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Choose a color with the Adobe Color Picker



You can choose a color by entering color component values in HSB, RGB, and Lab text boxes, or by using the color slider and the color field.

To choose a color with the color slider and color field, click in the color slider or move the color slider triangle to set one color component. Then move the circular marker or click in the color field. This sets the other two color components.

As you adjust the color using the color field and color slider, the numerical values for the different color models adjust accordingly. The rectangle to the right of the color slider displays the new color in the top half and the original color in the bottom. Alerts appear if the color is not a web-safe color  or is out of gamut .
You can choose a color outside the Adobe Color Picker window. Moving the pointer over the document window changes it to the Eyedropper tool. You can then select a color by clicking in the image. The selected color is displayed in the Adobe Color Picker. You can move the Eyedropper tool anywhere on your desktop by clicking in the image and then holding down the mouse button. You can select a color by releasing the mouse button.

Choose a color using the HSB model

Using the HSB color model, the hue is specified in the color field, as an angle from 0° to 360° that corresponds to a location on the color wheel. Saturation and brightness are specified as percentages. In the color field, the hue saturation increases from left to right and the brightness increases from the bottom to top.

  1. In the Adobe Color Picker, select the H option and then enter a numeric value in the H text box or select a hue in the color slider.
  2. Adjust the saturation and brightness by clicking in the color field, moving the circular maker, or entering numeric values in the S and B text boxes.
  3. (Optional) Select either the S option or B option to display the color’s saturation or brightness in the color field for making further adjustments.

Choose a color using the RGB model

Choose a color by specifying its red, green, and blue components.

  1. In the Adobe Color Picker, enter numeric values in the R, G, and B text boxes. Specify component values from 0 to 255 (0 is no color, and 255 is the pure color).
  2. To visually select a color using the color slider and color field, click either R, G, or B and then adjust the slider and color field.

    The color you click appears in the color slider with 0 (none of that color) at the bottom and 255 (maximum amount of that color) at the top. The color field displays the range of the other two components, one on the horizontal axis and one on the vertical axis.

Choose a color using the Lab model

When choosing a color based on the Lab color model, the L value specifies the luminance of a color. The A value specifies how red or green a color is. The B value specifies how blue or yellow a color is.

  1. In the Adobe Color Picker, enter values for L (from 0 to 100), and for A and B (from ‑128 to +127).
  2. (Optional) Use the color slider or color field to adjust the color.

Choose a color using the CMYK model

You can choose a color by specifying each component value as a percentage of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

 In the Adobe Color Picker, enter percentage values for C, M, Y, and K, or use the color slider and color field to choose a color.

Choose a color by specifying a hexadecimal value

You can choose a color by specifying a hexadecimal value that defines the R, G, and B components in a color. The three pairs of numbers are expressed in values from 00 (minimum luminance) to ff (maximum luminance). For example, 000000 is black, ffffff is white, and ff0000 is red.

 In the Adobe Color Picker, enter a hexadecimal value in the # text box.