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Custom Colour Schemes

The Opera browser is gaining more and more prominence, these days, and for good reason - it is currently, by far and away, the best tool available for browsing the internet (and if you are a web designer, it offers a host of other features that will make your life much easier). If you don't use it yet, go and download the free trial - you won't look back.

[Aside: Opera fans will be very used to mouse gestures by now, but it can be very frustrating being unable to use them in other applications. Allow me to introduce the amazing StrokeIt, which gives you mouse gestures capabilities in every application - and it's even free for personal use.]

There are plenty of ways to customize Opera, from skinning to full control over menus, that add to its appeal. Once you have added a skin, the use of alpha-faded PNGs means you can then apply a colour scheme to any skin, giving you far more options than the standard colours chosen by the creator of the skin. Unfortunately, Opera only comes with 9 colour scheme presets, a somewhat limited choice. Fortunately, all it takes is Notepad and two minutes spare to add a couple of hundred more options to the list. All you need to do is follow the following simple instructions:

  1. Save this text into any text editor.
  2. Close Opera.
  3. Open Menu.ini with any text editor.
  4. Search for "[Color Scheme Menu]".

You should now see a short list of the colours already included with Opera, along with their colour schemes, looking very much like the below:

  1. Item, "Gold" = Set skin coloring, #803C00
  2. Item, "Sand" = Set skin coloring, #BD9431
  3. Item, "Jungle" = Set skin coloring, #2FB35E
  4. Item, "Sea" = Set skin coloring, #2F83B3
  5. Item, "Blue" = Set skin coloring, #001E80
  6. Item, "Indigo" = Set skin coloring, #606090
  7. Item, "Purple" = Set skin coloring, #4B0082
  8. Item, "Crimson" = Set skin coloring, #DC143C
  9. Item, "Red" = Set skin coloring, #900000

Now, replace that list with the following one. Please note that colours in the new list whose names are the same as colours in the list above have had a 2 appended to them. You may well wish to just delete them - they have been included for the sake of completeness.

Once you have done that, save Menu.ini, and restart Opera. Go to View > Colour Schemes to see the new list, and toy with your newly-enhanced browser to your heart's content. You can actually preview the colours listed here at http://members.tripod.com/rebbekka/colour.htm if you feel the need.

