =>  Resulting color = 199,169,169,1

255,0,0,0.1176 ( DSpellCheck Round Box Style )  +  0,0,0,1       ( Black Fg )              =>  Resulting color = 30,0,0,1

---

In my next post, I will give a last example, including 7 different N++ styles

BR

guy038

[guy038]

Hi, @peterjones, @alan-kilborn and All,

So, to end with, here is composite example, that I realized with the sample XML file, below :

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>

<!--

CONVENTION : In comments, the different BACKGROUND or FOREGROUND styles are abbreviated as :

  0  WH  =  Default White Bg Background        α = 255/255 = 1.0
  1  CL  =  Current Line Bg style              α = 255/255 = 1.0
  2  CS  =  Current Selection Bg style         α = 255/255 = 1.0

  3  M5  =  Mark Style 5                       α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222
  4  M2  =  Mark Style 2                       α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222
  5  TA  =  Tab Attribute Bg Style             α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222
  6  IH  =  Incremental Highlighting style     α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222
  7  SH  =  Smart Highlighting Style           α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222
  8  FM  =  Find Mark Style                    α = 100/255 ≈ 0.39222

  9  DS  =  DspellCheck Bg Style               α =  30/255 ≈ 0.1176

  A  TT  =  Tag Attribute Fg Style             α = 255/255 = 1.0
  B  BL  =  Default Black Fg Style             α = 255/255 = 1.0

-->

<Menu>
    <Item id="1" name="1234"/>  <!-- Line 1                                TA + CL  =>  241,241,155,1  [     5  1 ]  -->
    <Item id="1" name="5678"/>  <!-- Line 2                      TA   +    M5 + CL  =>  186,216, 94,1  [     5 31 ]  -->
    <Item id="2" name="ABCD"/>  <!-- Line 3                      TA + M2 + M5 + CL  =>  213,201, 57,1  [     5431 ]  -->
    <Item id="3" name="test"/>  <!-- Line 4                 IH + TA + M2 + M5 + CL  =>  130,172,135,1  [    65431 ]  -->
    <Item id="4" name="Test"/>  <!-- Line 5            SH + IH + TA + M2 + M5 + CS  =>   75,202, 77,1  [   765432 ]  -->
    <Item id="5" name="Test"/>  <!-- Line 6       FM + SH + IH + TA + M2 + M5 + CS  =>  146,123, 47,1  [  8765432 ]  -->
    <Item id="6" name="Testz"/> <!-- Line 7  DS + FM + SH + IH + TA + M2 + M5 + CS  =>  159,108, 41,1  [ 98765432 ]  -->
                                <!--  TEXT   DS              +             TT + CS  =>  143,  0,225,1  [ 9     A2 ]  -->
</Menu>

Here are the different steps to get all the styles, simultaneously !

• First, disable, temporarily, some N++ features and plugins :

  • Disable the Smart Highlighting in Settings > Preferences... > Highlighting > Smart Highlighting > Enable

  • Disable the XML Tag Highlighting in Settings > Preferences... > Highlighting > Highlight Matching Tags > Enable

  • Disable the DSpellCheck plugin in Plugins > DSpellCheck > Spell Check Document Automatically

• Then, preset the search to match the case, for future mark styles to apply :

  • Open the Find dialog ( CTRL + F )

  • Untick the Match case option

  • Hit the ESC key to close the Find dialog

• Select the word 5678, in line 2 of the XML file and choose the option Search > Mark All > Using 5nd style

• Select the word ABCD, in line 3 and choose, both, the options Search > Mark All > Using 5nd style and Search > Mark All > Using 2nd style

• Select the word test, in line 4 and choose, both, the options Search > Mark All > Using 5nd style and Search > Mark All > Using 2nd style

• Select, again, the word test, in line 4 and choose the option Search > Incremental Search. Then, untick the Match case option and tick the Highlight All option

• Select the word Test, in line 6 and choose the option Search > Mark.... Then, untick all the options, except for the Normal search mode and click on the Mark button

• Put the caret on an empty line

• Re-enable the N++ features and plugins temporarily disabled :

  • The Smart Highlighting, in Settings > Preferences... > Highlighting > Smart Highlighting > Enable and also tick the Match case option, located under ( Important )

  • The XML Tag Highlighting, in Settings > Preferences... > Highlighting > Highlight Matching Tags > Enable and also tick the Highlight tab attributes option, located under ( Important )

  • The DSpellCheck plugin, in Plugins > DSpellCheck > Spell Check Document Automatically

• To know the result color of the mixing styles created :

  • Be sure that all your other opened programs, on your machine, are in the background

  • Simple-click on the value of the name attribute, for line 1, line 2, line 3 or line 4

  • or Double-click on the value of name attribute, for line 5, line 6 or line 7

  • Choose, for each line reached, the option Plugins > Quick Color Picker + > + Pick Color from Screen and aim the concerned background, in the middle of the double-quotes zone !

I indicated, in comments, the expected resulting colors and ( except for a rounding error, of one unit, on the Red value, for line 4 ), all results, obtained by the successive runs of the generic calculus, below, for each style, on the three RGB colors, are all correct ;-))

Resulting color = Current color + alpha x ( New color - Current color )

---

That post concludes my study on color and some of the interactions with Notepad+++. I just hope it will prove useful for some of you ;-))

Best Regards,

guy038

P.S. :

Remark that name of colors, in color lists and color programs, are rather approximative ! For instance, the name of the color RBG(159, 108, 41) / #9F6C29, result of the 7 styles used, simultaneously, in line 7 of the above XML file, can be, either, Paarl , Hot Toddy , Buttered Rum, Brick, Mai Tai, … ;-))

However, the HTML list of colors ( 139 colors ) is supported by all browsers and their names are standardized. Refer to :

https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_names.asp

[PeterJones]

@guy038 said in How to set "Find" Background colour?:

Be convinced that I’m quite pleased to be back in the Community

And we’re glad (or, at least, I know I am; I assume others are, too) to have you back. :-) I had gotten worried there for a while.

Regarding color: at one time, I had a bit of knowledge about RGB <-> HSL conversion, though most of it didn’t stick long term.

At first blush, I think my formulas match the definitely-correct formulas you derive for blending A->B, with only A having transparency. I’m glad I wasn’t completely off base. Thanks! :-) (And yours has all the technical background, so it’s a much better resource than my handwavy derivation.)

Thanks for all that work.

[dinkumoil]

@guy038

Nice to see you are back! And thank you for all the valuable and thoroughly crafted content you are publishing in this forum.

[Angga Setia Budi]

Hi All,

I have a trouble with n++, how can i set the background color for non-focusing line/editing line. in my n++ it should be orange and i need to change it to white

Thanks to all members

[Lycan Thrope]

@Angga-Setia-Budi ,

Mind you, your question doesn’t really apply to this thread’s discussion, however to move you along, here’s the steps needed. Go to the menu bar Preferences->Style Configurator->Language: Global Styles and then Style: Default Style. You’ll then see the two color selectable boxes to the right in the Colour Style Section of the Dialog box. You can set the colors there for whatever you want for the non-focusing line colors, and then go down to Style: Current line background and again, look to the right to see the color selection boxes to choose the colors from there. Now mind you, if it’s a predefined language you’re using, that will change the colors for all the language.
See Below: