On-screen measuring tool?

General Web Design
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Hi, everyone, could you please recommend a measuring app that works natively on Apple-silicon-based Macs with Ventura? My personal requirements: measuring distances/sizes and colors and perhaps angles, too.

I have used the Art Directors Toolkit for many years on my old computer, but it is not available for Ventura.

I just checked out few of those apps at the Apple Store. One vital piece of information is not available there: whether a specific app works on my computer without need to install Rosetta (I do not wish to install Rosetta).

I am inclined to buy the Pixel Snap 2, but before I do, I would like a recommendation from somebody here who actually uses that app. Is it worth $40?

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Iā€™ve used PixelStick for years, and at just $10.00, itā€™s a bargain. Works great on older Macsā€¦and I can attest that it runs perfectly on Sonoma. Although it has a color picker built-in, I honestly have never used it (I use ColorSlurp for that). PixelStick is available through the AppStore, or directly through the developerā€™s website: PixelStick - Mac App To Measure Pixel, Angle, Color Onscreen

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I love PixelSnap. Did not realize it was $39 now. I got it a few years ago works so well. If you already have CleanShot then thereā€™s a discount. Ditto for educator. But everyone should have CleanShot ā€¦ one of my most used apps.

@dave recommendation might be better at the price point. But the guys who make CleanShot and PixelSnap do excellent work.

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I guess it depends upon what youā€™re using it for. I just looked at the PixelSnap website - wow! All PixelStick does is drag and measure - and by dragā€¦I mean, you have to carefully drag and end at just the right place. I donā€™t use it very often, so, for $10, itā€™s fine. But, looking at the website for PixeSnap, itā€™s beautifulā€¦and probably worth every bit of $40 if you use it like they do. Nice find!

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Hey, @Dave,

Thanks for your suggestion. Actually, I do have Pixel Stick on my computer (Iā€™ve had it for years), but it needs Rosetta in order to be launched in Ventura on Apple silicon. Hereā€™s the screenshot:

PixelStick
PixelStick571Ɨ564 89.3 KB

I even sent the email to the developer, asking for their plans to support new Macs natively, but I never got an answer.

Hi,@mitchellm,
Thanks for the recommendation. I think Iā€™ll splurge some coin for Pixel Snap 2. Looks like it is the most advanced and versatile tool out there. I wish it would include a color meter/picker, but I can separately use Appleā€™s built-in Digital Color Meter.

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No oneā€™s mentioned xScope yet. Itā€™s expensive now, but with the upgrade itā€™s certainly worth it.

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Sorry about that! I installed it so long ago, I must have forgotten!

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Thanks, @Marten. I will give xScope a try. At $49 dollars it seems to be excessively expensive. I assume that it offers much more than simple measuring capabilities?

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@fapkogi . It was a lot cheaper when I bought it ā€” and itā€™s still a one-off purchase. Expensive yes, but worth every penny if you use it like I do, multiple times a day. Mostly I use the Dimensions, Ruler, and Guides options, but then not everyone is a pixel-popping perfectionist when it comes to spacing. Definitely download the free trial, though, and give it a shotā€¦

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Thanks, Mathew- Iā€™ve been using the ancient Snapndrag Pro forever (and a day). Itā€™s been great over the years, but the only thing it is capable of is dragging a rectangle; grabbing the screenshot; applying a few basic annotations. I wasnā€™t aware of CleanShot - just purchased.

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@dave Iā€™m glad you find it useful! Iā€™m impressed how well they continue to develop the product. I typically use Screenflow when making instructional videos, but now I use CleanShot for short videos (1 to 3 min). And, of course, the screenshot options are crazy good. I hope it gives you many years of usefulness and joy.

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I use since long this one:

https://www.pascal.com/software/freeruler/

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From the developerā€™s website:

Should be compatible with Mac OS X Catalina, Mojave, and maybe a few older releases.

I need an app for modern Macs, but thanks, anyway.

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I donā€™t see anyone mentioning this - Cleanshot and PixelSnap are both on Settapp :)

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  • Cleanshot seems to belong to a different category of apps.
  • Pixel Snap has been mentioned at the very top of this discussion.

But thanks for sharing.

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Not what I meant - people were talking about how expensive it isā€¦ thought I would point out that if you have Settapp, itā€™s part of the subscription (like Cleanshot)

Hope that helps.

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They added Ventura to the list.
Anyway, if the app works why wouldnā€™t it be ā€œmodernā€, a ruler is a ruler is a ruler. Isnā€™t it? šŸ˜‰
Their github page shows the latest release was of
March ā€˜23. And the previous version introduced ā€œOptimized for Apple Siliconā€ā€¦ Looks modern to me šŸ˜‚

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I should probably have used the word ā€œcurrentā€ instead of ā€œmodernā€. What I meant was: working natively on the current version of macOS, which in my case is Venturaā€¦ But letā€™s not split a hair in twoā€¦

Anyway, I am looking for an official release and their own website did not mention anything newer than Catalina.

Nice website remake, though!

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There is several free ones in the app store. Also some quite interesting ones.

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Thank you, Kent.

I think we can close this topic now.