# SDMB contolling browser colour scheme?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [October 24, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711 "2002-10-24T16:47:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/1 "2002-10-24T16:47:05Z")

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Not sure if this should go here or in “About this Message Board”

Anyway, I’ve just upgraded to Internet Explorer 5.5, and have discovered that the scroll bar at the right of the window (and at the right of this text box I’m typing in to create a new thread) is now in “SDMB colours” (navy blue, with yellow arrows at top and bottom), instead of the default grey with black arrows. This colour scheme only applies to the SDMB windows - other windows I have open at the same time are in the normal colours.

Why and how does the SDMB do this?

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/2 "2002-10-24T16:54:07Z")

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It’s done through Cascading Style Sheets, which control all the fonts and colours for the whole page. The command is at the top of the page, and looks like this:

```auto

BODY {
	SCROLLBAR-BASE-COLOR: #606096;
	SCROLLBAR-ARROW-COLOR: #FFF788;
}

```

And it only works in 5.5+, and only in IE (I think).

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/3 "2002-10-24T16:57:22Z")

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Should say: the command is in between the \<STYLE\> tags at the top of the source code, if you want to look at it (go View =\> Source).

Also, there are other variables that control highlights and lowlights of both the scrollbar and the arrowhead, though I can’t remember them off the top of my head.

The colours only appear on sites that have put that command in their stylesheets - you will see more as you continue to surf around.

It’s quite a shock when you first upgrade, but I like it.

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/4 "2002-10-24T17:06:49Z")

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Thanks for the explanation. I would have viewed the source of the page myself, but for reasons best known to themselves, the sysadmins seem to have removed that function (the Source option is greyed out on the View menu).

I suppose it does brighten the site up a bit…

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**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/5 "2002-10-24T17:47:33Z")

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I’ve only seen it work in Internet Explorer. I don’t think you should expect it to work anywhere else. Those two properties are not valid CSS (as determined by [the CSS Validator](http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fboards.straightdope.com%2Fsdmb%2Fshowthread.php%3Fs%3D%26threadid%3D141015&warning=1&profile=css2)). It’s cool, though, so maybe they’ll be in a future version.

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**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/6 "2002-10-24T18:01:12Z")

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[This site](http://hepax6.rl.ac.uk/DELPHI/Adye/blooberry/indexdot/css/properties/scrollbar/scrollbarac.htm) suggests only IE5.5+ support scrollbar properties. They have an [interesting overview](http://hepax6.rl.ac.uk/DELPHI/Adye/blooberry/indexdot/css/properties/scrollbar.htm) of it too.

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**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/7 "2002-10-24T18:23:05Z")

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Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical.

Off to ATMB.

**DrMatrix** - General Questions Moderator

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**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-contolling-browser-colour-scheme/133711/8 "2002-10-24T23:01:28Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by DrMatrix \*  
> **Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical.**

It’s damn difficult to control anything else around here.