colors can be changed on the whole screen instantly. Here is an example of changing background color register #1:

 100 POKE53270,PEEK(53270)OR16: REM TURN ON MULTICOLOR MODE
 110 PRINT CHR$(147)CHR$(18);
 120 PRINT"{ORANGE*2}";: REM TYPE C= & 1 FOR ORANGE OR MULTICOLOR BLACK BG
 130 FORL=1TO22:PRINTCHR$(65);:NEXT
 135 FORT=1TO500:NEXT
 140 PRINT"{BLUE*2}";: REM TYPE CTRL & 7 FOR BLUE COLOR CHANGE
 145 FORT=1TO500:NEXT
 150 PRINT"{BLACK}HIT A KEY"
 160 GET A$:IF A$=""THEN160
 170 X=INT(RND(1)*16)
 180 POKE 53282,X
 190 GOTO 160

By using the <C=> key and the COLOR keys the characters can be changed to any color, including multi-color characters. For example, type this command:

   POKE 53270,PEEK(53270)OR 16:PRINT"<CTRL+3>";: rem lt.red/multi-color red

The word READY and anything else you type will be displayed in multi-color mode. Another color control can set you back to regular text.