DHTML Lab: Accessing the User-Defined System Colors, Part I - dhtmlab.com | 20
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Accessing the User-Defined System Colors, Part I
IE4Win32
| Name | Color |
|---|---|
| activeborder | |
| activecaption | |
| appworkspace | |
| background | |
| buttonface | |
| buttonhighlight | |
| buttonshadow | |
| buttontext | |
| captiontext | |
| graytext | |
| highlight | |
| highlighttext | |
| inactiveborder | |
| inactivecaption | |
| inactivecaptiontext | |
| infobackground | |
| infotext | |
| menu | |
| menutext | |
| scrollbar | |
| threeddarkshadow | |
| threedface | |
| threedhighlight | |
| threedlightshadow | |
| threedshadow | |
| window | |
| windowframe | |
| windowtext |
Microsoft's INETSDK (Internet Software Development Kit, the source of IE DHTML documentation) defines twenty-eight color names that reflect the colors of the user's desktop scheme:
They are reproduced, for convenience, in the table on the left.
Important Note: If you are using IE4 for Windows, the colors in the table cells reflect your desktop scheme. If you change your scheme, the colors will immediately adapt. If you are using a different browser, the colors you see are hard-coded conforming to the Windows Standard desktop scheme. This same rule applies to all pages in the column. Therefore, all users can appreciate the relative differences and relationships between the colors, and easily follow our discussion.
If you are not a Windows developer, the names used mean very little. You will have to search non-Web documentation to find explanations. Don't despair, however. In the following pages, we will group these colors according to use, and discuss them one-by-one.
Our discussion will follow a pattern that answers the following questions for each color:
- How is this color originally defined by the user? That is, what option is selected in the Windows desktop Display Properties dialog?
- What application elements use this color? Do all applications use it in the same way? We will, of course, emphasize browser use.
- How can we use this information to enhance Web applications?
On the next page, we illustrate how our discussion is structured.
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Produced by Peter Belesis and
All Rights Reserved. Legal Notices.Created: Feb 23, 1999
Revised: Feb 23, 1999
URL: https://www.webreference.com/dhtml/column24/colsIEtable.html
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