Using colors with printf

When written like this, it outputs text in blue:

printf "\e[1;34mThis is a blue text.\e[0m"

But I want to have format defined in printf:

printf '%-6s' "This is text"

Now I have tried several options how to add color, with no success:

printf '%-6s' "\e[1;34mThis is text\e[0m"

I even tried to add attribute code to format with no success. This does not work and I can't find anywhere an example, where colors are added to printf, which has defined format as in my case.

Solution 1:

Rather than using archaic terminal codes, may I suggest the following alternative. Not only does it provide more readable code, but it also allows you to keep the color information separate from the format specifiers just as you originally intended.

blue=$(tput setaf 4)
normal=$(tput sgr0)

printf "%40s\n" "${blue}This text is blue${normal}"

See my answer HERE for additional colors

Solution 2:

You're mixing the parts together instead of separating them cleanly.

printf '\e[1;34m%-6s\e[m' "This is text"

Basically, put the fixed stuff in the format and the variable stuff in the parameters.

Solution 3:

This works for me:

printf "%b" "\e[1;34mThis is a blue text.\e[0m"

From printf(1):

%b     ARGUMENT as a string with '\' escapes interpreted, except that octal
       escapes are of the form \0 or \0NNN