In modern browsers, the HTML5 input has introduced the color attribute, allowing users to call the system color picker, making it a very convenient and cool feature.

Syntax

The color input is an implementation of HTML5, so it can only be used in browsers that support HTML5.

A typical usage is as follows:

<input type="color" value="#ff00ff">

Like other input types, the color, range, number, etc. depend on the browser; if the browser does not support color, the input above will display as a default text input box with the default value being "#ff00ff" in the value.

Click the image to view the DEMO

Responding to Color Changes

By simply using type="color", we can easily call the system color picker, and if we can monitor and respond to color changes, it will greatly enhance the user experience.

For example: HTML

<input type="color" value="#ff0000" id="bgcolor" oninput="changeBackground(bgcolor.value)">

JAVASCRIPT

function changeBackground(colorValue){
    document.body.style.backgroundColor = colorValue;
}

Color Options

Sometimes, providing a color palette alone is not enough; we need to give users several options to choose from easily.

At this point, we can use the datalist to achieve this requirement.

HTML

<input type="color" value="#333333" list="colors">
<datalist id="colors">
    <option>#ffffff</option>
    <option>#ff0000</option>
    <option>#ff7700</option>
</datalist>

Click the image to view the DEMO

References

• input color compatibility
• The HTML5 Color Input