microsoft/PowerToys

[Color Picker] Pick a bigger area and use the average color

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#6,411 opened on Sep 6, 2020

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 (13 comments) (14 reactions) (0 assignees)C# (7,978 forks)batch import
Help WantedIdea-EnhancementProduct-Color Picker

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Description

📝 Provide a description of the new feature

What is the expected behavior of the proposed feature? What is the scenario this would be used?

The color picker picks a wider area around the cursor and calculates the average pixel color inside the area. Right now the color picker picks the color of one pixel. Exactly what a color picker is expected to do.

However in some cases this is not the ideal behavior. When picking the color from a real image every pixel has a slightly different color. Calculating the average color of the neighbour pixels would lead to a smoother output.

It should be possible to activate the feature in the settings page. Moreover the size of the area should also be adjustable.

If you'd like to see this feature implemented, add a 👍 reaction to this post.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Review the existing color picker module in the PowerToys codebase (likely in src/modules/colorPicker). Implement a feature to sample a configurable area around the cursor and compute the average color. Add a setting to toggle this behavior and adjust the area size. Ensure UI changes align with PowerToys settings design.
Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
C#
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60