Setting a font color in VBA - vba

Question

I want to set the font color of a cell to a specific RGB value.
If I use
ActiveCell.Color = RGB(255,255,0)
I do get yellow, but if I use a more exotic RGB value like:
ActiveCell.Color = RGB(178, 150, 109)
I just get a grey color back.
How come can't I just use any RGB value? And do you know any workarounds?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Excel only uses the colors in the color palette. When you set a cell using the RGB value, it chooses the one in the palette that is the closest match. You can update the palette with your colors and then choose your color and that will work.
This will let you see what is currently in the palette:
Public Sub checkPalette()
Dim i As Integer, iRed As Integer, iGreen As Integer, iBlue As Integer
Dim lcolor As Long
For i = 1 To 56
lcolor = ActiveWorkbook.Colors(i)
iRed = lcolor Mod &H100 'get red component
lcolor = lcolor \ &H100 'divide
iGreen = lcolor Mod &H100 'get green component
lcolor = lcolor \ &H100 'divide
iBlue = lcolor Mod &H100 'get blue component
Debug.Print "Palette " & i & ": R=" & iRed & " B=" & iBlue & " G=" & iGreen
Next i
End Sub
This will let you set the palette
Public Sub setPalette(palIdx As Integer, r As Integer, g As Integer, b As Integer)
ActiveWorkbook.Colors(palIdx) = RGB(r, g, b)
End Sub

Answer 2

A quick tip: the Excel Palette has two rows of colours which are rarely used and can usually be set to custom values without visible changes to other peoples' sheets.
Here's the code to create a reasonable set of 'soft-tone' colours which are far less offensive than the defaults:
Public Sub SetPalePalette(Optional wbk As Excel.Workbook)
' This subroutine creates a custom palette of pale tones which you can use for controls, headings and dialogues
'
' ** THIS CODE IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN **
' Nigel Heffernan http://Excellerando.Blogspot.com
' The Excel color palette has two hidden rows which are rarely used:
' Row 1: colors 17 to 24
' Row 2: colors 25 to 32 - USED BY SetGrayPalette in this workbook
'
' Code to capture existing Screen Updating settting and, if necessary,
' temporarily suspend updating while this procedure generates irritating
' flickers onscreen... and restore screen updating on exit if required.
Dim bScreenUpdating As Boolean
bScreenUpdating = Application.ScreenUpdating
If bScreenUpdating = True Then
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
End If
'If Application.ScreenUpdating <> bScreenUpdating Then
' Application.ScreenUpdating = bScreenUpdating
'End If
If wbk Is Nothing Then
Set wbk = ThisWorkbook
End If
With wbk
.Colors(17) = &HFFFFD0 ' pale cyan
.Colors(18) = &HD8FFD8 ' pale green.
.Colors(19) = &HD0FFFF ' pale yellow
.Colors(20) = &HC8E8FF ' pale orange
.Colors(21) = &HDBDBFF ' pale pink
.Colors(22) = &HFFE0FF ' pale magenta
.Colors(23) = &HFFE8E8 ' lavender
.Colors(24) = &HFFF0F0 ' paler lavender
End With
If Application.ScreenUpdating <> bScreenUpdating Then
Application.ScreenUpdating = bScreenUpdating
End If
End Sub
Public Sub SetGreyPalette()
' This subroutine creates a custom palette of greyshades which you can use for controls, headings and dialogues
' ** THIS CODE IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN **
' Nigel Heffernan http://Excellerando.Blogspot.com
' The Excel color palette has two hidden rows which are rarely used:
' Row 1: colors 17 to 24 ' - USED BY SetPalePalette in this workbook
' Row 2: colors 25 to 32
' Code to capture existing Screen Updating settting and, if necessary,
' temporarily suspend updating while this procedure generates irritating
' flickers onscreen... remember to restore screen updating on exit!
Dim bScreenUpdating As Boolean
bScreenUpdating = Application.ScreenUpdating
If bScreenUpdating = True Then
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
End If
'If Application.ScreenUpdating <> bScreenUpdating Then
' Application.ScreenUpdating = bScreenUpdating
'End If
With ThisWorkbook
.Colors(25) = &HF0F0F0
.Colors(26) = &HE8E8E8
.Colors(27) = &HE0E0E0
.Colors(28) = &HD8D8D8
.Colors(29) = &HD0D0D0
.Colors(30) = &HC8C8C8
' &HC0C0C0 ' Skipped &HC0C0C0 - this is the regular 25% grey in the main palette
.Colors(31) = &HB8B8B8 ' Note that the gaps are getting wider: the human eye is more sensitive
.Colors(32) = &HA8A8A8 ' to changes in light greys, so this will be perceived as a linear scale
End With
'The right-hand column of the Excel default palette specifies the following greys:
' Colors(56) = &H333333
' Colors(16) = &H808080
' Colors(48) = &H969696
' Colors(15) = &HC0C0C0 ' the default '25% grey'
' This should be modified to improve the color 'gap' and make the colours easily-distinguishable:
With ThisWorkbook
.Colors(56) = &H505050
.Colors(16) = &H707070
.Colors(48) = &H989898
' .Colors(15) = &HC0C0C0
End With
If Application.ScreenUpdating <> bScreenUpdating Then
Application.ScreenUpdating = bScreenUpdating
End If
End Sub
You may choose to write a 'CaptureColors' and 'ReinstateColors' function for each workbook's Open() and BeforeClose() events... Or even for each worksheet's activate and deactivate event.
I have code lying around somewhere that creates a 'thermal' colour gradient for 3-D charts, giving you a progression from 'Cold' blue to 'Hot' reds in thirty-two steps. This is harder than you might think: a gradient of colors that will be perceived as 'equal intervals' by the human visual system (which runs on a logarithmic scale of intensity and has nonlinear weightings for red, green and blue as 'strong' colours) takes time to construct - and you have to use VBA to coerce MS Chart into using the colours you specify, in the order you specified.

Answer 3

Sub color()
bj = CStr(Hex(ActiveCell.Interior.Color))
If Len(bj) < 6 Then
Do Until Len(bj) = 6
bj = "0" & bj
Loop
End If
R = CLng("&H" & Right(bj, 2))
bj = Left(bj, Len(bj) - 2)
G = CLng("&H" & Right(bj, 2))
bj = Left(bj, Len(bj) - 2)
B = CLng("&H" & bj)
End Sub

Answer 4

Thank you for the answers and the comments as well.
It really gave me great trouble because my client had other plugins installed into Excel which also tampered with the color palette.
I ended up replacing a few colors in the palette an then asigning my elements the specific ColorIndex, but boy, it's not pretty.