Any project becomes easier with the right tool. Sometimes all you need is something
as simple as a screwdriver. Here are some of the tools we have created to help
with various projects. Some are simple and others are more complex. We hope you find
them useful and we appreciate feedback.
Photography Charts
- File Size Chart
Learn what determines the file size of a digital image and how to calculate it.
- Film Size Chart
This page lists the dimensions of various types of film and shows a scale comparison
of 35mm film next to medium and large format sheet films.
- Grayscale Chart
Check the brightness and contrast of your monitor.
- Megapixels Chart
Compare the number of megapixels from various digital cameras and see the
maximum size print that can be made from each one. See why going from 3 to 4 megapixels
is a much bigger jump than going from 10 to 12 megapixels. A second chart shows
maximum print sizes at 300, 200, and 150ppi for a given number of megapixels.
- Printing Guide
Learn about the difference between dpi and ppi and why you need 300ppi for a
photo quality print in a book or magazine.
- 35mm Lenses Tutorial
A beginner's guide to 35mm lenses. Learn about different types of lenses,
focal length, bokeh, and other lens terminology.
- Screen Resolutions
An actual size pixel chart of computer monitor and video resolutions. Rectangles
on the chart range from 1080p HD to 480 x 320 iPhone.
Popular Tools
- ALT Codes
Need to enter Windows ALT codes on a Mac? This utility lets you enter ALT codes then copy/paste the
special characters into any Mac or Windows application.
- Character Counter
A simple utility that counts characters in real time as you type.
- Color Picker
Experiment with different color schemes by entering RGB or Hex color values to
change the colors of a sample layout. Also included is an RGB to Hex converter
and a web safe color chart.
- Cryptogram Maker
Create simple substitution ciphers from your text, like in Edgar Allan Poe's story,
The Gold Bug. Create your own encryption keys. Convert text to all caps, camel case, and 1337
- CSS Extreme Makeover
This personal project of Robert Giordano invites graphic artists to create replacement
stylesheets for this site.
- CSS Quick Reference
A handy, alphabetized list of CSS properties and values that are supported
by all of the major browsers.
- Cut Sheet Weight
calculate the weight of any rectangle cut from a sheet of known dimensions and weight.
If you're building a drone, this utility has been expanded to be part of the
Drone Frame Calculator.
- Instant Spellcheck
Copy and paste a document into this Spelling checker and it will instantly read through all of
the text at once and mark all misspelled words in red. Options include inline suggestions and additional
wordlists for HTML and slang.
- Word Finder
Enter any letters that a word starts with, ends with, or contains and this
utility will find all words matching the input. The length of the word can also
be specified. Finally, this utility can also unscramble words.
- Word Pattern Finder
A second word find utility with wildcards, includes, excludes, and pattern
search. Designed to be a simple alternate to the original Word Finder.
- Wordlist Maker
Copy and paste a document into this utility and it will create an alphabetized index
of all the unique words in the text.
Web Development / Reference
- ASCII Chart
A simple chart showing characters and ASCII values from 0 to 255.
- ASP Translator
Listed on php.net, this utility has already been used by thousands of people to quickly convert
ASP code to PHP using a simple web form. A simple email registration is required.
- ASP/PHP Reference
A convenient cross reference chart for people who are familiar with either ASP or PHP and
are trying to learn the other.
- Browser Tester
Simply shows User Agent and Accept headers, Javascript version, and Navigator Object.
- Browser Tester 2
Provides a more thorough set of tests, including window events, document.onload, document.addEventListener,
mouse events, onblur, onfocus, window and screen dimensions, AJAX compatibility, etc.
- Domain List Cleanup
A simple utility to clean up a list of domains copy/pasted from another web site.
- Gibberish Detector
An experimental version of Robert Giordano's own gibberish detection and nonsense string algorithm.
- Javascript Compressor
A simple utility that removes extra white space from Javascript code, significantly
reducing the file size of the script, while adding a small degree of protection through
obscurity.
- HTML5 Document Object Utility
Test document objects and properties in different browsers. Uses HTML5 Doctype
- RegEx Tester
This page offers a quick guide to using Regular Expressions, some examples to study,
and a form for creating and testing new ones.
- URL Encoder / Decoder
Change encoded query strings back into plain text or vice versa.
- UTF-8 Decoder
Get multi-byte hex and decimal codes for UTF-8 characters.
- Whitespace Remover
Remove extra spaces, tabs, and line feeds from HTML (not for Javascript).