WindowSpy

Modern programs are all bundled up inside custom windows not just to provide a unique feel, but also to make accommodation easy. However, there’s a lot of code even behind a simple window, and it’s not just a simple visual layer. To find out more about them, you can use applications like WindowSpy.

Right after the download process is finished, you can go ahead and fire it up, because there’s no setup required. This means that you can use it on other computers as well, taking it with you on an USB flash drive. Your computer’s health status remains intact, since system registries don’t need any tweaks for functionality.

Upon launch, a compact main window is brought up, with no hidden elements so you can actually focus on important aspects. Various fields provide all the info you need, and little effort is required on your behalf. You can make it stay on top of everything else, in case a target window can’t be resized, and even lock it in place so you can write down gathered data.

Hovering your mouse over any window provides real-time results concerning handle, class, text, size, as well as parent handle, class, and text. A neat addition is that you also get to view pixel color in HEX code. Window elements are stored and selected from a drop-down menu, with the possibility to filter by child and sibling elements.

In order to be able to grab any data, you need to lock all info in place, because info is grabbed as you move your mouse, and even a pixel can make a difference. This also enables better view over children and siblings components. What’s more, all info is shown in its own text field so you can easily copy it. Sadly, there’s no built-in function to have all data saved to file or log.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that WindowSpy is a practical utility that programmers might find useful when trying to create a clean interface. The amount of data might not look abundant, but it all depends on the complexity of elements and visual style of the selected window. Little effort is required on your behalf, results are provided in real-time, and you can even use it on the go.