Software Recommendation – Tool to Select Pixel Color and Coordinates

software-recommendation

I am looking for a tool that lets me select any pixel on the screen and get its RGB color and absolute (x, y) location.

I have used tools on Windows that show a large magnified square with a crosshair letting me easily select the pixel I want and get its details.

Is there anything like this for ubuntu?

Best Answer

The best fit is...a tiny Windows tool called ColorPix (via WINE)

After searching long and hard, it appears none of the available tools for Ubuntu/Linux fulfill both your criteria, i.e. magnification and coordinate display.

So we go for a tiny Windows tool that -- critically -- just works with a default WINE install, no configuration, installation, DLLs, etc. needed.

  • It features adjustable zoom, one-click copy in multiple formats and co-ordinate display:

    enter image description here

1. Install Wine

sudo apt-get install wine

(that's it!)

2. Download ColorPix

ColorPix can be officially downloaded as a tiny, portable 600KB exe here

I suggest downloading directly to your local binaries directory with:

sudo wget -O/usr/local/bin/ColorPix.exe http://www.colorschemer.com/ColorPix.exe

3. Create a launcher for ColorPix

  • Let's get an icon first:

    sudo wget -O/usr/share/icons/colorpix.png http://cdn.alternativeto.net/i/22e49edc-efa7-e011-979d-0025902c7e73_11865.png

  • Press Alt+F2 now and type gksudo gedit /usr/share/applications/colorpix.desktop, and paste the below and save the file:

    [Desktop Entry]
Name=ColorPix
GenericName=ColorPix
Comment=ColorPicker via WINE
Exec=wine /usr/local/bin/ColorPix.exe
Terminal=false
Icon=/usr/share/icons/colorpix.png
Type=Application
StartupNotify=true

  • From a terminal, run:

    sudo chmod +x /usr/share/applications/colorpix.desktop

  • In a few seconds, it will be available in the launcher as:

    enter image description here

4. Using ColorPix

Start it, and the very first time it may take a few seconds while WINE initializes.

The screenshot below shows it in action, with:

  • The coordinates on the top
  • Color values in different formats below (click to copy to clipboard)
  • Adjustable magnifier below

  • Press any key once you are on your desired pixel to lock values

    enter image description here

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