font color by percentage

herosz · #1 03-01-2025, 01:12 PM

Hi!

I don't know from where I got this, but its color is Gray-40% so is it possible to add color by percentage? How can I modify it e.g. to 60% because I can't do it at all( I tried to modify the font color from the ribbon or from style but the percentage only has lighter or darker option).

Lorem_gray.docx

Italophile · #2 03-01-2025, 02:56 PM

Gray 40% = White 40% darker = Black 60% lighter

RGB has 256 values - from black 0,0,0 to white 255,255,255

Do the math.

herosz · #3 03-01-2025, 04:18 PM

I understand this, but style modify or reveal style shows Font color: Gray-40% ,doesn't show any RGB or Hex value, so I guess it wasn't inserted as RGB or Hex.
My question is how was it inserted and how can I modify it without math just using a percentage like Gray-60%.

Italophile · #4 03-01-2025, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herosz

I understand this, but style modify or reveal style shows Font color: Gray-40% ,doesn't show any RGB or Hex value, so I guess it wasn't inserted as RGB or Hex.
My question is how was it inserted and how can I modify it without math just using a percentage like Gray-60%.

Gray 40% is merely a standard color descriptor, just like red, yellow, or dark green.

Given that the theme colors do not offer a 40% option, and it is not possible to specify colors by percentage, it should be obvious to you that the color must have been entered as RGB values.

So, do the math and enter the values.

Charles Kenyon · #5 03-01-2025, 06:02 PM

Could this be one of the theme colors which has gradations between black and white.

00 deleteme 8.png

The name is the name of a character style. This is not one of the built-in character styles but may have come from another template or document.

Take a look at the built-in style Placeholder Text.

Charles Kenyon · #6 03-01-2025, 06:35 PM

Those names sounded familiar. So I looked in Word 97 and Word 2003, which did not use Theme colors but only standard colors.
They have gradations of gray.

00 deleteme 11.png 00 deleteme 8.png

There are standard shade of gray colors built into Word like wdColorGray50. This can be used in vba using something along the lines of:

Code:

Sub ColorGray50()
    Selection.range.Font.ColorIndex = wdGray50
End Sub

While there are standard colors for some shades of gray, there are not for actual hues.
My guess is that someone created a character style for that shade. Something similar could be done with the Theme colors. Note, though, if someone changes the Theme, the color will change.

You can do something similar to standard colors using the full RGB more colors.

Working with Theme colors, as Italophile mentioned, it is in terms of lighter and darker for the base Theme color. You can approximate what you want, but again, as a Theme color, if the Theme is changed, your color likely will also change.

00 deleteme 11.png

I expect that it is possible to render the Theme color as RGB, but do not know how I would do this.
[Quick] Style Sets and Word Themes in Microsoft Word

Italophile · #7 03-02-2025, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Kenyon

You can do something similar to standard colors using the full RGB more colors.

Those standard colors are RGB colors. The only way of entering colors prior to Office 2007 was to use RGB, or HSL. The ColorIndex was merely a ‘shortcut’ that entered RGB values for a selection of predetermined colors.

Charles Kenyon · #8 03-02-2025, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Italophile

Those standard colors are RGB colors. The only way of entering colors prior to Office 2007 was to use RGB, or HSL. The ColorIndex was merely a ‘shortcut’ that entered RGB values for a selection of predetermined colors.

The Standard Colors are a small subset of available RGB values. They are assigned constants in vba. Or, at least, that is my understanding and the way I am using Standard Colors as a term.
Variants using More Colors could certainly be assigned to character styles appropriately named. The distinction I am trying to make inartfully is that colors obtained that way (More Colors) will not vary with the Theme settings. Ones simply picked from the Theme color variants will appear different when a different Theme is used.

Italophile · #9 03-02-2025, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Kenyon

The Standard Colors are a small subset of available RGB values. They are assigned constants in vba. Or, at least, that is my understanding and the way I am using Standard Colors as a term.
Variants using More Colors could certainly be assigned to character styles appropriately named. The distinction I am trying to make inartfully is that colors obtained that way (More Colors) will not vary with the Theme settings. Ones simply picked from the Theme color variants will appear different when a different Theme is used.

Those VBA constants are the same as the standard color palette available in Office prior to 2007.

Italophile · #10 03-02-2025, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Kenyon

I expect that it is possible to render the Theme color as RGB, but do not know how I would do this.

That is very simple to do. Find something formatted with a theme color and go to modify the color in the UI. Click on "More Colors" and switch to the RGB tab of the dialog and you will find the RGB value of the item is already filled in. OK out of the dialog and the item is no longer formatted with a theme color, but with its corresponding RGB value.

herosz · #11 03-02-2025, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Italophile

Gray 40% is merely a standard color descriptor, just like red, yellow, or dark green.
Given that the theme colors do not offer a 40% option, and it is not possible to specify colors by percentage, it should be obvious to you that the color must have been entered as RGB values.

So, do the math and enter the values.

Ok, I found this site gray40 | RGB to HEX and HEX to RGB so I got rid of the math

anyway I was just interested in the possibility of color in percentages and now is everything clear, thanks.

macropod · #12 03-02-2025, 11:43 PM

You can get the full list of the built-in Word colors, their descriptions and RGB values at: WdColor Enum (Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word) | Microsoft Learn

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