The PhiMatrix transparent grid overlays any other program, allowing you to
unveil and apply phi, 1.618, the golden ratio in any type of design or analysis
work. In addition to phi proportions, the program allows you create grids
using just about any geometric or arithmetic proportion between grid lines, with
a variety of options in the grid itself and the grid lines. The function
and options of each of the controls is displayed below.
-
Keep it Simple - PhiMatrix offers lots of options but to
keep it simple just keep the Line Ratio (in Expert Mode) set to Phi and the Aspect
(in Advanced Mode) on Variable
with 2 or 3 Horizontal and Vertical Grid lines and you'll find all kinds of ways
that you can unveil or apply the Golden Ratio.
-
Positioning the Grid - Position the grid
to the top left position by clicking and dragging the watermark area just below
the top border or an interior grid line. (See image at right.)
-
Border Options - You can eliminate the watermark area of
the borders by setting the Border Type to Line Only or No Border.
-
Adjust the Grid Size - Adjust the grid size by clicking
and dragging on the watermark area of the bottom or right borders.
-
Lock the Grid - Lock and deactivate the grid so that you
can use your underlying software with no impact of your mouse on the grid by
selecting the File-Lock and Deactivate Grid option. Reactivate the grid by
selecting File-Unlock and Activate Grid. All grid functions except mouse
controls are still active in this mode.
-
Click and Drag on the Grid Itself - You can still drag
and resize the grid by clicking on the grid itself but you may want to make the
Grid Line Width greater than one so that you don't have to be quite so precise
with the mouse in grabbing the outside border to resize or the inside lines to
reposition the grid.
-
Use the Cursor Arrow Keys - Click on the Keys tab of the
Control Window and then use keyboard cursor arrow keys to position the grid
(shift-arrow), make the grid larger (Ctrl-arrow) or make the grid smaller
(Alt-arrow). The four cursor arrows correspond to the top, bottom, left
and right borders of the grid.
-
Minimize / Maximize the Grid - Open or maximize another
program to hide the Control Window behind it while leaving the grid on top.
Minimize the Control Window to minimize both the Control Window and the grid.
-
Save Your Favorite Settings - Select File - Save settings
as default to save the current grid settings as your default settings for
PhiMatrix when you launch it or click the reset button.
-
Eliminate the Border - Set the Border Size to zero if you
do not need to save, copy or print an section of the screen that surrounds the
grid itself.
-
Custom Ratios - Type your own numbers into the Aspect or
Line Ratio boxes to customize those settings to your own unique ratios.
|
Name |
Description |
Icon |
Options |
|
Basic Controls for projects requiring only
a Phi-based "golden ratio" grid |
|
Grid
Line Count Horizontal |
Number of horizontal grid lines |
 |
0-100 |
|
Grid
Line Count Vertical |
Number of vertical grid lines |
 |
0-100 |
|
Axis Horizontal |
The position of the X axis on the grid.
The "Both" option creates a mirror image of the grid lines. |
 |
Top,
Bottom,
Both Top & Bottom,
Center
None |
|
Axis Vertical |
The position of the Y axis on the grid.
The "Both" option creates a mirror image of the grid lines. |
 |
Left,
Right,
Both Left &Right,
Center,
None |
|
Grid Width |
Width of grid in pixels |
 |
50 - No Limit |
|
Grid Height |
Height of grid in pixels |
 |
50 - No Limit |
|
Grid Lock (Right side of Window) |
Lock the grid to prevent it from being moved or
resized by the mouse. This makes it easier to use the mouse with
underlying programs such as Photoshop. Changes to the grid via the
Control Window or Keyboard commands remain active in this mode. |
 |
Lock / Unlock |
|
Grid Color |
RGB color of the entire grid |
 |
16,777,216 RGB Colors |
|
Transparency |
Transparency of the entire grid |
 |
0 - 100% |
|
Advance Controls to add/change a border
around the grid or set fixed aspect ratios and orientations |
|
Grid Line Width |
The width of the grid line in pixels. |
 |
0 -
30 pixels |
|
Aspect Ratios |
Fixed aspect ratios using standard formats from
digital, photographic and paper sizes. This allows easy application of
layout, resizing and cropping of images using these standard sizes.
