Professional-level photographers and designers know that getting consistent, accurate color from file to screen to print and beyond is a requirement for great results. On Microsoft Windows XP, the means to obtain great color is built right into the operating system via Image Color Management (ICM) 2.0. ICM 2.0 is an International Color Consortium (ICC)-compliant color management system exposed through Win32 API functions, so it is readily available to any application, device driver, device calibration tool, or Color Management Module (CMM). Windows itself and many Windows-based software applications use ICM 2.0 "under the covers" to improve the appearance of pictures and graphics.

However, until now Windows has lacked a central Control Panel interface for managing ICC color profiles and ICM 2.0 color settings across the system. The new Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet for Windows XP addresses this by adding a Color tool to the Windows Control Panel, making it easier for you to manage Windows color settings.

Using the Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet, you can:

• Install and uninstall ICC color profiles
• Inspect, rename, and compare two different color profiles
• View a 3D graphics plot of color profile color gamuts
• Associate color profiles with devices such as printers, monitors, and scanners
• Apply custom color gamut adjustments to one or more displays on the fly
• Set up display calibration reminders at intervals you specify

For example, using this tool a photographer can easily switch between two different display color profiles (one for the internal LCD, and a second for the external projector) when delivering a presentation using a Windows XP notebook computer. Windows will apply the correct color profile so that images look best on the intended display.^*

Note that you must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to use this software to install or uninstall color profiles and to associate color profiles with devices. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from doing these tasks.

Download and try the Color Control Panel Applet today!

Note: We've taken care to ensure that this tool operates as it should, but it is not part of Windows and is not supported by Microsoft. For this reason, Microsoft Technical Support is unable to answer questions about the Microsoft Color Control Panel Applet for Windows XP.

^*Requires color profiles with embedded color gamma table information, such as those produced by custom monitor calibration tools available from ColorVision, GretagMacbeth, X-Rite, and other vendors. Compatible profiles are shown with an asterisk (*) inside the tool.

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