ICONICO

Screen Calipers

Full Specifications

Screen Caliper Features
Version 4.0 of the Screen Calipers is the most versatile and accurate on-screen measurement software. We are happy to offer you the following features:
  • Full 360° rotation
  • 6 units of measurement and custom user defined measurements
  • High quality, changeable user interface skins
  • Full mouse and keyboard control with a huge array of special keys for power users
  • Straightforward user interface that requires no training to get started
  • Transparency option that makes the Calipers see-through
  • Draggable Caliper pointers
  • Nudge keyboard controls for quick alignment
  • Relative position calculator, for example type '*2' and the gap doubles
  • Use and interface with any application
For details on all of these features and more read on.
Screen Calipers Specifications
To Use the Calipers drag them over the portion of a window you want to measure with the mouse. To extend the calipers drag the right hand side out using the mouse. The number in the text box will show the space being measured.

The Calipers have several buttons which may appear differently on different skins. The arrow buttons on the slider will allow you to move and rotate the Calipers to measure any distance. The Diagonally downward pointing arrow hides the Calipers in the System Tray.

All the controls can be accessed through the keyboard:

Arrow Keys Move Calipers
Shift + Arrow Keys Extend Calipers
Ctrl + Arrow Keys Move Calipers by 10 Pixels
Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys Extend Calipers by 10 Pixels
Shift + > Rotate clockwise
Shift + < Rotate counter-clockwise
C Cycle Color
K Cycle Slider Color
F Rotate to nearest 45 degrees
L Rotate to last 45 degrees
A Toggle Lock Angle
M Toggle Lock Measurement
N New Set of Calipers
Q Quit
H Hide in For Windows System Tray
F1 Show Help
For Windows Ctrl+C Copy Value to Clipboard
For Windows Ctrl+V Paste Value from Clipboard
Z Undo/Redo Movement
Doubleclick mouse Flip between horizontal and vertical
For Windows Right-click mouse Show Calipers menu

While Dragging the Base:

Shift Limit movement to 45 degrees
Alt Limit movement to angle

While Dragging the Slider:

Shift Lock Angle
Alt Lock Measurement
Ctrl Override 'Sticky Angles'

By typing a number and pressing 'Enter' the Calipers will extend to that distance. Simple calculations may be performed by typing -, +, *, or / and then a number, then 'Enter'; the Calipers will extend to the new relative position.

When Closed the Calipers sits in the For Windows System Tray

By For Windows Right-clicking anywhere on the face of the Calipers, or clicking on the For Windows System Tray icon the Calipers menu is displayed:

Caliper Menu for Windows

The menu is divided into four sections:

Units Change the scale of measurement
Skins Choose a new user interface
Options Access more options

Additionally there are the options:

Sticky Angles Snap rotation to nearest 45 degrees
Lock Angle Lock angle when dragging
Lock Measurement Lock measurement when dragging
Exit Close the program

The Units menu allows you to choose a new unit from the list of predefined units. You may also configure your own Custom Units using the 'Configure Units' menu option. Choosing this option will bring up a screen which allows you to choose a Custom Unit, rename and set the scale. You may also set the zero point, enabling easy relative measurement to be calculated.

The Skins menu presents several different choices for the user interface of the Calipers. By choosing the "Get More Skins" menu item you will be taken to the Screen Calipers skin webpage. This allows you to browse and download new skins. Full instructions are given on the webpage.

The Options menu contains a sub menu of the following options:

Stay On Top Controls floating above other windows
Show Color Bars Shows/Hides edge Color Bars
Show Tooltips Shows/Hides info popups for buttons
Run at Startup Opens Calipers when computer starts
Hide Splash Screen Hides the picture at startup
For Windows Transparency Pops up a slider to control how see-through the application is
For Windows Set Angle Allows you to type an exact angle to rotate the Calipers to
For Windows Magnifier Opens the Iconico Screen Magnifier Application
Center On Screen Moves the Calipers to screen center
Help Shows Help
Unlock Application Accepts your serial number
Visit Website Links to Caliper homepage
Configure Custom Units
The Calipers can be configured to measure in Pixels, Inches, Centimeters, Points, Picas and Twips.

