App Detail » Pixel Tools

What's New

Fixed a compatibility problem with Pixel Tools and Mac OS Catalina (10.15+) in which Pixel Tools wouldn't show the window directly below it.

App Description

The ideal companion for designers and anyone that needs to make pixel precise measurements, get the numeric value of a color, or magnify a portion of any screen.

Pixel Tools does the following:
1. Tracks the mouse and magnifies the region of interest (1x - 64x).
2. Measures the distance in pixels between two points on the screen (Width, Height, and Straight Line Distance). Y Coordinates can be measured Cocoa style (positive Y is up) or traditional style (positive Y is down).
3. Gives the RGB or HSB numerical value of the color under the mouse (Hex 00-FF, Float 0.000-1.000, or Integer 0-255).
4. Allows precise positioning of the mouse cursor using the arrow keys. Hold the shift key to move 5 points at a time.
5. Every function has a keyboard shortcut so it's quick to access.
6. Keyboard shortcuts have global equivalents so that they can be used even when the app is not frontmost. For example, to set the measurement origin you can use the space-bar when the app is frontmost, and when it's in the background you use Control-Option-Command-Space-Bar to do the same thing. Global keyboard shortcuts can also be disabled.
7. Allows setting the main window to float in front of all other windows for easy access (default), or setting it to behave like a normal window so that it can layer behind the frontmost app. This is great if you want to keep Pixel Tools open all of the time, but don't want it obstructing your view when trying to read your mail.
8. Allows you to hide controls and rulers so that the window can be sized to have a very small footprint, yet still be completely usable. Pixel Tools is designed to see underneath itself, making it so that even when it covers part of the app that you are measuring, it still works. Both of these features are particularly important for users on small screens.
9. Allows locking the mouse position to focus on a particular area on the screen. You might use this to change the color format settings without affecting what the app is focused on.
10. Allows locking the screen updates so that you can measure transient or animated effects. For example, you might use this to measure the distance on an item that has a mouse-over effect. With updates locked, the mouse-over will remain on, while you measure.
11. Works with any number of monitors, of any size, and any layout. Works well in full screen split view as one of the 2 windows.
12. Enhanced for your Mac's Retina display. Get the color values for each sub-point pixel using the arrow keys.
13. Designed to maximize your Mac's battery life. Pixel Tools will only display updates when needed and, on Mac OS X 10.9 or higher, won't update when obscured by other windows.
14. Optimized memory usage – keep your RAM for other apps.
15. Very small executable, so the app launches very quickly.
16. Works great in light or dark appearance mode.

App Changes

• June 14, 2014 Initial release
• August 31, 2014 New version 1.2
• September 11, 2014 New version 1.3
• September 19, 2014 New version 1.3.1
• September 19, 2014 Price increase: $3.99 -> $4.99
• October 10, 2014 New version 1.4
• October 27, 2014 New version 1.4.1
• June 14, 2019 New version 1.4.3
• August 17, 2019 New version 1.4.4
• July 15, 2020 New version 1.4.5