Workbench User Guide > Workbench User Guide > Creating and Using Basic Fields > How You Can Add Fields to a Frame > Field Colors
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Field Colors
You can change the color of the following field features:
• Foreground (for example, text in an entry field or a button label)
• Background
• Line
• Outline
Note:  Before changing the colors of an entry field, you may simulate the running frame by clicking Tools, Simulate on the Frame Editor's floating menu bar. When you change field colors, you can see the relationship between the background and foreground. For more information about viewing a running frame, see Simulate a Runtime Form.
Note:  You can change color properties of fields by using:
Change Field Colors Using the Property Inspector
You can change the color of a field's background or foreground using the Property Inspector.
Note:  You can use the Property Inspector's Appearance filter to restrict the properties displayed to only relevant properties. For more information about using the Property Inspector's features, see Property Inspector.
To change the color of a field's background or foreground
1. Select the field.
2. Select the FgColor property in the Property Inspector.
The miniature version of the Frame Editor's color palette appears in the Property Inspector.
Note:  All of the Property Inspector's pop-up frames, such as the color palette and the Data Type and Browse dialogs, are designed to close if you click anywhere but in the pop-up frame. If you accidentally close one, click the relevant property again in the Property Inspector and the pop-up frame will reappear.
3. Select a color from one of the following palettes: OpenROAD, System, or User.
Note:  For a description of each of these palettes, see OpenROAD Color Palettes.
4. (Optional) Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the BgColor, LineColor, or OutlineColor property, if desired.
Change Field Colors Using the Color Palette
You can change a field's background or foreground color using the Frame Editor's color palette. This method has several advantages over using the Property Inspector: color settings can be applied to children of selected fields and you can set all of the color attributes with a single operation.
To change a field's background or foreground color
1. Select the field.
2. Click View, Color Palette on the Frame Editor's floating menu bar.
The Frame Editor's primary color palette appears.
3. Select or clear the Background, Foreground, Outline, or Line button appropriately.
This option's choices change, depending on what is selected:
• If the form itself is selected, only Background appears.
• For most scalar fields, the radio field displays Background, Foreground, and Outline.
• If a shape field is selected, Background and Line are displayed.
• If both shape and scalar fields are selected—for example, a button field and an ellipse—all four choices are available.
4. Select a color from one of the palettes.
Your choice is displayed in the sample box.
Note:  If more than one field is selected and if these selected fields do not share the same BgColor value, the sample box does not display any color. Instead, it displays a crosshatch pattern. However, when you click the Apply button in Step 6, the chosen color is applied to all of the selected fields.
5. (Optional) Select the Apply to Children box to apply the color you have chosen to any children of the selected field.
6. Click Apply.
Your changes are applied.
Note:  You may keep the Color Palette open during an entire editing session. To close the color palette, click the standard Close button (X) in the upper right corner.
For more information about changing the background color of the entire form, see How You Can Set the Background of a Form.
How You Can Use the Style Sheet to Change Field Colors
Every field on a frame has a field style. When you create a field initially, it uses the default style, Field Style 1. If you apply a different field style from the style sheet, the field's style changes accordingly.
A field may also have a unique style if its style attributes do not match those of any of the field styles defined in the style sheet. For example, suppose that Field Style 1 for a button field specifies that the background color is pale gray. If you change the BgColor property of the button field from CC_PALE_GRAY to CC_RED, the field style of the button field is changed subsequently to Unique Style—one that does not correspond with any style sheet styles.
For more information about using the style sheet to change field colors, see Style Sheets.
Last modified date: 12/20/2023