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Every color can be defined as a mixture of red, green, and blue (RGB). Monitors display colors in RGB, and hexadecimal notation gives you a way to convey a color's RGB values to a Web browser. If you know a color's hexadecimal code (often called a hex code for short), you have all you need to use that color in your HTML page.

Hexadecimal notation uses six characters, a combination of numbers and letters, to define the amount of red, green, and blue in any color.

Of course, you can't just wave your magic wand and come up with the hex code for any color. But that doesn't mean that you can't find out through less magical means. Color converters follow a precise formula that changes a color's standard RGB notation into hexadecimal notation. Because you have better things to do with your time than compute hex codes, you have several options for finding out the code for your color of choice, none of which require you to use a calculator:

• On the internet: A good source for hexadecimal color charts is at Hypersolutions:

  You simply find a color you like, and type the hex code listed next to it into your HTML.

• Using a converter: If you already know the RGB percentages for a particular color, you can plug them into an online converter to get the hexadecimal equivalent. For example, the RGB percentages for nice sky blue are 159, 220, and 223. Plug those into the converter, and you get the equivalent hex code #9FDCDF.

• Using image-editing software: Many image-editing applications, such as Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint Shop Pro, display the hexadecimal notation for any color. Even Microsoft Word's color picker shows you hex codes for colors in an image. If you have an image you like that you want to use as a color source for your webpage, open the image in your favorite editor and find out what the colors' hex codes are.

Unlike the more familiar decimal system that uses base-ten numbers to represent all possible numbers, the hexadecimal system uses base 16. If you want to know more about the hexadecimal system or find out how to convert numbers from decimal to hexadecimal, visit ... Dr. Math