Notepad++ ColorBox

Programmers and web developers typically have to insert color codes into their software projects. Those who prefer using Notepad++, the feature-rich text and code editor, can resort to Notepad++ ColorBox.

ColorBox is a small-sized plugin that provides quick access to the Windows built-in color dialog box, giving you the possibility to choose any color you want to insert into your code.

It automatically adds the color's hexadecimal code. The add-on also include conversion features from hex to RGB and vice versa.

A couple of simple steps have to be followed to install Notepad++ ColorBox into the text editor. Firstly, you have to extract the DLL file from the downloaded package and move it to the "plugins" folder of the installed directory of Notepad++. You can even use it if you have a portable edition of the application.

Secondly, you have to make sure that .NET Framework is installed or it won't work. Modern Windows versions come with this software framework built in, so you just have to check if the feature is enabled.

Restart Notepad++ if it was already running before copying the DLL. Then you can access the new extension from the "Plugins" menu.

The operating system's color dialog box pops up when clicking the "ColorBox" entry in the menu. You just have to pick a color and press "Ok", since the plugin autodetects its hex code and enters it at the cursor's current position.

You can select a hex code (including the # sign) to convert it to RGB and find out its red, green and blue channels, as well as perform the reversed operation by producing hex values from RGB numbers.

You should know that ColorBox is not capable of converting multiple selections, so you can convert only one color at a time. It would've been a great addition if it has a color picker to be able to choose any color from the screen without having to summon the Windows color dialog box.

Nevertheless, ColorBox delivers a straightforward solution for helping programmers and web developers insert hex and RGB color codes into their projects.