MacHouse

   Last updated: June 04, 2011

7. Version 1.2

You can see a small improvement when you browse the swatch sheet.  The hexadecimal value of the swatch color on which your Mouse pointer is over will appear right below the box.  (See Screenshot 7-01.)  And there's no clicking necessary just to see the hexadecimal value.

You remember that you can drag and drop a picture file onto the cPicker drop box, don't you, to scan the color at specific coordinates?  Now, you can drag and drop a text selection onto it.  (See Screenshot 7-02.)  A text selection can include the pound sign to proceed the hexidecimal value as well.  Color2Code will evaluate the color value to see if it's in a valid format.  If it is, Color2Code will insert color values to the fields below, inserting a new color row to Colors as well.  (See Screenshot 7-03.)  So you can tell visually what color the hexadecimal value you provide represents.

Code2Color

Now, let's click on a new Toolbar button labeled Code2Color.  Clicking on it, a small window will pop up.  (See Screenshot 7-04.)  Code2Color will return a visual color for a string color value that you enter.

First, choose either Hexidecimal value or RGB values by clicking on either radio button.  If you choose the former, enter a hexadecimal value in the editfield.  If it's in the right format, Color2Code will return a visual color to the right accordingly.  Similarly, you can get a visual color for RGB values.  Click on the second radio button and enter three values.  Color2Code will evaluate all three entries (0 to 255) and will return a visual color to the right.  If you want to send color information to Colors, simply click on the Send button.  (See Screenshot 7-05.)

PictView

PictView is another totally new feature that is available with Version 1.2.0.  PictView allows the user to import a picture over which you can click on any pixel, and Color2Code will return color information to Colors.  To start with, click on its button on the Toolbar menu.  If the Colors window is already open, two new windows will open to the right of the former.  (See Screenshot 7-06.)

Let's first import a picture.  You can choose File > Open or press Command + O to locate an image file to open.  Acceptable graphic formats are BMP, JPG, JP2, PDF, PNG and TIF.  You can also drag and drop a file directly onto the PictViewer window.  (See Screenshot 7-07.)  This window will not resize itself to fit the image you import.  And it will be up to you to resize the window at any dimensions greater than 64 pixels on each side by grabbing the bottom-right corner of the window.  (See Screenshot 7-08.)  Furthermore, a file you intend to open must have at least 48 pixels on each side.

Now, if you want to zoom in the image, you can simply press Command plus +.  You can also choose PictView > Zoom In or choose PictView > View and select the zoom in rate.  You can also set the mode menu to Properties to Zoom in the picture.  By your so doing, the Mouse pointer will transform itself into a zoom-in icon.  (See Screenshot 7-10.)  And every time you click on the graphic canvas, the image will zoom in up to 5,200 times.

Now, if you want to move the image around the graphic canvas, first, set the mode menu to Move image.  And you will see a flashing red icon.  It's a sign that you can use arrow buttons on Properties.  (See Screenshots 7-11,7-12.)  Click on any of those arrow buttons to move the image around the cavas.

Finally, if you want to pick a color at any position on the PictViewer window, set the mode menu to Pick pixel.  This time, you will have a flashing color picker icon at the center of the window.  (See Screenshot 7-13.)  Now, you can freely click on the graphic canvas, and color information on the pixel of every click you make will be sent to Colors.  (See Screenshot 7-14.)  Furthermore, note that there's a new setting in Preferences.  Enable Let Colors squeeze in under Settings, and the Colors window will squeeze itself between the main window and the Properties window if it's not open yet at this stage.

If you zoom in/out and pan the image, the image can occasionally disappear within the grapic canvas.  You can expand the window to locate the image in such event.  You can also choose PictViewer > Set Picture To Default to bring the image back to the top-left corner of the window.  (See Screenshot 7-17.)