Ruler

Measure distances accurately. Use as a straight-edge to see if screen elements are aligned.

• You can move the ruler by dragging it with your mouse.
• You can change the width of the ruler by dragging the left or right edges.
• You can close the ruler by clicking the "X" box in the upper-right corner.
• You can "flip" the orientation of the ruler by clicking the box in the upper-left corner.
• Next to that box is a message "nnnn px" -- this is the distance in pixels from the left edge of the ruler to your current mouse pointer position.
• If that message has a box around it, that means the ruler has the focus.
• If the ruler has the focus, you can move it with the cursor arrow keys.
• If you hold the Ctrl key, the ruler will move faster.
• Note that the center of the Ruler is indicated with a red tick mark.
• You can start more than one instance of the Ruler, perhaps one horizontal and one vertical.
• You can right-click the ruler to get a context menu.
• If your Windows display scale is not 100%, the menu will offer a choice between a ruler scale of Physical pixels or Logical pixels.
• The menu also offers an option to make the ruler semi-transparent.

Installation

• Download Ruler.zip
• Unzip the files into any directory
• We do not want Windows to apply DPI virtualization to Ruler.exe.
  • Execute RulerDPI.bat to apply that setting to the Registry.
  Or, you can set the property manually:
  • Right-click Ruler.exe and choose Properties
  • Select the "Compatibility" tab
  • Click the "Change high DPI settings" button
  • In the "High DPI scaling override" frame:
    Check the "Override high DPI scaling behavior" checkbox
  • In the "Scaling performed by" combo, select "Application"
• Then just execute Ruler.exe
  You may want to add a shortcut to Ruler.exe to your desktop.
• If the font used by the Ruler's Help dialog is too small, you may add something like this to your Ruler.INI file:

     [Config]
     defaultFont=24 12 [Segoe UI]
  

  This asks for the Segoe UI font (recommended because it scales well) and a character box size of 24 12 (height and width). Without this setting, the default is "16 8 [MS Shell Dlg]".

Magnifier

Examine a small area of your screen with a magnifying glass. See what color each pixel is.

• As you mouse over the magnified pixels, the status bar will show the location and the color of the pixel.
• You can drag your mouse (with the left mouse button) to move the view.
• You can also move the view with the directional keys (up, down, left, right, etc.) A small translucent window (the "loupe") will appear to help you see what area you have selected; the little window wit disappear once you stop moving.
• You can also move the view much further if you drag the Loupe box image on the CommandBar.
• To expand or shrink the area magnified, you can resize the Magnifier form in the usual Windows ways. Or, you can change the magnification power.
• You can use your mouse wheel to change the magnification power. The current magnification is shown in the menu bar ("Magnfication=20"). You can use the Magnification menu, or Num+ and Num-, to fine tune the magnification.
• You can drag your mouse (with the right mouse button) to select a rectangle. The status bar will tell you the size of the selected rectangle.
  If you select a rectangle, you can further magnify it by clicking "Zoom to Selection" on the CommandBar.
• If the magnified area of your screen has changed, you can refresh the magnified display by pressing the Num5 key (5 on the numeric keypad). Or you can set auto-refresh with Timer on the CommandBar.

Installation

• Download Magnifier.zip
• Unzip the files into any directory
• We do not want Windows to apply DPI virtualization to Ruler.exe.
  • Execute MagnifierDPI.bat to apply that setting to the Registry.
  Or, you can set the property manually:
  • Right-click Ruler.exe and choose Properties
  • Select the "Compatibility" tab
  • Click the "Change high DPI settings" button
  • In the "High DPI scaling override" frame:
    Check the "Override high DPI scaling behavior" checkbox
  • In the "Scaling performed by" combo, select "Application"
• Then just execute Magnifier.exe
  You may want to add a shortcut to Magnifier.exe to your desktop.
• If the font used by the Ruler's Help dialog is too small, you may add something like this to your Ruler.INI file:

     [Config]
     defaultFont=24 12 [Segoe UI]
  

  This asks for the Segoe UI font (recommended because it scales well) and a character box size of 24 12 (height and width). Without this setting, the default is "16 8 [MS Shell Dlg]".

Together

These two tools can be useful when used together. Here is a snapshot of a close examination of the Recycle Bin icon on my desktop. Drag the Ruler near the icon on your desktop, then drag the Magnifier loupe over it.