Revision Date: 27 October 2024

Colors Window 

The Colors Window is used to set the Primary and Secondary colors and to manage palettes.

Paint.NET allows two colors to be selected, a Primary color and a Secondary color.  These may be considered 'slots' where any hue can be held for quick access. Many effects use both Primary and Secondary color slots.

The active color slot is indicated by a notch in the Current Color Selector (top left in the image above).

Show/Hide the Colors Window

The Colors Window can be hidden by pressing the F8 key or clicking the Colors Window icon.

Clicking the Colors icon or pressing F8 key again toggles the visibility of the window back on.

Resetting the Colors Window

The window can be reset to its original position and size (including docking) by pressing Ctrl + Shift + F8 or by holding down Ctrl + Shift and clicking the Colors Window icon.

Relocating the Colors Window

The Colors Window can be relocated by dragging it by the title bar.

Using the Colors Window

1. More » Button

   Click this button to expand the Colors Window to reveal detailed color information about the color held in the active color slot (Primary or Secondary). The entire palette of 96 colors is visible in the expanded window.

   

   The RGB (Red, Green & Blue), HSV (Hue, Saturation & Value) and Opacity sliders are used to change the attributes of the color in the active color slot.

   Hexadecimal values for the color in the active color slot are displayed and are editable within the text box. New hex values can be pasted into the text box to generate a new color.

   In expanded mode, the More button is renamed "Less".  Clicking the button in this form returns the Colors Window to its minimized (default) size.

2. Current Color Selection

   

   The overlapping squares in the upper left of the Colors Window show the currently selected Primary (foreground square) and Secondary (background square) colors.

   The active slot is indicated by a notch in the colored square. Click on the other square to swap the active/inactive status of the slots (the 'active' notch will move to the clicked color slot).

   

   Tip

   Use the shortcut key C to quickly switch the 'active' notch between Primary and Secondary colors.

   The double headed arrow icon situated at the upper right of the Current Color Selection icon swaps the colors in the Primary and Secondary color slots.

   Tip

   Use the shortcut key X to quickly swap the colors in the Primary and Secondary color slots.

   The black and white icon to the lower left of the Current Color Selection icon installs the default Black and White colors as Primary and Secondary color slots respectively.

3. Color Wheel

   The Color Wheel is used to make color selection to the currently active color slot.

   Left clicking on the color wheel will install the selected color to the Active color slot (the one showing the notch in the Current Color Selector).

   Right clicking will install the color to the Inactive color slot (the one without the notch).

   Color Wheel Key Modifiers

   Holding down the Ctrl key with the pointer in the Color Wheel limits color selections to the same radius as the currently selected color.  This is the same as changing the Hue (H) in the expanded Color Window's HSV section.

   

   Holding down the Alt key with the pointer in the Color Wheel limits color selections to a single spoke in the Color Wheel.  The spoke will be generated through the current color.  This is the same as changing the Saturation (S) value in the expanded Color Window's HSV section.

   

   Holding down the Shift key with the pointer in the Color Wheel limits color selections to specific spokes in the Color Wheel.  The current color may not be located on one of the spokes. This is the same as changing the Saturation (S) (changes on a single spoke) and/or Hue (H) (changes from spoke to spoke) in the expanded Color Window's HSV section.

   

   Holding down both Ctrl and Shift keys with the pointer in the Color Wheel limits color selections to 15° spaced intervals on the same radius. This is the same as adding (or subtracting) 15 from the Hue value for each interval.

   

4. Palette Controls 

   These controls are used to manage palettes. For more information see the Working with Palettes section.

   

5. Palette

   This control is used to quickly select one of the colors in the current palette. Left click on a color shade to load it into the Active color slot.  Right clicking will load the color shade into the Inactive color slot.

   When the Colors window is at its smaller size, only the first 32 colors of the current palette will be visible.  When the Colors window is expanded the entire palette of 96 shades is shown.

   For more information on palettes, see the Working with Palettes section.