How to Write to the Console in Colour in .Net

Is it possible to write to the console in colour in .NET?

Yes. See this article. Here's an example from there:

Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Blue;
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
Console.WriteLine("White on blue.");

How to color words in different colours in a Console.WriteLine in a console application?

If you wanna make different color to each text on console you should write Console.BackgrundColor and Console.ForeGroundColor before each input and output in consolse. For example:

        Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;

        Console.WriteLine("Enter your name:");

        string name = Console.ReadLine();

        Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;

        Console.WriteLine("Hello, " + name);

        Console.ReadKey();

c# Console.WriteLine() with color text is massing the output

The problem is that the carriage return and new line draws the background color for these lines. Simply use Console.Write() instead of Console.WriteLine():

Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
// only write without new line
Console.Write($"The selected row {selection} is not found in the database.");
Console.ResetColor();
Console.WriteLine(); // if necessary
Console.ReadLine();
Environment.Exit(0);

Custom text color in C# console application?

The list found at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.console.backgroundcolor.aspx

I believe are the only supported colors in console. No hex allowed.

Black
DarkBlue
DarkGreen
DarkCyan
DarkRed
DarkMagenta
DarkYellow
Gray
DarkGray
Blue
Green
Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
White

EDIT

Get the working project files off my public Repo

https://bitbucket.org/benskolnick/color-console/

But on further investigation you can do a lot of work to combine red and yellow to get orange. Follow the example here. Not going to re-post wall of code.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319883
That Doesn't give you access to more colors but does lead in the correct direction. You will need to do some PINVOKE work but I was easily able to get orange, or any other RGB color into console.
http://pinvoke.net/default.aspx/kernel32.SetConsoleScreenBufferInfoEx

// Copyright Alex Shvedov
// Modified by MercuryP with color specifications
// Use this code in any way you want

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;                // for Debug
using System.Drawing;                    // for Color (add reference to  System.Drawing.assembly)
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;    // for StructLayout

class SetScreenColorsApp
{
    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct COORD
    {
        internal short X;
        internal short Y;
    }

    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct SMALL_RECT
    {
        internal short Left;
        internal short Top;
        internal short Right;
        internal short Bottom;
    }

    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct COLORREF
    {
        internal uint ColorDWORD;

        internal COLORREF(Color color)
        {
            ColorDWORD = (uint) color.R + (((uint) color.G) << 8) + (((uint) color.B) << 16);
        }

        internal COLORREF(uint r, uint g, uint b)
        {
            ColorDWORD = r + (g << 8) + (b << 16);
        }

        internal Color GetColor()
        {
            return Color.FromArgb((int) (0x000000FFU & ColorDWORD),
                                  (int) (0x0000FF00U & ColorDWORD) >> 8, (int) (0x00FF0000U & ColorDWORD) >> 16);
        }

        internal void SetColor(Color color)
        {
            ColorDWORD = (uint) color.R + (((uint) color.G) << 8) + (((uint) color.B) << 16);
        }
    }

    [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
    internal struct CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO_EX
    {
        internal int cbSize;
        internal COORD dwSize;
        internal COORD dwCursorPosition;
        internal ushort wAttributes;
        internal SMALL_RECT srWindow;
        internal COORD dwMaximumWindowSize;
        internal ushort wPopupAttributes;
        internal bool bFullscreenSupported;
        internal COLORREF black;
        internal COLORREF darkBlue;
        internal COLORREF darkGreen;
        internal COLORREF darkCyan;
        internal COLORREF darkRed;
        internal COLORREF darkMagenta;
        internal COLORREF darkYellow;
        internal COLORREF gray;
        internal COLORREF darkGray;
        internal COLORREF blue;
        internal COLORREF green;
        internal COLORREF cyan;
        internal COLORREF red;
        internal COLORREF magenta;
        internal COLORREF yellow;
        internal COLORREF white;
    }

    const int STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE = -11;                                        // per WinBase.h
    internal static readonly IntPtr INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE = new IntPtr(-1);    // per WinBase.h

