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Hex Color Tools – Mac & PC

Having migrated from a PC to a MacBook over the summer, things have been progressing smoothly. Despite the relative ease of the transition, now and then I still discover utilities from my PC toolkit that I don't have an immediate alternate for on my Mac.

Instant Eyedropper

One PC tool I always had running in my toolbar was Instant Eyedropper. Click the icon, and an info box shows the hex value for any pixel your mouse hovers over. Simple concept, but for a consultant jumping from system to system, a terrific timesaver.

So, a new day and a new client.  Creating some quick content for them but I don't have access to their systems yet, just a screenshot of a mockup. In the old days, I could gather the HTML colors I need in seconds and move on.  Am I going to fire up my VM just to find out a couple of colors? I think not.

DigitalColor Meter

A quick Google search cleared this up.  Turns out there's a utility built into the Mac that does this exact thing, DigitalColor Meter. You can find it in Applications/Utilities.  Try it out!

It's capable of retrieving colors in 13 different formats, making it useful for more than just web development.

Now I'm wondering what other clever apps are hiding away in Mac OS Leopard.

What's your favorite Native Mac App?