Readout Mode

You turn on the readout mode by clicking the  button on the main tool bar.

 

Activating the readout mode pops up a readout window, docked just below the main tool bar. When the readout window is in this docked position, you can change its settings.

When you click and drag the cursor over the image area, the cursor changes to a crosshair and the readout windows is dragged along with the cursor. As you move the cursor, the readout is continuously updated with the cursor location and the color of the image at the cursor location. When you release the mouse button, the readout window returns to its docked position.

The top line of the readout window displays a small patch of the image color at the cursor against both black and white backgrounds as well as the location of the cursor in the you select (pixels, in, mm, cm or %).

The next line displays the color at the cursor location in the color space of your choice (RGB, HSV, HSL, Lab or Den).

If you choose Den (short for density), the pixel values are displayed as densities (one each for red, green, and blue). Density is computed based on the image gamma and runs from infinity for pure black (displayed as --) to zero for pure white.

Probe Size.

This setting determines the size of the area around the cursor location sampled to produce a color readout. If you select 1x1, the color of the pixel color at the cursor is displayed. Selecting a larger size averages a block of pixels centered at the cursor to produce the readout. This can help you get a stable reading from a noisy image.

Settings Menu

Clicking the settings button lets you select whether, when the RGB color space is selected, you want to display pixel values (0..255 for 8-bit images or 0..65535 for 16-bit images), 0..255 for both 8- and 16-bit images, or percentages (0..100).

You can also select the origin for the probe position. Choices are Origin at bottom left or the Origin at top left of the image.

Readout tool settings are saved between sessions. Use the Reset command to restore the system defaults.