Color Sensor Block

1. Choose the port where your color sensor is plugged in. By default, the block will be set to port 3 for a color sensor.
2. The pull-down menu will let you select the Color Sensor or Light Sensor Action mode. Select ‘Color Sensor’ to detect different colors.
3. Use the pull-down menu to choose Inside Range or Outside Range. Choose Inside Range if you want the block to trigger when colors are inside the range. Choose Outside Range if you want the block to trigger only when colors are outside the range chosen.
4. Use the right and left sliders to define the range of colors that will set the trigger value: black, blue, green, yellow, red and white.

The light sensor will turn on its own Light Emitting Diode (emits red as default) and detect this light if it is reflected back to it. This function is especially useful in difficult lighting conditions like very dark rooms or in changing light conditions. The function also allows the light sensor to serve as a short-distance range finder. With "Light" turned on, a light sensor approaching a reflective object will detect higher reflected light levels.

1. Use the slider to set the trigger value or type a value directly into the input box. Select the radio button to the right of the slider if you want the block to be triggered by light levels higher than the trigger value; select the left radio button to trigger the block with light levels lower than the trigger value.
2. If you check the "Light" checkbox, the light sensor will turn on its own light source and detect this light if it is reflected back to it. The default light generated will be red, but you can choose green or blue depending on the surface. If Light is selected, the color to be triggered will be shown as an icon on the block. Leave the "Light" checkbox unchecked to measure ambient light.
3. The feedback box displays the current amount of light detected (0-100). You can use it to try out different trigger values.

You can control the Color Sensor dynamically by connecting data wires (from other block’s data hubs) to the Color Sensor block's data hub.

Open a block's data hub by clicking the tab at the lower left edge of the block after it has been placed on the work area.

Data wires carrying input information to a block are connected to the plugs on the left side of its data hub. Data wires carting output information are connected to the plugs on the right side.

[A] Input plug
[B] Output plug
[C] Number data wire (yellow)
[D] Logic data wire (green)
[E] Text data wire (orange)
[F] Broken data wire (gray)

Passing data from the input plug to the output plug

If an input plug has a corresponding output plug (see A above), the input data will pass through from the input plug to the output plug without being changed. In this case, you can only use the output plug if the input plug is connected to an input data wire; connecting an output data wire to such an output plug without a connected input data wire will cause the output data wire to be "broken" (and colored gray).

Data wires carry specific types of data

Each data wire carries a specific type of data between blocks. For example, if a data wire is dragged from a logic plug on a block’s data hub, it can only be connected to a logic plug on another block’s data hub. The chart below shows what kind of data each plug can accept or send out.

Data wire colors

Data wires are identified with specific colors: wires carrying number data are colored yellow, wires carrying logic data are colored green, and wires carrying text data are colored orange.

"Broken" data wires

If you try to connect a data wire to a plug of the wrong data type, the data wire will be broken (and colored gray). You will not be able to download your program if a data wire is broken.

If you click a broken wire you can read why it is broken in the small help window in the lower right corner of the work area.

Data must be within the possible range of the plug

If an input data wire transmits a value outside the possible range of the plug it is connected to, the block will either ignore the value or change it to a value within its range. For plugs that allow just a few input values (example: just 0, 1, or 2), the plug will ignore the input if a value arrives outside its range.

For plugs that accept larger input ranges (example: 0 – 100), the plug will force any input outside its range to fit. For example, if a Move block’s Power plug receives an input value of 150, the block will change the input value to 100 (i.e., a number within the Power plug’s range).

This chart shows the different characteristics of the plugs on the Color Sensor Block’s Data Hub:

	Plug	Data Type	Possible Range	What the Values Mean	This Plug is Ignored When...
	Port	Number	1 - 4	Corresponds to the numbered input port on the NXT.	Never ignored
	Range	Logic	True / False	True = Inside Range False = Outside Range	In Light Sensor Mode
	Color Range A	Number	0 - 6	0 = Left of Black 1 = Between Black and Blue 2 = Between Blue and Green 3 = Between Green and Yellow 4 = Between Yellow and Red 5 = Between Red and White 6 = Right of White	In Light Sensor mode
	Color Range B	Number	0 - 6	0 = Left of Black 1 = Between Black and Blue 2 = Between Blue and Green 3 = Between Green and Yellow 4 = Between Yellow and Red 5 = Between Red and White 6 = Right of White	In Light Sensor mode
	Greater/Less	Logic	True/False	Logic used in comparison: True = Greater, False = Less	In Color Sensor Mode
	Trigger Point	Number	0 - 100	Value to compare against	In Color Sensor Mode
	Generate Light	Logic	True/False	Determines if the sensor's own LED is on or not	In Color sensor mode
	Lamp Color	Number	0-2	0 = Red 1 = Green 2 = Blue	In Color Sensor mode
	Yes/No	Logic	True/False	Result of comparison	Never ignored
	Detected Color	Number	1-6	1 = Black 2 = Blue 3 = Green 4 = Yellow 5 = Red 6 = White	In Light Sensor mode