  1. Item, "Gold" = Set skin coloring, #803C00
  2. Item, "Sand" = Set skin coloring, #BD9431
  3. Item, "Jungle" = Set skin coloring, #2FB35E
  4. Item, "Sea" = Set skin coloring, #2F83B3
  5. Item, "Blue" = Set skin coloring, #001E80
  6. Item, "Indigo" = Set skin coloring, #606090
  7. Item, "Purple" = Set skin coloring, #4B0082
  8. Item, "Crimson" = Set skin coloring, #DC143C
  9. Item, "Red" = Set skin coloring, #900000
  10. --------------------2
  11. Item, "Aliceblue" = Set skin coloring, #F0F8FF
  12. Item, "Antiquewhite" = Set skin coloring, #FAEBD7
  13. Item, "Aqua" = Set skin coloring, #00FFFF
  14. Item, "Aquamarine" = Set skin coloring, #7FFFD4
  15. Item, "Azure" = Set skin coloring, #F0FFFF
  16. Item, "Beige" = Set skin coloring, #F5F5DC
  17. Item, "Bisque" = Set skin coloring, #FFE4C4
  18. Item, "Black" = Set skin coloring, #000000
  19. Item, "Blanchedalmond" = Set skin coloring, #FFEBCD
  20. Item, "Blue2" = Set skin coloring, #0000FF
  21. Item, "Blueviolet" = Set skin coloring, #8A2BE2
  22. Item, "Brown" = Set skin coloring, #A52A2A
  23. Item, "Burlywood" = Set skin coloring, #DEB887
  24. Item, "Cadetblue" = Set skin coloring, #5F9EA0
  25. Item, "Chartreuse" = Set skin coloring, #7FFF00
  26. Item, "Chocolate" = Set skin coloring, #D2691E
  27. Item, "Coral" = Set skin coloring, #FF7F50
  28. Item, "Cornflowerblue" = Set skin coloring, #6495ED
  29. Item, "Cornsilk" = Set skin coloring, #FFF8DC
  30. Item, "Crimson2" = Set skin coloring, #DC143C
  31. Item, "Cyan" = Set skin coloring, #00FFFF
  32. Item, "Darkblue" = Set skin coloring, #00008B
  33. Item, "Darkcyan" = Set skin coloring, #008B8B
  34. Item, "Darkgoldenrod" = Set skin coloring, #B8860B
  35. Item, "Darkgray" = Set skin coloring, #A9A9A9
  36. Item, "Darkgreen" = Set skin coloring, #006400
  37. Item, "Darkkhaki" = Set skin coloring, #BDB76B
  38. Item, "Darkmagenta" = Set skin coloring, #8B008B
  39. Item, "Darkolivegreen" = Set skin coloring, #556B2F
  40. Item, "Darkorange" = Set skin coloring, #FF8C00
  41. Item, "Darkorchid" = Set skin coloring, #9932CC
  42. Item, "Darkred" = Set skin coloring, #8B0000
  43. Item, "Darksalmon" = Set skin coloring, #E9967A
  44. Item, "Darkseagreen" = Set skin coloring, #8FBC8F
  45. Item, "Darkslateblue" = Set skin coloring, #483D8B
  46. Item, "Darkslategray" = Set skin coloring, #2F4F4F
  47. Item, "Darkturquoise" = Set skin coloring, #00CED1
  48. Item, "Darkviolet" = Set skin coloring, #9400D3
  49. Item, "Deeppink" = Set skin coloring, #FF1493
  50. Item, "Deepskyblue" = Set skin coloring, #00BFFF
  51. Item, "Dimgray" = Set skin coloring, #696969
  52. Item, "Dodgerblue" = Set skin coloring, #1E90FF
  53. Item, "Firebrick" = Set skin coloring, #B22222
  54. Item, "Floralwhite" = Set skin coloring, #FFFAF0
  55. Item, "Forestgreen" = Set skin coloring, #228B22
  56. Item, "Fuchsia" = Set skin coloring, #FF00FF
  57. Item, "Gainsboro" = Set skin coloring, #DCDCDC
  58. Item, "Ghostwhite" = Set skin coloring, #F8F8FF
  59. Item, "Gold2" = Set skin coloring, #FFD700
  60. Item, "Goldenrod" = Set skin coloring, #DAA520
  61. Item, "Gray" = Set skin coloring, #808080
  62. Item, "Green" = Set skin coloring, #008000
  63. Item, "Greenyellow" = Set skin coloring, #ADFF2F
  64. Item, "Honeydew" = Set skin coloring, #F0FFF0
  65. Item, "Hotpink" = Set skin coloring, #FF69B4
  66. Item, "Indianred" = Set skin coloring, #CD5C5C
  67. Item, "Indigo2" = Set skin coloring, #4B0082
  68. Item, "Ivory" = Set skin coloring, #FFFFF0
  69. Item, "Khaki" = Set skin coloring, #F0E68C
  70. Item, "Lavendar" = Set skin coloring, #E6E6FA
  71. Item, "Lavenderblush" = Set skin coloring, #FFF0F5
  72. Item, "Lawngreen" = Set skin coloring, #7CFC00
  73. Item, "Lemonchiffon" = Set skin coloring, #FFFACD
  74. Item, "Lightblue" = Set skin coloring, #ADD8E6
  75. Item, "Lightcoral" = Set skin coloring, #F08080
  76. Item, "Lightcyan" = Set skin coloring, #E0FFFF
  77. Item, "Lightgoldenrodyellow" = Set skin coloring, #FAFAD2
  78. Item, "Lightgreen" = Set skin coloring, #90EE90
  79. Item, "Lightgrey" = Set skin coloring, #D3D3D3
  80. Item, "Lightpink" = Set skin coloring, #FFB6C1
  81. Item, "Lightsalmon" = Set skin coloring, #FFA07A
  82. Item, "Lightseagreen" = Set skin coloring, #20B2AA
  83. Item, "Lightskyblue" = Set skin coloring, #87CEFA
  84. Item, "Lightslategray" = Set skin coloring, #778899
  85. Item, "Lightsteelblue" = Set skin coloring, #B0C4DE
  86. Item, "Lightyellow" = Set skin coloring, #FFFFE0
  87. Item, "Lime" = Set skin coloring, #00FF00
  88. Item, "Limegreen" = Set skin coloring, #32CD32
  89. Item, "Linen" = Set skin coloring, #FAF0E6
  90. Item, "Maroon" = Set skin coloring, #800000
  91. Item, "Mediumauqamarine" = Set skin coloring, #66CDAA
  92. Item, "Mediumblue" = Set skin coloring, #0000CD
  93. Item, "Mediumorchid" = Set skin coloring, #BA55D3
  94. Item, "Mediumpurple" = Set skin coloring, #9370D8
  95. Item, "Mediumseagreen" = Set skin coloring, #3CB371
  96. Item, "Mediumslateblue" = Set skin coloring, #7B68EE
  97. Item, "Mediumspringgreen" = Set skin coloring, #00FA9A
  98. Item, "Mediumturquoise" = Set skin coloring, #48D1CC
  99. Item, "Mediumvioletred" = Set skin coloring, #C71585
  100. Item, "Midnightblue" = Set skin coloring, #191970
  101. Item, "Mintcream" = Set skin coloring, #F5FFFA
  102. Item, "Mistyrose" = Set skin coloring, #FFE4E1
  103. Item, "Moccasin" = Set skin coloring, #FFE4B5
  104. Item, "Navajowhite" = Set skin coloring, #FFDEAD
  105. Item, "Navy" = Set skin coloring, #000080
  106. Item, "Oldlace" = Set skin coloring, #FDF5E6
  107. Item, "Olive" = Set skin coloring, #808000
  108. Item, "Olivedrab" = Set skin coloring, #688E23
  109. Item, "Orange" = Set skin coloring, #FFA500
  110. Item, "Orangered" = Set skin coloring, #FF4500
  111. Item, "Orchid" = Set skin coloring, #DA70D6
  112. Item, "Palegoldenrod" = Set skin coloring, #EEE8AA
  113. Item, "Palegreen" = Set skin coloring, #98FB98
  114. Item, "Paleturquoise" = Set skin coloring, #AFEEEE
  115. Item, "Palevioletred" = Set skin coloring, #D87093
  116. Item, "Papayawhip" = Set skin coloring, #FFEFD5
  117. Item, "Peachpuff" = Set skin coloring, #FFDAB9
  118. Item, "Peru" = Set skin coloring, #CD853F
  119. Item, "Pink" = Set skin coloring, #FFC0CB
  120. Item, "Plum" = Set skin coloring, #DDA0DD
  121. Item, "Powderblue" = Set skin coloring, #B0E0E6
  122. Item, "Purple2" = Set skin coloring, #800080
  123. Item, "Red2" = Set skin coloring, #FF0000
  124. Item, "Rosybrown" = Set skin coloring, #BC8F8F
  125. Item, "Royalblue" = Set skin coloring, #4169E1
  126. Item, "Saddlebrown" = Set skin coloring, #8B4513
  127. Item, "Salmon" = Set skin coloring, #FA8072
  128. Item, "Sandybrown" = Set skin coloring, #F4A460
  129. Item, "Seagreen" = Set skin coloring, #2E8B57
  130. Item, "Seashell" = Set skin coloring, #FFF5EE
  131. Item, "Sienna" = Set skin coloring, #A0522D
  132. Item, "Silver" = Set skin coloring, #C0C0C0
  133. Item, "Skyblue" = Set skin coloring, #87CEEB
  134. Item, "Slateblue" = Set skin coloring, #6A5ACD
  135. Item, "Slategray" = Set skin coloring, #708090
  136. Item, "Snow" = Set skin coloring, #FFFAFA
  137. Item, "Springgreen" = Set skin coloring, #00FF7F
  138. Item, "Steelblue" = Set skin coloring, #4682B4
  139. Item, "Tan" = Set skin coloring, #D2B48C
  140. Item, "Teal" = Set skin coloring, #008080
  141. Item, "Thistle" = Set skin coloring, #D8BFD8
  142. Item, "Tomato" = Set skin coloring, #FF6347
  143. Item, "Turquoise" = Set skin coloring, #40E0D0
  144. Item, "Violet" = Set skin coloring, #EE82EE
  145. Item, "Wheat" = Set skin coloring, #F5DEB3
  146. Item, "White" = Set skin coloring, #FFFFFF
  147. Item, "Whitesmoke" = Set skin coloring, #F5F5F5
  148. Item, "Yellow" = Set skin coloring, #FFFF00
  149. Item, "YellowGreen" = Set skin coloring, #9ACD32

