We have already covered the Colors window a little bit in this chapter, but here is a bit more information you may find useful. The primary color you choose will be the default color that will appear when using some of the tools mentioned previously. Use the small drop-down menu to go from primary to secondary color choices. You can select a new color by left-clicking anywhere on the wheel. You can also drag the dot in the wheel by holding down the left mouse button and moving it around. By clicking on the More button on the Colors window, you will see the values of your color choices. You can enter your own Hex number to choose the exact color you wish to use:

You can easily switch the primary and secondary colors by clicking on the double-headed arrow near the primary and secondary colors preview area. If you want the primary and secondary colors to change back to black and white, click on the small black-and-white button below the primary and secondary color preview area:

The RGB (Red Green Blue) option will determine how much of those primary colors you wish to work with or adjust.

The HSV option stands for Hue (the degree of a color), Saturation (how much of the color you want), and Value (how dark or light). Below that, we have the Transparency - Alpha slider. This slider will allow you to change how transparent the selected color will be. For instance, if you would like to have a box that is semi-transparent, use this slider to achieve the effect you want.

Finally, to the bottom-left corner of the Colors window, you have your palette selection. A palette is a selection of colors you can quickly select while working. When you first start Paint.NET, you are given a pallet of 32 of the most commonly used colors. However, you can create a custom pallet of your own colors by selecting a color on the Color Picker or entering a Hex value. The color you choose will be represented by a small square with a plus symbol at the bottom-left corner of the window, that is, the Add Color to Palette button. Click on the Add Color to Palette button and click on any square under it. The color you've selected will then be added to the palette.

You can save your custom palette by selecting the palette folder button to the bottom of the Colors window and clicking on the Save Palette As menu item. You can later load your custom pallet using the same menu.