How can I create a UIColor from a hex string?

Question

How can I create a UIColor from a hexadecimal string format, such as #00FF00?

Answer 1

extension UIColor {
    convenience init(hexaString: String, alpha: CGFloat = 1) {
        let chars = Array(hexaString.dropFirst())
        self.init(red:   .init(strtoul(String(chars[0...1]),nil,16))/255,
                  green: .init(strtoul(String(chars[2...3]),nil,16))/255,
                  blue:  .init(strtoul(String(chars[4...5]),nil,16))/255,
                  alpha: alpha)}
}

---

Usage:

let redColor       = UIColor(hexaString: "#FF0000")              // r 1,0 g 0,0 b 0,0 a 1,0
let transparentRed = UIColor(hexaString: "#FF0000", alpha: 0.5)  // r 1,0 g 0,0 b 0,0 a 0,5

Answer 2

I've found the simplest way to do this is with a macro. Just include it in your header and it's available throughout your project.

#define UIColorFromRGB(rgbValue) [UIColor colorWithRed:((float)((rgbValue & 0xFF0000) >> 16))/255.0 green:((float)((rgbValue & 0xFF00) >> 8))/255.0 blue:((float)(rgbValue & 0xFF))/255.0 alpha:1.0]

uicolor macro with hex values

Also formatted version of this code:

#define UIColorFromRGB(rgbValue) \
[UIColor colorWithRed:((float)((rgbValue & 0xFF0000) >> 16))/255.0 \
                green:((float)((rgbValue & 0x00FF00) >>  8))/255.0 \
                 blue:((float)((rgbValue & 0x0000FF) >>  0))/255.0 \
                alpha:1.0]

Usage:

label.textColor = UIColorFromRGB(0xBC1128);

Answer 3

Use this Category :

in the file UIColor+Hexadecimal.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>

@interface UIColor(Hexadecimal)

+ (UIColor *)colorWithHexString:(NSString *)hexString;

@end

in the file UIColor+Hexadecimal.m

#import "UIColor+Hexadecimal.h"

@implementation UIColor(Hexadecimal)

+ (UIColor *)colorWithHexString:(NSString *)hexString {
    unsigned rgbValue = 0;
    NSScanner *scanner = [NSScanner scannerWithString:hexString];
    [scanner setScanLocation:1]; // bypass '#' character
    [scanner scanHexInt:&rgbValue];

    return [UIColor colorWithRed:((rgbValue & 0xFF0000) >> 16)/255.0 green:((rgbValue & 0xFF00) >> 8)/255.0 blue:(rgbValue & 0xFF)/255.0 alpha:1.0];
}

@end

---

In Class you want use it :

#import "UIColor+Hexadecimal.h"

and:

[UIColor colorWithHexString:@"#6e4b4b"];

Answer 4

A great Swift implementation (updated for Xcode 7) using extensions, pulled together from a variety of different answers and places. You will also need the string extensions at the end.

Use:

let hexColor = UIColor(hex: "#00FF00")

NOTE: I added an option for 2 additional digits to the end of the standard 6 digit hex value for an alpha channel (pass in value of 00-99). If this offends you, just remove it. You could implement it to pass in an optional alpha parameter.

Extension:

extension UIColor {

    convenience init(var hex: String) {
        var alpha: Float = 100
        let hexLength = hex.characters.count
        if !(hexLength == 7 || hexLength == 9) {
            // A hex must be either 7 or 9 characters (#RRGGBBAA)
            print("improper call to 'colorFromHex', hex length must be 7 or 9 chars (#GGRRBBAA)")
            self.init(white: 0, alpha: 1)
            return
        }

        if hexLength == 9 {
            // Note: this uses String subscripts as given below
            alpha = hex[7...8].floatValue
            hex = hex[0...6]
        }

        // Establishing the rgb color
        var rgb: UInt32 = 0
        let s: NSScanner = NSScanner(string: hex)
        // Setting the scan location to ignore the leading `#`
        s.scanLocation = 1
        // Scanning the int into the rgb colors
        s.scanHexInt(&rgb)

        // Creating the UIColor from hex int
        self.init(
            red: CGFloat((rgb & 0xFF0000) >> 16) / 255.0,
            green: CGFloat((rgb & 0x00FF00) >> 8) / 255.0,
            blue: CGFloat(rgb & 0x0000FF) / 255.0,
            alpha: CGFloat(alpha / 100)
        )
    }
}

String extensions:
Float source
Subscript source

extension String {

    /**
    Returns the float value of a string
    */
    var floatValue: Float {
        return (self as NSString).floatValue
    }

    /**
    Subscript to allow for quick String substrings ["Hello"][0...1] = "He"
    */
    subscript (r: Range<Int>) -> String {
        get {
            let start = self.startIndex.advancedBy(r.startIndex)
            let end = self.startIndex.advancedBy(r.endIndex - 1)
            return self.substringWithRange(start..<end)
        }
    }
}

Answer 5

Swift equivalent of @Tom's answer, although receiving RGBA Int value to support transparency:

func colorWithHex(aHex: UInt) -> UIColor
{
    return UIColor(red: CGFloat((aHex & 0xFF000000) >> 24) / 255,
        green: CGFloat((aHex & 0x00FF0000) >> 16) / 255,
        blue: CGFloat((aHex & 0x0000FF00) >> 8) / 255,
        alpha: CGFloat((aHex & 0x000000FF) >> 0) / 255)
}

//usage
var color = colorWithHex(0x7F00FFFF)

And if you want to be able to use it from string you could use strtoul:

var hexString = "0x7F00FFFF"

let num = strtoul(hexString, nil, 16)

var colorFromString = colorWithHex(num)

Answer 6

I like to ensure the alpha besides the color, so i write my own category

+ (UIColor *) colorWithHex:(int)color {

    float red = (color & 0xff000000) >> 24;
    float green = (color & 0x00ff0000) >> 16;
    float blue = (color & 0x0000ff00) >> 8;
    float alpha = (color & 0x000000ff);

    return [UIColor colorWithRed:red/255.0 green:green/255.0 blue:blue/255.0 alpha:alpha/255.0];
}

easy to use like this

[UIColor colorWithHex:0xFF0000FF]; //Red
[UIColor colorWithHex:0x00FF00FF]; //Green
[UIColor colorWithHex:0x00FF00FF]; //Blue
[UIColor colorWithHex:0x0000007F]; //transparent black