1px solid red support
How to start, answers to common questions, and how to reach me.
Getting started on iPhone and iPad
- Open the app once, then turn the extension on in Settings › Apps › Safari › Extensions.
- In Safari open the page menu in the address bar, tap 1px solid red and allow the website.
- Choose a tool. Tap elements on the page; the page still scrolls with your finger as usual.
Getting started on the Mac
- Open the app once, then turn the extension on in Safari › Settings › Extensions.
- On the website you want to check, click the icon in the toolbar and allow the extension there.
- Choose Measure, Check text or Text on this page. Pages that were already open need a reload first.
Questions
How do I measure by touch?
Tap an element to lock it, then tap another to see the distance between them. Tap empty space to measure the gap there. Tap the locked element again to let it go.
What keyboard shortcuts are there?
While a tool runs: S takes a snapshot, U changes the unit, G adds a vertical guide, ⇧G a horizontal one, ⌫ removes the last guide, ⌘C copies the finding and Esc closes. ⌃⌥M and ⌃⌥T start the tools, once you have set them in Safari › Settings › Extensions: Safari does not assign them by itself.
Why do the characters per line say “not running text”?
Line length is judged only for running text: paragraphs, list items and quotes under 24 px with at least two full lines. A heading or a caption has no such rule.
Why do WCAG 2 and APCA disagree?
They measure differently, most of all with saturated colours and with light text on dark. APCA is a draft, not a standard, so take it as a second opinion. Look at the sample in the card: your eyes decide.
Why is the background colour an estimate?
The contrast is worked out from the colours in the page’s CSS. When the text sits on an image, the card says so and the figures are only a guide.
The tools say this page can’t be measured.
Reload the page, or allow the extension on that website. Safari’s own pages and the App Store can’t be measured at all.
Where do guides go?
They stay on your device, saved for each website. Turn them off in the toolbar menu, or press ⌫ while measuring to remove the last one.
Contact
Write to daniel@snor.cz. It helps to say which device and Safari version you use, the address of the page, and what you expected to happen. I read everything and usually answer within a few days.