By clicking the 'Calibrate Units' menu item you can easily define any number of additional units of measurement. You can also change the number of decimal places that a unit is measured in.

Windows Caliper Calibration Screen

The Caliper's measurements are based on pixels. When the units are changed to inches or centimeters the Calipers use a standard conversion factor to determine the measurement. If you measure something with the Calipers to be an inch, then a printout on a standard printer of that picture will also be an inch. The Calipers do not take into account the size as it is displayed on your monitor, so different resolutions will still measure one inch.

The Calipers use conversion factors to determine the built in units. You can adapt these units and enter your own custom units.

The easiest way to configure the Calipers is extend the calipers so that you measure exactly ten of your new measurements. Then open the "Configure Units" screen and enter the current number of pixels measured by the Calipers in the 'Number of Pixels' column. In the 'Length in Units' column enter '10' and the Calipers will be calibrated.

There is an animated example of how to Calibrate the Calipers in our getting started guide.
Registration
All the major functions of the Calipers are free to use for an unlimited time. For the following additional features you must purchase a license.

  • Fully rotate the Calipers through 360 degrees.
  • Double-click to flip from vertical to horizontal.
  • Set the Transparency of the Calipers to make them see-through.
  • Hide the Splash Screen when the program starts up.
For WindowsAdobe Acrobat™ Toolbar
The Screen Calipers for Windows can be used directly from Adobe Acrobat to measure PDF documents, both the Reader and the full versions. From Adobe Acrobat™ right click on the menu area and choose 'Iconico Calipers'. The following toolbar will appear:



Clicking the leftmost icon will launch the Screen Calipers and automatically link it to the PDF document. This means that any time you zoom in or out on the PDF with the Acrobat zoom tools the Screen Calipers will be linked to correctly measure distances regardless of the zoom factor. When the Calipers is linked the following toolbar icons are displayed:



Clicking the second icon to the left will unlink the Calipers from the magnification factor of Acrobat, and the following icon, with an unlinked state will be shown:



The next button to the right opens the Calipers Calibration screen, and the last opens the Calipers help file. The plugin works on Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat REader versions 5, 6, 7 and 8.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When I select the Inches unit the Calipers don't exactly measure an inch on my screen, can I change that?

A: The Calipers measure an inch as it would be printed on a standard printer. There's no way for the Calipers to automatically know how big an inch would be on your monitor, but you can configure a custom unit to measure an inch as it is on your monitor. To do so follow these instructions:

Set the Caliper to measure pixels.
Move the Caliper so that it measures exactly ten of your new units, in this case inches.
Note the pixel readout.
Open the "Calibrate Units" screen.
Click 'Add' to create a new unit.
In the "Number of Pixels" box type the number of pixels that you noted earlier.
In the "Length in Units" box type "10".
Click "Ok".


Q: I am using the Calipers to measure a map or scale drawing, how do I define a custom unit to show the correct number?

A: If you have a map, architectural drawing, blueprint or any image that you would like to measure to scale then the Caliper's custom units can be configured to show this. To do so follow these instructions:

Set the Caliper to measure pixels.
Move the Caliper so that it measures a known distance on your diagram, for example you might have a map, so set the Caliper to measure 100 miles.
Note the pixel readout.
Open the "Calibrate Units" screen.
Click 'Add' to create a new unit.
In the "Number of Pixels" box type the number of pixels that you noted earlier.
In the "Length in Units" box type "100", as we are measuring 100 miles on our diagram.
Click "Ok".


Q: Can I easily double the gap that the Calipers measure?

A: Yes. To double the gap just type "*2" and then press the "Enter" key. You may halve the gap by typing "/2" and then pressing "Enter". By typing "-50" or "+50" you can add or subtract distance from the gap measured. The Calipers can easily be used as a simple visual calculator like this.

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