5 comments

Steve
United States #1: April 23, 2006
my opera thing doesnt have a menu.ini file, only a standard_menu.ini file which has:

[Color Scheme Menu]
Item, 67433 = Disable skin coloring
Item, 67434 = Use system skin coloring
--------------------1
Item, 67435 = Set skin coloring, #803C00
Item, 67436 = Set skin coloring, #BD9431
Item, 67437 = Set skin coloring, #2FB35E
Item, 67438 = Set skin coloring, #2F83B3
Item, 67439 = Set skin coloring, #001E80
Item, 67440 = Set skin coloring, #606090
Item, 67441 = Set skin coloring, #4B0082
Item, 67442 = Set skin coloring, #DC143C
Item, 67443 = Set skin coloring, #FFC0CB

so uh, what would i do?
Mitch
Australia #2: May 30, 2006
I think you should put it in there... :)

Mitch
Mitch
Australia #3: May 30, 2006
Sorry, hate to say it, but there's actually not any menu.ini or standard_menu.ini files in my version of Opera... :(
I've got Opera 8.5...
Hmmm...
wonder how this can work...!?!

Mitch
Mitch
Australia #4: May 30, 2006
WAAAIIIITTT!

Sorry, i thought it could be good to edit those files...
The forums on opera say NO!
go here to learn how to do it...
>http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=15391

Sorry,
Mitch
Joker
Germany #5: October 26, 2006
Feel free to edit the ini-files in the profile-directiory, but don't touch the standard-ini-files!
You find out more about Ini-modifications on http://operawiki.info

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