 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into indexed color. () |
| Color depth |
|---|
|
8-bit color |
| Related |
|
RGB color model |
A palette, in computer graphics, is a designated subset of the total range of colors supported by a computer graphics system or a particular image. Each color in the palette is assigned an index, and for each pixel one of these indices is stored to determine the color of the pixel. Graphics modes with low color depths (generally, from 4 to 8 bits) usually have a modifiable palette, also referred to as pseudocolor palette, that contains indices to the full palette of the display hardware. For instance, in the 256-color modes of the original VGA, each of the colors can be chosen from a total palette of 262,144 colors. Pseudocolor allows images comprising a small number of colors to be stored using a relatively modest amount of graphics memory. Notable computer graphics systems extensively (or even exclusively) using pseudocolor palettes include EGA and VGA (for the IBM PC), the Atari ST and Amiga's OCS and AGA. Some popular image file formats, such as PCX, GIF, BMP, TIFF and PNG allow indexed color modes, generally up to 16 or 256 (four or eight bits per pixel). In this kind of file, along with a header and the raw image data, the palette map is also stored, with up to 16 or 256 RGB entries. A palette may also refer to a small window, or section of a window that's readily accessible for quick and frequent color choices. A palette may also refer to a set of frequently used symbols, tools, or other objects, available for quick access.
