VB & VBA in a Nutshell: The Language

RGB Function

Named Arguments

Yes

Syntax

RGB(red, green, blue)

red

Use: Required

Data Type: Variant (Integer)

A number between 0 and 255, inclusive.

green

Use: Required

Data Type: Variant (Integer)

A number between 0 and 255, inclusive.

blue

Use: Required

Data type: Variant (Integer)

A number between 0 and 255, inclusive.

Return Value

A long integer representing the RGB color value.

Description

Returns a system color code that can be assigned to object color properties.

Rules at a Glance

• The RGB color value represents the relative intensity of the red, green, and blue components of a pixel that produces a specific color on the display.

• The RGB function assumes any argument greater than 255 is 255.

• The following table demonstrates how the individual color values combine to create certain colors:

  Color	Red	Green	Blue
  Black	0	0	0
  Blue	0	0	255
  Green	0	255	0
  Red	255	0	0
  White	255	255	255

Programming Tips and Gotchas

• The RGB value is derived with the following formula:

  RGB = red  + (green * 256) + (blue * 65536)

  In other words, the individual color components are stored in the opposite order one would expect. VB stores the red color component in the low-order byte of the long integer's low-order word, the green color in the high-order byte of the low-order word, and the blue color in the low-order byte of the high-order word.

• Visual Basic now contains a wide range of intrinsic color constants that can assign color values directly to color properties of objects.

See Also

QBColor Function ...