Users Guide
Highlighting Information in Reports and Forms

You specify a color by specifying a number that represents the color. You can specify the number explicitly or by using an expression that includes the RGB (r, g, b) function.

For the numbers and expressions that specify common colors, see Table: Numbers and expressions for common colors.

How the number is calculated

The formula for combining color values into a number is:

red + 256*green + 256*256*blue

where the amount of each primary color (red, green, and blue) is specified as a value from 0 to 255.

The RGB function calculates the number from the amounts of red, green, and blue specified.

Sample numeric calculation

To create cyan, you use blue and green, but no red. If you wanted to create the most saturated (bright) cyan, you would use maximum amounts of blue and green in the formula, which is indicated by the number 255 for each. The following statements show the calculation:

red + 256*green + 256*256*blue
0 + 256*255 + 256*256*255
0 + 65280 + 16711680
16776960

Sample expression using the RGB function

The following expression specifies the brightest cyan:

RGB (0,255,255)

Notice that the expression specifies the maximum for green and blue (255) and 0 for red. The expression returns the value 16776960. To specify cyan, entering the expression RGB(0, 255, 255) is the same as entering the number 16776960.

Numbers and expressions to enter for the common colors

The following table  shows the numbers and expressions to enter for some common colors. The number and expression for a color are equivalent. You can use either.