C# Hex Colour to RGB

I have to do a lot of interop work with Word & Excel and generally struggle matching up colour pallets across the two applications and the only way I've found to consistently do this is by using RGB colours and the RGB function provided in VB(A).

Having recently started a new C# project that I am using hex colour codes with (e.g. #000000), I thought I would write a simple RGB colour handling class that converts the hex colour code into RGB codes for me. And here it is...

/// A helper class used to hold the RGB values of a hex colour e.g. #000000
/// </summary>
public class RGBColour
{
 private string _HexRef = String.Empty;
 public string HexRef
 {
  get { return this._HexRef; }
  set
  {
   if (!value.StartsWith("#"))
    throw new Exception("The hex colour reference must start with a #. e.g. #000000");
   if (value.Length < 7)
    throw new Exception("The hex colour reference must be 7 characters. e.g. #000000");
   this._HexRef = value;
   Color c = ColorTranslator.FromHtml(value);
   this._R = Convert.ToInt32(c.R);
   this._G = Convert.ToInt32(c.G);
   this._B = Convert.ToInt32(c.B);
  }
 }

 private int _R = 0;
 public int R { get { return this._R; } }

 private int _G = 0;
 public int G { get { return this._G; } }

 private int _B = 0;
 public int B { get { return this._B; } }

 public RGBColour()
 {
 }
 public RGBColour(string hexRef)
 {
  this.HexRef = hexRef;
 }
} 

It quite simply uses the System.Drawing.ColorTranslator.FromHtml method to convert the hex value into a System.Drawing.Color object. The Color RGB properties are then converted to an int32.

This can then be used like this...

RGBColour rgb = new RGBColour("#000000");
xl.ActiveCell.Interior.Color = xl.RGB(rgb.R, rgb.G, rgb.B);

Show All Headings in Word Contents Page

I was using a contents page in one of my Word documents and it was only showing heading items 1 to 3 and not the 4 and 5 levels. It transpires that by default Word only shows heading levels 1 to 3, but it is quite easy to change!

Click on your contents table and then press Alt+F9. This changes the view to look something like this:

Where it shows "1-3", change it to whatever heading level you want it to show. So if you want it to show up to level 5, change it to "1-5". Press Alt+F9 again and it will switch back to the view you are more accustomed to. You may need to do an Update Table... to show the new levels.

I've since found a useful site that has some more info on customising the table of contents and more specifically it's switches.

Word 2003: File Needs To Be Opened By Text Converter

A client of mine was getting a most annoying pop-up when trying to open a Microsoft Works 4.0 (.wps) file in Word 2003. The message was:

This file needs to be opened by the Microsoft Works 4.0 text converter, which may pose a security risk if the file you are opening is a malicious file. Choose Yes to open this file only if you are sure it is from a trusted source.

The Microsoft knowledge base article suggested I install service pack 3 to resolve the problem. It didn't! I had to apply the registry fix they suggested. Having done that, the warning is removed. This is the registry change required (taken directly from the article):

1. Quit Microsoft Word.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click to select the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\Options
4. After you select the key that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type DoNotConfirmConverterSecurity, and then press ENTER.
6. Right-click DoNotConfirmConverterSecurity, and then click Modify.
7. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
8. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.