GradientMaster

GradientMaster is a free and open-source application that gives you the possibility to put together gradient colors out of any two colors. It generates the corresponding C# code that you can insert into your projects.

As long as you have .NET Framework installed, you don't need to set up anything else. It's possible to copy the downloaded program files to a custom directory on the disk or to a USB flash drive, in order to easily run GradientMaster on any machine.

It doesn't need anything else to run, add new entries to your system registry, or create files on the HDD without your approval. However, it cannot remember your settings on exit.

When it comes the GUI, the utility has a standard .NET Framework form that doesn't put emphasis on looks, preferring to focus on features instead.

Two buttons bring up the color spectrum, enabling you to select any two colors. They are automatically combined in gradient format, so you can experiment with different colors to obtain various effects.

Based on the RGB channels of each color, the C++ code is generated in real time and displayed on the bottom part of the window. It can be copied to the Clipboard with one click. Moreover, the tool lets you cycle through four gradient modes: backward and forward diagonal, along with vertical and horizontal.

Although it hasn't received updates for a long time, GradientMaster worked smoothly on newer Windows editions in our tests, without hanging, crashing or indicating errors.

CPU and RAM usage was low, so it didn't hamper the computer's performance. Thanks to its intuitive options, it can be seamlessly used for generating gradient colors with C# code.