Customizing colors

The Select Color dialog box allows you to customize the color of many objects in Abaqus/CAE. For more information about the objects that you can change, see the following sections:

The current color is displayed on the left side of the Select Color dialog box, below the eyedropper tool. You can use the methods in the Select Color dialog box to update the displayed color. The color is not updated elsewhere until you click OK to accept your changes and to close the Select Color dialog box. You can choose from the following methods of color selection:

Color palette

Twenty-four common colors are displayed in boxes along the bottom of the dialog box. Click a color to select it; you cannot modify the palette to show different colors.

Eyedropper tool

The eyedropper tool is located on the left side of the dialog box. When you click the eyedropper tool, the cursor changes to crosshairs. The next time you click mouse button 1 anywhere on the computer screen, Abaqus/CAE selects the color at the cursor position.

Note:

The cursor returns to its normal form if you move it outside the Abaqus/CAE application window, but you can still select a color by clicking mouse button 1.

Color wheel

The color wheel and brightness control are located in the Wheel tab. A black dot indicates the position of the currently selected color, regardless of the method that was used to select it. Click anywhere on the wheel to select a new color. Move the vertical slider to change the brightness; as you move the slider downward, Abaqus/CAE adds black to the selected color.

RGB controls

RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) controls are located in the RGB tab. The RGB settings match the color displayed on the left side of the Select Color dialog box, regardless of the method that was used to select it. You can move the sliders or enter values from 0 to 255 to mix the three colors of light and produce the full color spectrum. 0, 0, 0 is black (no light); and 255, 255, 255 is white (full intensity, full spectrum light).

HSV controls

HSV (Hue, Saturation, and Value) controls are located in the HSV tab. The HSV settings match the color displayed on the left side of the Select Color dialog box, regardless of the method that was used to select it. The Hue control ranges from 0 to 360, and changing the setting corresponds to moving the black dot around the perimeter of the color wheel (0 and 360 are both red). The Saturation control ranges from 0 to 100 and varies the amount of the selected color added to the background color. The Value control indicates the background color; 0 is black, 100 is white.

CMY controls

CMY (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow) controls are located in the CMY tab. The CMY settings match the color displayed on the left side of the Select Color dialog box, regardless of the method that was used to select it. You can move the sliders or enter values from 0 to 255 to mix the three colors of tint and produce the full color spectrum. The CMY controls work like adding tint to paint; 0, 0, 0 is white (no tint), and 255, 255, 255 is black (all tint).

Color list

The color list is located in the List tab. You can choose from several hundred colors, including shades of gray. The color list provides you with a more extensive range of colors than the color palette, but it does not provide you with the full color spectrum.

Related Topics
Customizing model labels
Customizing viewport annotations

  1. Open the dialog box that contains the settings for the object that you want to change.

  2. Click the color sample for the object that you want to customize.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Select Color dialog box.

  3. Use one of the methods in the dialog box to select a new color.

    A preview of the selected color appears on the left side of the Select Color dialog box, below the eyedropper tool.

  4. Click OK to accept your changes and to close the Select Color dialog box.

    Abaqus/CAE returns you to the originating dialog box and updates the color sample to display the color that you selected.

When you click OK or Apply in the originating dialog box, Abaqus/CAE updates the color in the viewport.