Gear maker Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 I was just reading a forum entry asking "Does Affinity Offer an On-screen Ruler?" In it there is a mention of an app called PixelStick. I went out to the PixelStick website: https://plumamazing.com/product/pixelstick/, did some reading and I've got to admit the possibilities were exciting. FYI I have no connection to Plum Amazing or PixelStick other than I have just purchased it. This app is so cool and it only costs $7. It does so many things that AD/AP still do not have the tools to accomplish. The really great feature is that it will sit on top of all other apps so even when using AD/AP it is visible. Though it can be hidden when desired. -It can be custom scaled using the ruler in AD/AP then be used to measure the distance between any two points at any angle. Likewise any known object size can also be used to calibrate. Of course if the zoom or document dimensions in AD/AP are changed it needs to be recalibrated, which only takes a half minute. Calibrations can be stored so they can be reused say at 100%, 150%, 200% etc. If only it could sense the zoom itself... -Because it's always shown I can set it for a distance then use it to show where I need to place an object or node. About the only real negative I have found is a node can not be placed on any of the 3 ticks, so they have to be placed close and then moved to be under the tick. Easy to do. -When moving endpoints a loupe shows an enlargement for more accurate tick placement. -Each end tick is shown in the center of a circle so planting the tick in the center of a circle is easy. This allows measurements of distance from the center to anything else. -It displays the tangents for a circle at any angle. -It displays perpendiculars for any angle. -It displays the center point and points twice as wide. -It measures any angle. Plus because it is visible on top AD any angle shown is easy to copy. -It allows a baseline angle to be set and any angle can be measured or drawn with respect to this baseline. -It counts the number of screen pixels anywhere on the screen. Not much use in AD, but possibly handy for AP. -It works on any app currently displayed on the screen. -It has other functions like a screen grab and a color reader. -Pressing an opt H toggles it's visibility. -Angles can be locked so they don't get changed when changing distances or moving. -Distances can be locked so they don't change when changing angles. There's probably another couple dozen functions it can be used for that I just haven't found in the couple hours I have been playing. I recommend you take a look to see if it will help you. There is a free download to try it out. Mike Scungio and CircularWebs 2 Quote iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) with macOS Sierra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scungio Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Yeah, I have been using it for a long time, even back when it used to be free! Or maybe it was shareware or asked for a donation back then, can't remember. It would be cool if we could start a thread where everybody mentioned little side apps that they use with their Affinity apps. We always have people ask for this particular feature, or for that, but there really are a lot of small nimble apps out there that can help bridge the gap in the meantime. Here is another app that I recommend to people, Wheel Masks for iOS. You are able to work on colors and create swatches, and generate an .ase Adobe swatch file which you can bring into either Affinity app or a swatch file to bring in to Procreate. Here is a page describing what it does: http://wheelmasks.com Gear maker 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CircularWebs Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I'm sold, just downloading from the App Store... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Rostron Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 What you do not say is that PixelStick is Mac only. Quote Windows 10, Affinity Photo 1.10.5 Designer 1.10.5 and Publisher 1.10.5 (mainly Photo), now ex-Adobe CC CPU: AMD A6-3670. RAM: 16 GB DDR3 @ 666MHz, Graphics: 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gear maker Posted September 17, 2017 Author Share Posted September 17, 2017 Oops, didn't know that. Quote iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) with macOS Sierra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon1 Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 On 15.9.2017 at 6:36 PM, Scungio said: It would be cool if we could start a thread where everybody mentioned little side apps that they use with their Affinity apps. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/24414-keep-mac-awake-and-more/ here is some more cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.