>Is there a way of determining (at run time) the grid.highlightbackcolor without actually creating one and making it visible? The property doesn't seem to have a real value until the grid is visible to the user. I want the use the color for other parts of the application and the user may not have been to a form with a grid at that point.

You can always read the .vcx the class is in...
Without knowing your app: it "feels" wrong that way.
Why not make the grid.highlightbackcolor dependant on another property that you can always read ?

HTH

thomas