Using Standard System Colors Where Appropriate

When possible, an application should use the standard system colors that the user has selected through Control Panel. This is easiest to accomplish when an element in the application's window corresponds to a usage handled by Control Panel, such as window text, button face, dialog box text, and so on. By using the color combinations that the user has explicitly chosen, you reduce the chance that your choice of colors will make your application unusable, and you ensure that your application's colors are pleasing to the user without having to provide a user interface for adjusting colors. For a complete list of system colors, see the description of the GetSysColors function in the Microsoft Win32 Software Development Kit (SDK).

Your use of the color and the use selected in Control Panel do not need to correspond exactly. For example, the user's choice of window text color and background is probably a safe combination to use for any purpose.