CLE CTLR RPTS NEW AUTOMATION COLOR SCHEME FOR DATA TAGS REDUCES SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND CONTRIBUTED TO AN OPS ERROR.

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AT CLE; WE JUST RECENTLY SWITCHED TO 'COLOR RADAR.' THE COLOR OF THE DATA TAGS ARE AS FOLLOWS: WHITE = ACFT YOU ARE WORKING; YELLOW = ACFT YOU ARE WATCHING ('POINT OUTS'); GREEN = ACFT BEING WORK BY OTHER PEOPLE. THIS CHANGE WAS MADE TO MAKE IT EASIER TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR ACFT. ON 5/MON/07; I WAS WORKING THE SATELLITE N (SAN) POSITION AT CLE. I TOOK AN IFR HANDOFF FROM AKRON-CANTON APCH (CAK) ON A PA25 (3000 FT) LNDG AT PUT-IN-BAY; OH (3W2). ABOUT THE SAME TIME; AN AA5 DEPARTED ELYRIA; OH (1G1) AND REQUESTED HIS IFR CLRNC IN THE AIR. I ISSUED THE AA5 AN IFR CLRNC; RADAR IDENTIFIED THE ACFT AND CLBED HIM TO 3000 FT. I ISSUED A 170 DEG HEADING TO THE AA5 TO STAY AWAY FROM ANY CLE DEPARTURES. I INITIATED A HANDOFF TO DEP. AFTER MAKING MULTIPLE TRANSMISSIONS TO OTHER ACFT AND FACILITIES; MY SCAN CONTINUED ACROSS MY AIRSPACE. SOMETIME WHILE I WAS WORKING OTHER ACFT; DEP TOOK THE HANDOFF ON THE AA5. I DID NOT SEE THE FLASH ASSOCIATED WITH THE HANDOFF ACCEPTANCE NOR DID I SEE THE DATA-TAG TURN GREEN. I CONTINUED SCANNING MY ACFT; WHICH ARE WHITE TAGS; AND SCANNED RIGHT OVER THE TAG OF THE AA5. ANOTHER CTLR THEN ASKED IF 'I WAS GOING TO CLB THAT ACFT.' I LOOKED DOWN; REMEMBERED I HAD ONE ACFT THAT WAS GOING TO DEP IN THE SW PORTION OF MY AIRSPACE; AND CLBED THE PA28 (WRONG ACFT). THE PLT OF THE PA28 QUESTIONED MY COMMAND. I CHKED HIS STRIP AND REALIZED THAT I SHOULD NOT HAVE CLBED HIM (WHICH CONFUSED ME FOR 5-10 SECONDS BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY ACFT THAT I HAD IN THAT PORTION OF MY AIRSPACE [THE ONLY ONE ON A WHITE TAG.]) I TOLD THE PA28 TO 'MAINTAIN 3000 FT;' REALIZED MY MISTAKE; AND STARTED TO CLB THE AA5. WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING; THE CONFLICT ALERT STARTED GOING OFF. I TURNED THE N BOUND PA28 ACFT TO A 270 DEG HEADING AND S BOUND AA5 TO A 90 DEG HEADING. ONE OF THE PLTS GOT VISUAL SEPARATION; AFTER THE TURN; AND ADVISED THAT TFC WAS 'NO FACTOR.' ACFT THEN BOTH CONTINUED ON WITHOUT ANY FURTHER INCIDENT. I FEEL THE SOLUTION TO THIS PROB IS EASY. DATA TAGS ON ACFT THAT YOU HANDOFF SHOULD NOT CHANGE COLORS (TURN GREEN). YOU SHOULD HAVE TO MANUALLY ENTER A COMMAND; ONCE THE ACFT IS NO LONGER A FACTOR; THAT WOULD EITHER DROP THE TAG AND/OR CHANGE THE TAG COLOR. BEFORE COLOR RADAR; ALL OF OUR TAGS WERE GREEN AND YOU WERE USED TO INCLUDING ALL ACFT IN YOUR SCAN. AS I STATED IN THE BEGINNING; COLOR RADAR WAS BROUGHT IN TO HELP AND IT HAS. WE JUST NEED TO STOP ACFT; THAT ARE STILL IN OUR AIRSPACE; FROM CHANGING COLORS. THIS IS A PROB THAT IS BECOMING ALL TOO FREQUENT AND WILL ONE DAY PRODUCE DEADLY RESULTS.