Pixel Tools
Magnify, Measure and Explore your Mac’s Pixels
Pixel Tools was built to help you make sure that every pixel in your design is the perfect color and at the perfect position. It does this by allowing you to zoom in to any pixel on the screen. Pixel Tools lets you see the numeric value of that pixel's color. Pixel Tools is also great for measuring the width and height of a particular region on the screen.
Measurement Basics:
- Bring Pixel Tools to the foreground (Optional: You can also use the global keyboard shortcut to avoid this step)
- Move the mouse to the top left corner of the area you want to measure.
- Press the space bar to mark the measurement origin.
- Move the mouse to the bottom right corner of the area you want to measure.
The width (W), height (H) and straight line distance (D) of the measured area will be displayed in the lower right of the Pixel Tools main window. When the window chrome is turned off, measurement and color info is shown in small tabs at the edges of the window.
Keyboard Shortcuts:
| Foreground Shortcut | Global Shortcut* | Shortcut Function |
|---|---|---|
| Space | ⌃⌥⌘Space | Mark measurement origin |
| ⌥⌘C | ⌃⌥⌘C | Copy numeric value of selected pixel's color |
| ⌘+ | ⌃⌥⌘+ | Increase magnification of the content area |
| ⌘- | ⌃⌥⌘- | Decrease magnification of the content area |
| Scroll | ⌃⌥⌘Scroll | Increase/Decrease magnification of the content area |
| ⌘Y | ⌃⌥⌘Y | Toggle the positive Y direction |
| ⌘/ | ⌃⌥⌘/ | Cycle between RGB and HSB color models |
| ⌘\ | ⌃⌥⌘\ | Cycle between different numerical formats for color (0.0 - 1.0, 00 - FF, 0 - 255) |
| ⌘L | ⌃⌥⌘L | Lock the mouse position (position of view will not change) |
| ⌘U | ⌃⌥⌘U | Lock screen updates (view will not change with time, animated content will be static) |
| ⌘K | ⌃⌥⌘K | Toggles showing the window chrome (toolbar, status bar and rulers). With the chrome hidden you can resize the window much smaller. Measurement and color info is shown in small tabs at the edges of the window. |
| ⌘T | ⌃⌥⌘T | Toggles showing the Pixel Tools window between a floating window and a non-floating window |
*The global keyboard shortcuts will work even when the Pixel Tools window is not in the foreground. Global keyboard shortcuts can be disabled from Pixel Tools preferences.
⌃ = Control
⌥ = Option
⌘ = Command
For additional help with Pixel Tools we suggest you contact us by email.