In VB6, when you choose a color-related property, the properties box has two tabs -- one for standard windows colors, and another which lets you choose a custom color.
Or, if you know the RGB value for the color you want, you can type it directly into the property. Just prefix it with "&H", and add a "&" at the end so that VB knows it's a hexadecimal number.
In case you're curious, the structure of a color value is (from left to right)
&H -- prefix indicating this is a hexadecimal value
00 or 80 -- zero indicates a custom color, 80 indicates a system color
RR -- Red values, from 00 to FF
GG -- Green values, from 00 to FF
BB -- Blue values, from 00 to FF
& -- indicates this is a hexadecimal value.
So, &H8000000F& is a system color ("Button Face"

, and &H00FF00FF& is a custom violet color (FF for Red, no green used at all, FF for Blue).
System colors follow the user's preferences in the control panel. It's always a good idea to use one of these colors, as a too-colorful application makes some users barf.
Chip H.