Color picker
Use PixPin's magnifier to sample screen colors, copy RGB or HEX values, create custom color formats, copy coordinates, and pick colors for annotations.
During a screenshot, PixPin's magnifier can sample the color of any screen pixel and copy it in common formats such as RGB or HEX. Designers comparing palettes and developers checking interface colors do not need to open another color picker.
Pick a color with the magnifier
Press Ctrl+1⌃ Control+1 to start a screenshot.
Hold down Alt⌥ Option. A magnifier appears next to the pointer, showing enlarged pixels around it, along with the center pixel's coordinates and color value.
Align the center of the magnifier with the pixel you want to sample and press CC. The color value is copied to the clipboard, and the screenshot session ends.
To keep the magnifier visible without holding down Alt⌥ Option, open the Screenshot page in settings and change Show Auxiliary Lines to Always Show.
You can also pick colors from pins: move the pointer over a pin, hold down Alt⌥ Option to show the magnifier, then press CC to copy the color.
Target a pixel precisely
The magnifier's grid separates individual pixels, and the square in the center marks the pixel being sampled. Small icons and 1-pixel borders can be hard to target with the mouse. Use the keyboard to move the pointer:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| WW | Move the pointer up 1 pixel |
| SS | Move the pointer down 1 pixel |
| AA | Move the pointer left 1 pixel |
| DD | Move the pointer right 1 pixel |
Adjust the magnifier's appearance on the Screenshot page in settings:
- Magnifier scale: 1–100×; the default is 11×.
- Magnifier content: check the items you need, including grid lines, crosshairs, the center frame, screenshot borders, screenshot control points, annotations, annotation control lines, and mouse coordinates.
- Magnifier grid line color, Smooth scaling of magnifier content, and Show shortcut hints in magnifier.
Copy colors and switch formats
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Copy the color value | CC |
| Switch the color format | Shift⇧ Shift |
Each press of Shift⇧ Shift switches the magnifier's color value to the next enabled format. Copying uses the format currently displayed.
Color formats
PixPin includes the following color formats. RGB and #HEX are enabled by default:
| Format | Example | Default |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | rgb(4, 133, 247) | Enabled |
| BGR | bgr(247, 133, 4) | Disabled |
| HEX | 0485f7 | Disabled |
| #HEX | #0485f7 | Enabled |
| HSV | hsv(208, 98%, 97%) | Disabled |
| HSL | hsl(208, 97%, 49%) | Disabled |
Enable other formats before switching to them with Shift⇧ Shift.
Custom color formats
Add your own format when you need a particular color notation, such as a CSS variable or a color constant in code.
Open the Screenshot page in settings. Under Magnifier Color Formats, click Manage Color Formats.
Click New Format. In the Add Color Format window, enter a Name and Format. Use parameters for the color components, such as %Re for the red value. A sample color at the bottom of the window previews the result in real time.
Click Save. The new format appears in the list.
In Manage Color Formats:
| Action | Method |
|---|---|
| Enable / disable | Check or uncheck the box before a format. Only enabled formats appear in the magnifier. |
| Edit | Double-click a format, or right-click it and select Edit. |
| Reorder | Drag formats to change their order. Pressing Shift⇧ Shift cycles through them in this order. |
| Delete | Right-click a format and select Delete. |
Common parameters:
| Parameter | Meaning | Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
%Re | Red | %Hu | Hue |
%Gr | Green | %Sl | Saturation (HSL) |
%Bl | Blue | %Li | Lightness |
%Al | Alpha | %Sb | Saturation (HSB) |
%Va | Value (V in HSV) | %Na | Color name |
Append a letter to the red, green, blue, or alpha parameter to specify its numeric notation: b gives a value from 0–255 (the default), x / X gives two hexadecimal digits (lowercase / uppercase), h / H gives one hexadecimal digit, and f / F gives a decimal from 0–1 (with / without a leading zero). For example, #%ReX%GrX%BlX produces #0485F7.
Available Parameters in the window lists all parameters, including components for CMYK, HSI, CIE Lab, Oklab, Oklch, and XYZ.
Coordinates
The magnifier also shows the coordinates of the pixel under the pointer, with two display modes:
- Screen coordinates: the origin is the top-left corner of the screen.
- Selection-relative coordinates: the origin is the top-left corner of the selection, useful for measuring an interface element's position within an area.
Press PP to switch between the two modes, and Alt+C⌥ Option+C to copy the current coordinates.
- Screen coordinatesThe screen's top-left corner is the origin.
- Selection-relative coordinatesThe selection's top-left corner is the origin. Press P to switch.
- Pick a color for annotationsSelect an annotation tool and press C to apply the color to it.
Pick colors while annotating
While annotating, sample a color directly from the screenshot for the current annotation tool instead of looking for a similar color in the palette:
Select an annotation tool, such as Rectangle or Pencil, in the screenshot toolbar or a pin's annotation toolbar.
Move the pointer over the color you want and press CC.
PixPin displays Color Applied. The current tool takes the sampled color, and annotations you draw afterward use that color.
When an annotation tool is selected, CC applies the color to the tool. It does not copy the color value or end the screenshot session.
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