    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    private static extern IntPtr GetStdHandle(int nStdHandle);

    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    private static extern bool GetConsoleScreenBufferInfoEx(IntPtr hConsoleOutput, ref CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO_EX csbe);

    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
    private static extern bool SetConsoleScreenBufferInfoEx(IntPtr hConsoleOutput, ref CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO_EX csbe);

    // Set a specific console color to an RGB color
    // The default console colors used are gray (foreground) and black (background)
    public static int SetColor(ConsoleColor consoleColor, Color targetColor)
    {
        return SetColor(consoleColor, targetColor.R, targetColor.G, targetColor.B);
    }

    public static int SetColor(ConsoleColor color, uint r, uint g, uint b)
    {
        CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO_EX csbe = new CONSOLE_SCREEN_BUFFER_INFO_EX();
        csbe.cbSize = (int)Marshal.SizeOf(csbe);                    // 96 = 0x60
        IntPtr hConsoleOutput = GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE);    // 7
        if (hConsoleOutput == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
        {
            return Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
        }
        bool brc = GetConsoleScreenBufferInfoEx(hConsoleOutput, ref csbe);
        if (!brc)
        {
            return Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
        }

        switch (color)
        {
            case ConsoleColor.Black:
                csbe.black = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkBlue:
                csbe.darkBlue = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkGreen:
                csbe.darkGreen = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkCyan:
                csbe.darkCyan = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkRed:
                csbe.darkRed = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkMagenta:
                csbe.darkMagenta = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkYellow:
                csbe.darkYellow = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Gray:
                csbe.gray = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.DarkGray:
                csbe.darkGray = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Blue:
                csbe.blue = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Green:
                csbe.green = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Cyan:
                csbe.cyan = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Red:
                csbe.red = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Magenta:
                csbe.magenta = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.Yellow:
                csbe.yellow = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
            case ConsoleColor.White:
                csbe.white = new COLORREF(r, g, b);
                break;
        }
        ++csbe.srWindow.Bottom;
        ++csbe.srWindow.Right;
        brc = SetConsoleScreenBufferInfoEx(hConsoleOutput, ref csbe);
        if (!brc)
        {
            return Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
        }
        return 0;
    }

    public static int SetScreenColors(Color foregroundColor, Color backgroundColor)
    {
        int irc;
        irc = SetColor(ConsoleColor.Gray, foregroundColor);
        if (irc != 0) return irc;
        irc = SetColor(ConsoleColor.Black, backgroundColor);
        if (irc != 0) return irc;

        return 0;
    }
}

And then if you want to use Orange or any other color you can do a simple call to SetScreenColor

static void Main(string[] args)
    {

        Color screenTextColor = Color.Orange;
        Color screenBackgroundColor = Color.Black;
        int irc = SetScreenColorsApp.SetScreenColors(screenTextColor, screenBackgroundColor);
        Debug.Assert(irc == 0, "SetScreenColors failed, Win32Error code = " + irc + " = 0x" + irc.ToString("x"));

        Debug.WriteLine("LargestWindowHeight=" + Console.LargestWindowHeight + " LargestWindowWidth=" + Console.LargestWindowWidth);
        Debug.WriteLine("BufferHeight=" + Console.BufferHeight + " WindowHeight=" + Console.WindowHeight + " BufferWidth=" + Console.BufferWidth + " WindowWidth=" + Console.WindowWidth);
        //// these are relative to the buffer, not the screen:
        //Debug.WriteLine("WindowTop=" + Console.WindowTop + " WindowLeft=" + Console.WindowLeft);
        Debug.WriteLine("ForegroundColor=" + Console.ForegroundColor + " BackgroundColor=" + Console.BackgroundColor);
        Console.WriteLine("Some text in a console window");
        Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Cyan;
        Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Yellow;
        Debug.WriteLine("ForegroundColor=" + Console.ForegroundColor + " BackgroundColor=" + Console.BackgroundColor);
        Console.Write("Press ENTER to exit...");
        Console.ReadLine();

        // Note: If you use SetScreenColors, the RGB values of gray and black are changed permanently for the console window.
        // Using i.e. Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Gray afterwards will switch the color to whatever you changed gray to

        // It's best to use SetColor for the purpose of choosing the 16 colors you want the console to be able to display, then use
        // Console.BackgroundColor and Console.ForegrondColor to choose among them.
    }

How can I print text in two different colours (console) on the same line?

