CFLib.org – Common Function Library Project

Description:
You pass it exlight, light, dark, exdark or any, it passes you back a random color, of a random hue, with your specified shade of lightness or darkness.

Return Values:
Returns a string.

Example:

<cfoutput>
<table border=1 cellspacing=0>
  <tr>
<cfloop from=1 to=25 index="z">
    <cfset CurrentColor = RandomColorShade("exlight")>
    <td style="background-color:#CurrentColor#">&nbsp;</td>
</cfloop>
<cfloop from=1 to=25 index="z">
    <cfset CurrentColor = RandomColorShade("dark")>
    <td style="background-color:#CurrentColor#">&nbsp;</td>
</cfloop>
  </tr>
  <tr>
<cfloop from=1 to=25 index="z">
    <cfset CurrentColor = RandomColorShade("exlight")>
    <td style="background-color:#CurrentColor#">&nbsp;</td>
</cfloop>
<cfloop from=1 to=25 index="z">
    <cfset CurrentColor = RandomColorShade("dark")>
    <td style="background-color:#CurrentColor#">&nbsp;</td>
</cfloop>
  </tr>
</table>
</cfoutput>

Parameters:

Full UDF Source:

/**
 * Returns a random color of a specified shade, light, dark, extra light, extra dark, or any.
 * 
 * @param contrast      A contract. Possible values are any (default), dark, exdark, light, exlight. (Optional)
 * @return Returns a string. 
 * @author Nathan Strutz (nathans@dnsfirm.com) 
 * @version 1, October 20, 2003 
 */
function randomColorShade() {
    var contrast = "any";
    var ranges = structNew();
    var redColor = "";
    var greenColor = "";
    var blueColor = "";
    
    ranges.any = "0,255";
    ranges.dark= "0,119";
    ranges.exdark = "0,51";
    ranges.light = "136,255";
    ranges.exlight = "204,255";
    
    if(arrayLen(arguments) gte 1) contrast = arguments[1];    
    
    redColor = formatBaseN(randRange(listFirst(ranges[contrast]),listLast(ranges[contrast])),16);
    greenColor = formatBaseN(randRange(listFirst(ranges[contrast]),listLast(ranges[contrast])),16);
    blueColor = formatBaseN(randRange(listFirst(ranges[contrast]),listLast(ranges[contrast])),16);
    if(len(redColor) is 1) redColor = "0" & redColor;
    if(len(greenColor) is 1) greenColor = "0" & greenColor;
    if(len(blueColor) is 1) blueColor = "0" & blueColor;
    
    return "##" & redColor & greenColor & blueColor;
}