A Quick Way to Measure Pixels On Screen

Graphics Magazine,  March 05, 2012 Tips
tips-command-shift-4

Here’s an easy way to measure pixels on a Mac screen in Snow Leopard and Lion. You may already know that hitting Command+Shift+3 on your keyboard will capture the screen, but did you know Command+Shift+4 lets you select just a portion of the screen to capture with measurements?

When you hit Command+Shift+4, you are given a set of crosshairs and numbers. Click down on your mouse and drag it accross the screen to get the dimensions of the area your are selecting in pixels. Just remember to keep your mouse clicked down while doing this otherwise you’ll trigger the screen capture when you let up. After you get the measurements, hit the Escape key to cancel the screen capture. It’s that simple.

THE HOW TO
1. Hit Command+Shift+4.
2. Cross hairs with measurements appear on the screen.
3. Put your cursor on the screen where you want to measure.
4. Click down on your mouse and drag accross what you want to measure.
5. Keep your mouse clicked down during this process.
6. Look at the measurents to see the area’s dimensions in pixels.
7. Hit Escape to cancel out, otherwise you’ll capture that portion of the screen

Using this technique is a great time saver when you’re doing web design.

© 2012 Craig Barhorst

  • www.halocigs.com
  • Royalty Free Images
  • Tribeca
  • www.halocigs.com