Background color RGB codes

Hi Macropod,

I click in the text line that has the shading applied, and then look in:

Paragraph group-->Shading-->More colors-->Custom

In word 2007, the RGB code appears but not in Word 2010. I suspect it has something to do with this "new and improved" graphics engine that has more holes than Swiss cheese!

- Lee

There seems to be a bug with updating the dialog to show the current selection's shading. You can force it to do so, however, with a macro like:

Sub ShowShading()
With Dialogs(wdDialogFormatBordersAndShading)
  .DefaultTab = wdDialogFormatBordersAndShadingTabShading
  .BackgroundRGB = Selection.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor
  SendKeys "{TAB}{TAB}{TAB}{DOWN}M"
  .Show
End With
End Sub

For macro installation & usage instructions, see: http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm

Since you need a macro anyway, you might as well bypass the dialog and just grab the numbers:

Sub ParaBackgRGB()
    Dim lgBackColor As String
    Dim R As Long, G As Long, B As Long
    ' Get the background color at the cursor
    ' as a 6-digit hex number
    lgBackColor = Hex(Selection.Paragraphs(1).Shading.BackgroundPatternColor)
    ' Convert each pair of hex digits to the
    ' corresponding decimal number
    B = CLng("&H" & Mid(lgBackColor, 1, 2))
    G = CLng("&H" & Mid(lgBackColor, 3, 2))
    R = CLng("&H" & Mid(lgBackColor, 5, 2))
    ' Display the result
    MsgBox "R = " & R & vbCr & "G = " & G & vbCr & "B = " & B
End Sub

Thanks for chiming in everyone!

I seem to remember reading about this issue a week ago--not sure where. The user had to do some fancy footwork by exiting out, re-entering the text, and then was able to read the RGB code. I don't know if that's exactly how it went, but it was some convoluted process. A macro would definitely be the answer.

Your opinions please

It seems that so many things that worked for me in Word 2007 have either been removed or neglected in Word 2010. My writing projects in the past few weeks have given me a whole new insight about Word 2010. For it to do what I need, it seems I must start stocking up on a bushel basket full of macros. I own both licenses (2007 and 2010) and know that I can revert to 2007. Am I the only chronic complainer about Word 2010?? (LOL) There is a lot of similar complaining about the program on other sites. Problem is, there are some nice improvements in Word 2010.

As a matter of history, I wrote several large manuals for a company using Word 2007. The documents were full of graphics and diagrams I created from scratch. There were no issues. I can't do the same in Word 2010. The new graphics program is too buggy. I think MS has ventured into territory they know nothing about. There's is a ton of free graphics rendering software that I can use if the going gets tough; beyond Word 2007 capabilities.

There are other bugs in Word 2010. For example:

• Quick Style sets built in Word 2007 often don't work correctly when used in Word 2010
• Copy and paste function only works correctly about 50 percent of the time

Should I revert to Word 2007? It's kind of like being really hungry but you hate the menu--quite the dilemma! Thanks.

- Lee

Graham--Color Cop is amazing! Thanks for that link.

Now, why can't Uncle Bill do something like that? I know the answer--why pay his engineers to do something that someone else will do for free? I'm beginning to see a pattern here: release software that only works 75 percent of the time, and then let users worry about the wrinkles. There's more profit that way. Maybe Uncle Bill is smarter than I thought!

- Lee

Guys and gals, I have no idea why my post appeared twice. Once again, thanks for the help :)

Lee

[Duplicate post removed by moderator]

Suzanne, I downloaded it (took a chance) and all seems well with my computer. I think Windows security goes overboard sometimes. I've seen it flag a few other programs by major, reliable, manufacturers while downloading right from their site!

To be safe, I always create a restore point before downloading any program. I needed to use the Restore function once. It was worth the effort!

- Lee

P.S. Your comments are welcome about reverting to Word 2007 (earlier post). Thanks.