rpiPixelWindow

A utility for measuring objects on screen

Written by Dr. Steven Roman
from The Roman Press, Inc.

Purpose

rpiPixelWindow is a simple but very useful program. Its sole purpose is to measure things on the screen. The figure below shows the rpiPixelWindow forms. On the left is the viewport and on the right is the main form.

The viewport is a sizeable always-on-top window that is transparent except for the title bar, borders, optional grid lines and a small frame (shown in red in the figure). Just place the viewport where you want it, resize it to the size of the object you are measuring (or to a fixed size to see if the object in question fits). You can then read the dimensions of the object.

rpiPixelWindows was developed for several reasons:

To measure VB/VBA forms to see if they will fit on the screen at various resolutions without having to change the monitor's resolution.
To place controls on a form in a symmetric pattern (which is where the grid comes in).
To measure the size of various web design elements, such as tables and forms, during web development.
To measure the point-size of text strings and convert that measurement to twips or pixels.

The viewport title bar shows the dimensions of both the viewport itself and the viewport's form, in whatever units are specified in the main form (pixels, twips, inches, millimeters or points). Thus, the viewport itself can be used for making "inside" measurements and the viewport's form can be used for making "outside" measurements. The main form also shows these dimensions, which is important when you want to measure very small objects, because this may obscure the viewport form's title bar. The main form also allows you to set various options, to wit:

The units of measurement.
The frame's background color.
The number of vertical and horizontal grid lines.

You can also set the viewport (or viewport form) to a preset size that corresponds to a standard screen resolution. Just select the resolution and click the In button to set the viewport to this size or the Out button to set the viewport's form to this size. You can also use the arrow keys to nudge the size and position of the viewport form by a single pixel for precise measurements.

Ordering Information

rpiPixelWindow sells for $19.95. Purchasing rpiPixelWindow is a two-step process.

Step 1: Download the main files for rpiPixelWindow from this web site.

Step 2: Purchase the upgrade. The current price is $19.95. To purchase by credit card through PayPal, click the PayPal image below. If you would prefer to purchase by check, just send us an email and we will respond with instructions as to where to send payment.

Once payment has been made, PayPal will notify us and we will e-mail you the Key file required to activate rpiPixelWindow.