Coloristic is a utility which magnifies the area of the screen surrounding the cursor.
It will also display the color value for a pixel that is under the cursor and allow you
to copy that color value to the clipboard.
The current cursor position is represented in the Coloristic window with a square that is always
located in the center of the magnified image.
The color values can be displayed in one of four color models: RGB,
CMY, HSB, and Internet. The Internet model is that which is used in
HTML based web pages. The formatting of color values can be controlled
through the Color Format dialog which is accessed via the Display
menu.
You can also take a snapshot of the magnified image. Using the snapshot items in the File menu, you can save the current magnified image to a file. Various copy items in the Edit menu allow you to copy different items to the clipboard. These include the current magnified image, the current formatted color value, or the current raw color value which can be used, for example, to paste over a text selection in TextEdit, changing the text color.
On traditional computer screens, pixels and points represent the same thing: the smallest unit of measurement on the screen and a single individually accessible color value. However, on Retina displays, this ratio is different, commonly with a single point on the screen being made up of 4 pixels (or color values).
On Retina displays, in addition to the existing square which marks the current point and cursor position on the screen, there is a smaller square which marks the current pixel within that point.
To toggle between the current pixel within a point, press the space bar.
The Display menu allows you to control the Coloristic display and color value formatting. Some of that functionality is also available via the contextual menu in the Coloristic window.
The Color Format dialog can be used to choose between different color models and how the color values for those models are formatted when displayed in Coloristic and when copied to the clipboard. The Prefix, Separator, and Suffix edit fields in the dialog can be used to insert up to 4 characters each for the formatted color value that is copied to the clipboard.
The "Snap to Web Colors" menu item forces color values to be rounded
to the nearest color value of the web color palette. When this option
is on there will be a small world icon in the top-right corner of the
color value area as a reminder. You can also toggle the web colors
option by clicking on this icon.
The "Color Display" menu items are used to control the size of the color information area at the top of the Coloristic window. As a shortcut, you can also double click in the window, and Coloristic will cycle through the three possible options.
The "Magnification" menu items are used to change the magnification level used in the Coloristic window. An additional shortcut for changing the magnification level is to press the 1 through 6 keys on your keyboard.
The "Show Grid" menu item can be used to turn on and off a grid in the Coloristic window which corresponds to the boundaries between the points in the magnified image. (The grid will not be shown if the current magnification level is less than 4x.)
The "Show Histogram" menu item is used to show and hide a histogram representing the range of image tones for the magnified image.
When the caps lock key is down or when the Lock Image menu item in the Display menu is used, the magnified image in the Coloristic window is locked and will not change as the mouse is moved. There will also be a small lock icon in the top-right corner of the color value area as a reminder. You can also toggle the lock state by clicking on this icon. Locking the magnified image allows you to use your mouse without losing the last color value.
While the magnified image is locked, if you move your cursor into the Coloristic window, the color value will be updated to match the color under the current cursor location. This allows you to lock the image on a certain portion of the screen and read multiple color values.
Also while the image is locked, you can click and drag in the Coloristic window to measure horizontal and vertical point distances. If you drag the cursor outside of the window, then the magnified image will scroll in that direction. You can also scroll the locked image by using the arrows keys on the keyboard or by holding down the Option key and clicking and dragging.
The Preferences dialog allows you to configure less frequently used features.
When the "Float windows..." preference is enabled, all new Coloristic
windows will float above all other application windows. Because the window is
floating, some menu items in Coloristic will no longer function for
that window. Instead, use the contextual menu to control those
functions.
Normally Coloristic only updates its windows when the mouse is moved. Enabling the "Continuously update..." preference allows you to examine portions of the screen which might be changing, such as movies playing in a window, without having to move the mouse to detect changes in the screen.
The "Draw cross hair..." preference will substitute for the square that is centered in the Coloristic window with a cross hair cursor that remains a constant size regardless of the current magnification level. The cross hair is only drawn when the grid is off.
When the information area of the Coloristic window is hidden, the "Show values..." option can be used to display the color values in the title bar area of the window.
The "Use larger font" option will increase the font size for labels and values displayed within the Coloristic window.