Try this silly example out using a ConcurrentQueue:

public class Message
{
    public List<MessagePart> parts = new List<MessagePart>();

    public void Render()
    {
        parts.ForEach(p => p.Render());
    }

    public class MessagePart
    {

        public string text;
        public ConsoleColor color;

        public MessagePart(string text, ConsoleColor color)
        {
            this.text = text;
            this.color = color;
        }

        public void Render()
        {
            Console.ForegroundColor = color;
            Console.Write(text);
        }

    }

}

class Program
{

    static bool pause = false;
    static bool quit = false;
    static ConcurrentQueue<Message> messages = new ConcurrentQueue<Message>();

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {            
        Console.WriteLine("Press Space to Pause/UnPause.");
        Console.WriteLine("Press Enter to Quit when you are done.");
        Console.WriteLine("Press Enter to Start...");
        Console.ReadLine();

        Task.Run(() => RenderLoop());
        Task.Run(() => YellowAndBlue());
        Task.Run(() => RedAndBlue());

        while (!quit)
        {
            while (!Console.KeyAvailable)
            {
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(50);
            }
            switch(Console.ReadKey(false).Key)
            {
                case ConsoleKey.Enter:
                    quit = true;
                    break;
                case ConsoleKey.Spacebar:
                    pause = !pause;
                    break;
            }
        }            
    }

    static void YellowAndBlue()
    {
        Message msg = new Message();
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Yellow", ConsoleColor.Yellow));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart(" and ", ConsoleColor.White));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Blue", ConsoleColor.Blue));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart(" make ", ConsoleColor.White));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Green\r\n", ConsoleColor.Green));

        while (!quit)
        {
            System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(25);
            messages.Enqueue(msg);
            while (pause)
            {
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(50);
            }
        }
    }

    static void RedAndBlue()
    {
        Message msg = new Message();
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Red", ConsoleColor.Red));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart(" and ", ConsoleColor.White));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Blue", ConsoleColor.Blue));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart(" make ", ConsoleColor.White));
        msg.parts.Add(new Message.MessagePart("Magenta\r\n", ConsoleColor.Magenta));

        while (!quit)
        {
            System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(25);
            messages.Enqueue(msg);
            while (pause)
            {
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(50);
            }
        }
    }

    static void RenderLoop()
    {
        Message message;
        while (!quit)
        {                
            while (!messages.IsEmpty && !quit)
            {
                if (messages.TryDequeue(out message))
                {
                    message.Render();                        
                }
                while (pause)
                {
                    System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(50);
                }
            }
            if (!quit)
            {
                messages.Enqueue(new Message() { parts = { new Message.MessagePart("Queue Emptied!\r\n", ConsoleColor.White) } });
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(100);
            }                
        }
    }

}

Output (paused):

How to display formatted output in different colors using console.writeline

You should use Console.Write() if you want to use different colors in one line write like this:

Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
Console.Write("First  ");
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Blue;
Console.Write("{0} ", firstString);
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
Console.Write("second ");
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Green;
Console.Write("{0} ", secondString);

Using colors in console, how to store in a simplified notation

It's not entirely clear what you mean, but you could always create helper methods:

public static void ColoredConsoleWrite(ConsoleColor color, string text)
{
    ConsoleColor originalColor = Console.ForegroundColor;
    Console.ForegroundColor = color;
    Console.Write(text);
    Console.ForegroundColor = originalColor;
}

Colored console output

C# you an use the following:

Console.BackgroundColor = ConsoleColor.Blue;
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.White;
Console.WriteLine("White on blue.");
Console.Read();

Remember you can also do this in JavaScript:

console.log('%cHello world', 'background-color: #0000FF; color: #FFFFFF');

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