Where can I find the hex code in Photoshop 2020?

[Tina-Soulelle]

In the Photoshop 2020 this lovely hex code in the bottom has disappear and I wonder why? I really need this  when I'm working with the color.

I have only RGB code and before I also have hex code in the bottom to see the right color. I am working with color in Photoshop and find this disappointment when hex code disappear. Can I search or in the settings area find a way where I can show hex code again?

[davescm]

Just to re-iterate, it is not the use of Hexadecimal that is an issue. The issue only lies in thinking that Hex defines a colour more accurately than the equivalent RGB decimal numbers. Both only represent a specific colour when referenced to a specific colour space. So if your website expects Hex referenced to sRGB then you need to sample the image colours in sRGB. If the colour spaces do not match then you will see a shift of colour when using the Hex codes, just as you would using RGB decimal numbers.

Dave

[D Fosse]

Right. Hex isn't a problem, but it's often correlated to a problem: lack of proper color management.

[ktgilead]

I agree with you. This entire thread is frustrating. I have a very specific reason for using hex code (it has to do with AI) and most of these "expert" answers aren't useful at all. Either say that Photoshop doesn't offer this information anymore, or explain how to find it. There shouldn't be any opinions on whether or not they no longer use it. No one asked what they use. You know? Very frustrating. 

[davescm · Accepted solution]

@ktgilead If you are working in an 8 bit/channel or 16 bit/channel document, use the eyedropper tool to get the color picker and read off the hex code. That is it.

Be aware though, that the hex code you read is dependant on the colour profile of your document. The same colour will have different Hex codes in sRGB, AdobeRGB, ProPhoto etc  When using a Hex code for entry elsewhere you really need to know which profile the entry field expects the Hex codes to be referenced to. Most, incorrectly, do not specify that reference profile, and just assume it will be referenced to sRGB. In that case make sure your document is also in sRGB (use Convert to profile if it is not) before reading the code.

Dave

[D Fosse]

And not only that. The way hex has historically been used, and to a large extent still is - is without any color management reference or application at all. In other words, those hex numbers don't even refer to sRGB, they refer to monitor color space.

Now, in Photoshop there always is a color space at the bottom, and that's the Photoshop working space. However, people working with non-color managed web authoring apps will often set color management to "off" in Photoshop, because this sets the monitor profile as working space and thereby disables all color management in Photoshop.

This way, what they see in Photoshop matches what they see in their non-color managed apps. And so they think they have it covered, not realizing they've thrown everything to the winds.

In short - always view hex numbers with sound scepticism. It may be sRGB, but then again it may not.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

@ktgilead , did you actually read the thread before posting? 

Because it seems @Conrad_C explained how to get Hex values from the Info Panel, how to copy them, … on March 3rd, 2022. 

[Conrad_C]

I do think that ktgilead’s point is well taken. Many of us replying come from publishing backgrounds where avoiding color management is a path to disaster.

But although I feel that way, I do also think that we need to acknowledge that hex RGB values are still the de facto standard in web design, mobile design, and other fields that have not yet fully caught up with color managed workflows. Untagged hex values work for them (for now) because sRGB SDR is more or less assumed, and that still works on a lot of displays. But, that’s becoming less and less reliable as displays diversify into wide gamut and HDR, where the same RGB color value can’t possibly look the same on all variations unless there is color space metadata. But that won’t be fixed by us criticizing users for using hex, it will only be fixed if those disciplines start referencing color spaces. It also won’t be fixed by us saying “don’t use hex” because using RGB(R,G,B) numerical format in an untagged document will not work any better. So if someone needs hex, we should just tell them how to find it in Photoshop, which is what I did.

Hex does have that one advantage where it’s the only way you can copy and paste a color value to another field in Photoshop in one step, because it’s the only model where Photoshop lets all three RGB values be selected in a single selection. So sometimes I use it for that (but my documents are color managed).

I’m not being completely accommodating here. Hex values are not intuitive, especially for designers. (What’s 10% gray? How do you make a color more blue?) Hex is how computers count numbers; people count in decimal. It’s kind of ironic actually that HTML/CSS was designed to use simple, friendly words and numbers (so that you don’t have to code your web site with machine language and hex codes), but people are taught to specify colors with hex instead of the arabic numerals that CSS has supported for years.

(And as far as “it has to do with AI” being a reason, that’s kind of funny too…it has to do with “artificial intelligence,” which happens to be not intelligent enough to recognize color values in anything except hex? That’s not meant to be dismissive or personal…it’s just ironic. If you need hex, then you need hex.)

[davescm]

'Untagged hex values work for them (for now) because sRGB SDR is more or less assumed'

That is the part that can trip you up. If the document you read the values from is not sRGB then the hex values will be incorrect when used in sRGB and will display a different colour. I've nothing against using hex, as long as its use and potential 'gotchas' are understood.

Dave

[D Fosse]

I must admit @Conrad_C  has a point. Or a couple.

So I think we may settle on a consensus. Hex has its place, as long as the implications are understood. Which they should be by now 😉

[Nancy OShea]

Old habits die hard.  I confess, I still use #HexCode for some things. But it's not intuitive to reach unless you use the right tool — in this case, the Color Picker; not Color Sampler.  They look similar but do different things. See screenshot.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Yes, Dave is right. Hex code is a bad habit, a leftover from the old days before modern color management was invented. It will not give you accurate color unless you also specify a color space like sRGB, Adobe RGB etc.

By @D Fosse

Blimey Dag.  I'd never thought about it before, but when pointed out it is obvious.