The "Play snapshot sound" preference controls whether or not Coloristic will play a special sound when taking a snapshot of the magnified image.
By default, snapshot files are saved with a file name of "Snapshot", followed by the snapshot count and PNG file extension. If you want to use a different name for the snapshot files, this can be changed in the Preferences.
The final option controls the grid color when the grid is shown. The default behavior is to draw the grid by blending the colors underneath the grid lines so that they are always visible.
You can also take a snapshot of the magnified image. Using the snapshot items in the File menu, you can save the current magnified image to a file. Various copy items in the Edit menu allow you to copy different items to the clipboard. These include the current magnified image, the current formatted color value, or the current raw color value which can be used, for example, to paste over a text selection in TextEdit, changing the text color.
Retina Displays
On traditional computer screens, pixels and points represent the same thing: the smallest unit of measurement on the screen and a single individually accessible color value. However, on Retina displays, this ratio is different, commonly with a single point on the screen being made up of 4 pixels (or color values).
On Retina displays, in addition to the existing square which marks the current point and cursor position on the screen, there is a smaller square which marks the current pixel within that point.
To toggle between the current pixel within a point, press the space bar.
Display Menu
The Display menu allows you to control the Coloristic display and color value formatting. Some of that functionality is also available via the contextual menu in the Coloristic window.
The Color Format dialog can be used to choose between different color models and how the color values for those models are formatted when displayed in Coloristic and when copied to the clipboard. The Prefix, Separator, and Suffix edit fields in the dialog can be used to insert up to 4 characters each for the formatted color value that is copied to the clipboard.
The "Color Display" menu items are used to control the size of the color information area at the top of the Coloristic window. As a shortcut, you can also double click in the window, and Coloristic will cycle through the three possible options.
The "Magnification" menu items are used to change the magnification level used in the Coloristic window. An additional shortcut for changing the magnification level is to press the 1 through 6 keys on your keyboard.
The "Show Grid" menu item can be used to turn on and off a grid in the Coloristic window which corresponds to the boundaries between the points in the magnified image. (The grid will not be shown if the current magnification level is less than 4x.)
The "Show Histogram" menu item is used to show and hide a histogram representing the range of image tones for the magnified image.
Locked Images
When the caps lock key is down or when the Lock Image menu item in the Display menu is used, the magnified image in the Coloristic window is locked and will not change as the mouse is moved. There will also be a small lock icon in the top-right corner of the color value area as a reminder. You can also toggle the lock state by clicking on this icon. Locking the magnified image allows you to use your mouse without losing the last color value.
While the magnified image is locked, if you move your cursor into the Coloristic window, the color value will be updated to match the color under the current cursor location. This allows you to lock the image on a certain portion of the screen and read multiple color values.
Also while the image is locked, you can click and drag in the Coloristic window to measure horizontal and vertical point distances. If you drag the cursor outside of the window, then the magnified image will scroll in that direction. You can also scroll the locked image by using the arrows keys on the keyboard or by holding down the Option key and clicking and dragging.
Preferences
The Preferences dialog allows you to configure less frequently used features.
Normally Coloristic only updates its windows when the mouse is moved. Enabling the "Continuously update..." preference allows you to examine portions of the screen which might be changing, such as movies playing in a window, without having to move the mouse to detect changes in the screen.
The "Draw cross hair..." preference will substitute for the square that is centered in the Coloristic window with a cross hair cursor that remains a constant size regardless of the current magnification level. The cross hair is only drawn when the grid is off.
When the information area of the Coloristic window is hidden, the "Show values..." option can be used to display the color values in the title bar area of the window.
The "Use larger font" option will increase the font size for labels and values displayed within the Coloristic window.
The "Play snapshot sound" preference controls whether or not Coloristic will play a special sound when taking a snapshot of the magnified image.
By default, snapshot files are saved with a file name of "Snapshot", followed by the snapshot count and PNG file extension. If you want to use a different name for the snapshot files, this can be changed in the Preferences.
The final option controls the grid color when the grid is shown. The default behavior is to draw the grid by blending the colors underneath the grid lines so that they are always visible.