StraightLines

Based in Adobe Air, StraightLines is a simple-to-use tool that can measure any object or distance on the screen. It lets you view angles, draw two lines and find out the ratio between them, customize colors, and change the measurement unit.

Setting it up is a fast and easy task, as long as you have Adobe Air installed. Once launched, the tool covers the whole screen with a semi-transparent frame, showing a green line whose two ends you can place anywhere on the desktop.

This is called free orientation mode and it permits you to move each end to create a line of any angle; the degree relative to the horizontal plane is displayed in pixels. Otherwise, you can set a fixed line (at 0 degree) to move both ends at once, horizontally or vertically.

The measurement unit can be switched from pixels to centimeters or inches. An additional line can be inserted to learn the ratio between the two lines, along with the ratio closest to specific scientific values (including square roots and the golden ratio).

Worth mentioning is that it's possible for the two lines to have different orientations, as well as to change their colors into anything else. Apart from the fact that you can adjust the background's opacity level, there are no other notable options available.

The software utility had minimal impact on computer performance in our tests, running on low CPU and memory. No error dialogs popped up and it didn't hang or crash. Unfortunately, it doesn't implement options for copying the numerical values.

To wrap it up, StraightLines comes loaded with a bunch of practical options to help you measure objects and distances on the screen, wrapped up in a user-friendly interface.