Have you ever needed to find the exact color code of something on your screen? It might not happen often, but when it does, it’s usually important—especially for those working in creative fields. For example, maybe you are designing an invitation to a company event and need to know the exact brand color to make the invitation. Or, perhaps you are a web developer designing a website and come across a beautiful shade of blue. Instead of guessing or manually trying to replicate the color, you can use the PowerToys Color Picker to quickly grab the exact color code in the format of your choice.
No matter the reason, this quick tutorial will guide you through using the PowerToys Color Picker tool to easily find and copy the color code of anything on your screen in Windows 11. Let’s get started!
Before You Begin
- You need administrator rights to install PowerToys.
Using PowerToys Color Picker to Find Color Codes
- Get PowerToys from this page.
- Double-click the installer and install PowerToys.
- Press the Start button.
- Search and open “PowerToys“.
- Go to the “Color Picker” tab on the sidebar.
- Turn ON the “Enable Color Picker” toggle.
- Next, go to the color for which you want to find the color code.
- Press the “Windows key + Shift + C” shortcut.
- Mouse over the color and click.
- PowerToys shows the color code of the selected color.
- Click the “Copy” icon next to the color code to copy the color.
- With that, you now know how to use PowerToys color picker to find color code.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, you need to install PowerToys, if you haven’t already. To do that, download PowerToys from this page, double-click the downloaded installer, and follow the on-screen instructions to install PowerToys.
Open the PowerToys application by searching for it in the Start menu.
Once it opens, go to the “Color Picker” tool on the sidebar and then turn ON the “Enable Color Picker” toggle.
(Optional Step) By default, PowerToys shows the color code in HEX, RGB, and HSL format. If you want the color code in some other format, like CMYK, for example, you can enable them. To do that, scroll down and then turn ON the toggle next to the color code format you want to see.
Once the Color Picker tool is turned on, press the “Windows key + Shift+ C” shortcut to launch the color picker. Once launched, find the color and click on it.
As soon as you do that, the color picker tool opens and shows the color codes of the selected color. Click the “Copy” icon next to the color code format of your choice. For example, I want to HEX code. So, I clicked the “Copy” button next to it.
That is it. With that, you now have the color code of the color you want thanks to the PowerToys Color Picker tool.
Wrapping Up — Find the Color Codes of Anything on the Screen on Windows
PowerToys Color Picker tool is one of those tools that you might need that often but when it is needed, it is either important or you are desperate for it. Of course, when you need it, simply press the “Windows key + Shift+ C” shortcut, select the color, and boom, you have the exact color code. This simple to tool removes the guesswork or online searches with screenshots of the color element. To put it simply, do give it a try and see how it works for you.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
