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Managing Color With ColorSync


Indexed Color Spaces

In situations where you use only a limited number of colors, it can be impractical or impossible to specify colors directly. If you have a bitmap with only a few bits per pixel (1, 2, 4, or 8, for example), each pixel is too small to contain a complete color specification; its color must be specified as an index into a list or table of color values. If you are using spot colors in printing or pen colors in plotting, it can be simpler and more precise to specify each color as an index into a list of colors instead of an actual color value. Also, if you want to restrict the user to drawing with a specific set of colors, you can put the colors in a list and specify them by index.

Indexed space is the color space you use when drawing with indirectly specified colors. An indexed color value (a color specification in indexed color space) consists of an index value that refers to a color in a color list. Color values are defined in Color-Component Values, Color Values, and Colors .


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