gbMagnify

gbMagnify is a freeware utilitiy for zooming in on a section of the screen. It provides a variety of other features to help navigate the screen and to save the results it displays.

To install, simply unzip the installation file (gbmagnify.zip) in a folder of your choice. In addition to the EXE, the installation includes the gbMagnify source code, resource file, and image files.

Download (v1.22, 87K)

Features
gbMagnify provides a wide range of features, all focused on making it easier to find and manipulate information in text files.

Simple interface (toolbar, but no menu/context menu)
Up to 64x64 pixel viewing width
Viewing area automatically resized to 1:1 aspect ratio
Optional border on color cells
Target pixel maintained at center of display
Display of target pixel color, screen location, and zoom factor in caption
Resizable window (increases/decreases color cell size)
Mousewheel control of zoom factor (sets number of cells in display area)
Keyboard selection of target pixel (up/down/left/right keys)
Keyboard control of zoom factor (+/- keys)
Copy image to clipboard
Copy target pixel color to clipboard (hex/dec formats)
Keep app on top of other open applications
Session settings saved
Hex or decimal formatted RGB color values
Move cursor to target pixel location (with cursor sonar locator)
Locator image, showing position of target pixel location on desktop
Optional crosshair cursor

OverView

There are 4 basic mouse-based operations supported by gbMagnify:

Press the left mouse down anywhere on gbMagnify and move the cursor outside the app to select the area on the screen to be displayed.
Press the right mouse down anywhere on gbMagnify, then move the mouse to reposition the screen target area being viewed.
Resize the dialog to increase/decrease the size of the color cells (easier viewing)
Use the wheel mouse to increase/decrease the number of pixels (to a max of 64) viewed in gbMagnfiy.

gbMagnify also provides several keyboard alternatives to using the mouse. See the keyboard section below for more details.

When you restart gbMagnify, it is restored to the state it was in when you last exited gbMagnify (same screen area/target pixel, same settings).

Display Area

The target pixel (hot spot on the cursor) is always displayed in the center of the display. The number of pixels displayed on all sides of the target pixel, called the zoom factor, is set to 10 pixels by default. This displays 21x21 pixels. The zoom factor of 10 may be controlled via the mouse wheel. The zoom factor may be adjusted from 2 (5x5 pixels) to 32 (65x65 pixels).

The area used to display each pixel, called a color cell, an be adjusted in size in two ways - resizing the gbMagnify window or changing the zoom factor.

When the gbMagnify window is resized, the zoom factor is kept constant. This increases/decreases the size of the color cells.

When the zoom factor is changed with the mouse wheel, the gbMagnify window size remains constant. This increses/decreases the size of the color cells.

Keyboard Support

The arrow keys (left/right/up/down) can be used to select a new target pixel. This has the effect of moving the image within the display area.

Also, the +/- buttons on the keypad can be used to increase/decrease the zoom factor.

Toolbar

gbMagnify's features are accessed via the toolbar (no menu nor context menu).

Here are the toolbar options:

	Copy Image	Copies an image of the gbMagnify window to the clipboard
	Copy Text	Copies the RGB values (hex and decimal) of the target pixel to the clipboard
	Default Zoom	Sets the zoom factor to 10 (21x21 pixel display area)
	GoTo Target	Relocates the cursor, with left mouse button down, to the target pixel on the screen. This allows the user to modify the selected target pixel more easily/accurately.
	Cell Border	Displays a border around each color cell, making it easier to distinguish between adjacent pixels. When the size of a target cell gets to small, the cell border is automatically removed to enable better viewing of the target cell.
	Locator	Displays a small image on gbMagnify, proportioned to the size of the desktop. A small dot is placed in the image to indicated where on the desktop the target cell is located.
	CrossHair	Replaces the default pointer cursor with a crosshair cursor.
	Caption Display	Displays target cell color in the gbMagnify caption. However, when the left mouse is pressed down in the gbMagnify display area, the caption displas the color under the mouse - not the color of the target pixel on the desktop. This allows the user to identify colors of nearby pixels without changing the target pixel.
	Hex Format	Toggles the caption display between hexadecimal and hex display of the RGB color values.
	On Top	Maintains the gbMagnify window on top of all other open applications.
	About	Display gbMagnify version information.
	Online Help	Opens the gbMagnify online help page in the user's default browser.

Other Comments

gbMagnify saves all of it's options in an INI file, which is placed in the same folder as the EXE.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!