CSS Numerical color values
Written by jon on 11:21 AMRGB color values
The RGB color model is used in numerical color specifications. These examples all specify the same color:
em { color: #f00 } /* #rgb */
em { color: #ff0000 } /* #rrggbb */
em { color: rgb(255,0,0) } /* integer range 0 - 255 */
em { color: rgb(100%, 0%, 0%) } /* float range 0.0% - 100.0% */
The format of an RGB value in hexadecimal notation is a '#' immediately followed by either three or six hexadecimal characters. The three-digit RGB notation (#rgb) is converted into six-digit form (#rrggbb) by replicating digits, not by adding zeros. For example, #fb0 expands to #ffbb00. This ensures that white (#ffffff) can be specified with the short notation (#fff) and removes any dependencies on the color depth of the display.
The format of an RGB value in the functional notation is 'rgb(' followed by a comma-separated list of three numerical values (either three integer values or three percentage values) followed by ')'. The integer value 255 corresponds to 100%, and to F or FF in the hexadecimal notation: rgb(255,255,255) = rgb(100%,100%,100%) = #FFF. White space characters are allowed around the numerical values.
All RGB colors are specified in the sRGB color space (see [SRGB]). User agents may vary in the fidelity with which they represent these colors, but using sRGB provides an unambiguous and objectively measurable definition of what the color should be, which can be related to international standards (see [COLORIMETRY]).
Values outside the device gamut should be clipped: the red, green, and blue values must be changed to fall within the range supported by the device. For a typical CRT monitor, whose device gamut is the same as sRGB, the three rules below are equivalent:
em { color: rgb(255,0,0) } /* integer range 0 - 255 */
em { color: rgb(300,0,0) } /* clipped to rgb(255,0,0) */
em { color: rgb(255,-10,0) } /* clipped to rgb(255,0,0) */
em { color: rgb(110%, 0%, 0%) } /* clipped to rgb(100%,0%,0%) */
Other devices, such as printers, have different gamuts to sRGB; some colors outside the 0..255 sRGB range will be representable (inside the device gamut), while other colors inside the 0..255 sRGB range will be outside the device gamut and will thus be clipped.
4.2.2. RGBA color values
The RGB color model is extended in this specification to include 'alpha' to allow specification of the opacity of a color. These examples all specify the same color:
em { color: rgb(255,0,0) } /* integer range 0 - 255 */
em { color: rgba(255,0,0,1) /* the same, with explicit opacity of 1 */
em { color: rgb(100%,0%,0%) } /* float range 0.0% - 100.0% */
em { color: rgba(100%,0%,0%,1) } /* the same, with explicit opacity of 1 */
Unlike RGB values, there is no hexadecimal notation for an RGBA value.
The format of an RGBA value in the functional notation is 'rgba(' followed by a comma-separated list of three numerical values (either three integer values or three percentage values), followed by an
These examples specify new effects that are now possible with the new rgba() notation:
p { color: rgba(0,0,255,0.5) } /* semi-transparent solid blue */
p { color: rgba(100%, 50%, 0%, 0.1) } /* very transparent solid orange */
Note. If RGBA values are not supported by a user agent, they should be treated like unrecognized values per the CSS forward compatibility parsing rules. RGBA values must not be treated as simply an RGB value with the opacity ignored.
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