Eyedropper, Hand and Zoom
Three tools at the bottom of the toolbar help you work: the Eyedropper picks colors from the picture, the Hand moves the view, and the Zoom tool zooms it. You rarely need to pick the last two, since the Space bar, the wheel and the zoom keys do the same from any tool.
Eyedropper
The Eyedropper (I) takes a color from the picture:
- Click a pixel: its color becomes the primary color.
- Right-click: it becomes the secondary color.
- Drag: the color follows the pixel under the pointer until you let go.
It takes the color the screen shows there, whether it came from the conversion or from your painting.
You don't have to switch tools to pick a color: with the Pencil, Fill, Replace color, Shapes, Text or the Image stamp in hand, hold Alt and click (left button the primary, right button the secondary). The selection tools use Alt to take away from a selection instead.
Hand
The Hand (H) moves the view. From any tool, you can also:
- Hold the Space bar and drag: the Hand for as long as you hold it.
- Drag with the middle button (the wheel pressed).
Moving the view leaves Fit (the view no longer refits itself to the window).
Zoom
The Zoom tool (Z) zooms about the point you click:
- Click: a step in.
- Alt+click or right-click: a step out.
The wheel
Turning the mouse wheel over the picture zooms in and out about the point under the pointer, one step a notch (a trackpad's small movements add up to a step). With the Frame tool in hand, or in the Source view, the wheel scales the source picture instead; there, Ctrl+wheel zooms the view.
The zoom box and View ▸ Zoom
The zoom box at the right end of the options bar shows the zoom and lets you choose one: Fit (with the zoom it gives, for example Fit (2×)) or a step from 1× to 64×.
View ▸ Zoom has the same steps with keys:
| Command | Keys | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom in | Ctrl+= (or Ctrl++) | A step in, about the middle of the view. |
| Zoom out | Ctrl+- | A step out, down to 50% and 25%. |
| Fit to window | Ctrl+0 | The largest step at which the whole picture fits, centered. It refits as the window changes size. |
| Actual pixels (2×) | Ctrl+1 | The step nearest 2×, centered. |
In the CRT view, the zoom keys zoom the simulated tube instead.
Why the steps
Every zoom step is a whole number of screen pixels per C64 line, so every C64 pixel is drawn the same size and the picture stays sharp. On a display scaled to 125% or 150%, the steps are whole numbers of the display's own pixels instead, so they read as 0.8×, 1.6×, 2.4× and so on, and Actual pixels shows the step it gives (for example Actual pixels (1.6×) at 125%).
TipOn a small screen, View ▸ Side panels (Ctrl+\) hides the panels, so Fit can use the whole window.
Related
- The window: the toolbar, the options bar and the panels.
- Paint colors: the primary and secondary colors and the palette.
- Preview: a second view of the whole picture, with a navigator.