The default "Variable" ratio means that height and width can float variably
rather than being locked in a fixed height to width aspect ratio. |
 |
Variable,
1:Phi,
1:1,
Digital 4:3,
Digital 16:9,
Photo 4x6,
Photo 5x7,
Photo
8x10,
Photo 11x14,
Paper 3x5,
Paper 8.5x11,
Paper 8.5x14,
Paper 11x17,
Paper
A4,
User |
|
Orientation |
Orientation of grid when fixed Aspect Ratio
control is used |
 |
Landscape,
Portrait |
|
Border Size |
The size of the grid border in pixels. The
border defines the area outside of the grid that is included when using grid
functions for save to disk, copy to clipboard and print to printer. |
 |
0 - No Limit |
|
Border Type |
The type of border displayed, making it easier
to see and drag the grid against various backgrounds. |
 |
Light Only,
Line/Dark,
Dark Only,
Line Only,
No Border |
|
Expert Controls to use grid line ratios other
than Phi |
|
Grid Line
Ratios |
Ratio of each grid line to the ones on either
side. Note that 1 can be used to create a grid with squares of equal
dimensions. |
 |
Phi,
Square Root Phi,
Marquardt Ratio (Cube Root Phi),
Phi Squared,
Fibonacci Series,
Levin Dental Grid,
1, 2, 3,
Root 2,
Root 3,
Root 5,
Oval
User defined |
|
Progression Horizontal |
Type of Progression for horizontal gridlines.
Inward is 1 to 0 by 0.618 or the chosen Line Ratio. Outward is 1 to ∞
by 1.618 or the chosen Line Ratio. |
 |
Inward,
Outward |
|
Progression Vertical |
Type of Progression for vertical gridlines.
Inward is 1 to 0 by 0.618 or the chosen Line Ratio. Outward is 1 to ∞
by 1.618 or the chosen Line Ratio. |
 |
Inward,
Outward |
|
Functions (Icons at Top of Control Window
and in Menus) |
|
App Width Button |
Change the size of the Control Window to show icons,
controls and descriptions, to either minimize the footprint or to make it
easier to remember the meaning of the controls. |
 |
Icons Only,
Add Controls,
Add Descriptions |
|
Save Image |
Save Image to Disk |
 |
gif, jpg, png, pict, bmp formats |
|
Copy Image |
Copy Image to Clipboard |
 |
|
|
Print Image |
Print Image to Printer |
 |
|
|
Reset Grid |
Reset Grid to Original Settings |
 |
|
|
Save and Load Grid Settings to disk file |
Saves all grid
settings to disk and then loads the settings, including position on the
screen |
 |
|
|
Save Settings as Default |
Save the current
grid settings as a default to be loaded automatically when the program is
next launched or when the Reset button is selected. Available from
File menu only. |
File
Menu |
|
|
Data Window with XY Coordinates |
A data window
showing the XY coordinates of all the grid points. Also optionally
displays the XY coordinates on the grid itself. |
 |
Pixels, Percents, User defined project
dimensions |
|
Lock and Deactivate Grid |
Deactivate and lock the grid
in position to prevent the mouse controls of the grid from interfering with
the functions of the underlying program (e.g., use paint tools in Photoshop
without any interference.) |
File
Menu and
 |
Lock / Unlock |
|
Options Tab |
|
Grid Title |
Optional user
defined descriptive title that displays on the top of the image.
Increase the border size to have the title appear outside the grid. |
|
User text input |
|
Grid Footer |
Optional user
defined descriptive footer that displays on the top of the image.
Increase the border size to have the title appear outside the grid. |
|
User text input |
|
Show Control Descriptions |
Enables or
disables the display of the descriptions column on the control window. |
|
Enabled / Disabled |
|
Enable Settings Indicator |
Enables or
disables the display of grid information that appears in certain grid modes
such as when the Control Window is in the thin icon only mode (see App Width
button above) or when the Line Ratio is set to 1. It's best to set the
Border Size to 12 pixels or more when using this setting so that the
indicators appear outside the grid. |
|
Enabled / Disabled |
|
Keyboard Controls |
|
Grid Line Count |
Use up and down
arrows to change number of horizontal grid lines
Use right and left arrows to change number of vertical grid lines |
|
0-100 |
|
Grid position on screen |
Use Shift key with
up, down, right and left arrows to reposition the grid on the screen |
|
|
|
Increase Grid Size |
Use Control key
with up, down, right and left arrows to increase the size the grid |
|
|
|
Decrease Grid Size |
Use Alt key with
up, down, right and left arrows to decrease the size the grid |
|
|
PhiMatrix can be used in its Basic mode alone to unveil and
apply phi-based "golden ratio" grid lines for analysis and design. It can
also be used to create a variety of other grid patterns and ratios, as
illustrated below. These are just a sampling of grids that can be created with PhiMatrix.
Many of these grids are already available as presets in PhiMatrix by selecting
them from the View menu. Click on the grid to see a full size view of the image.
Click on the Grid Title shown below the grid to download the related PhiMatrix mtx settings file. Use
File - Open Settings to use any of these in your copy of PhiMatrix. Review
the Control Window settings used to create each grid to learn more about the use
of the controls and creating your own unique grids.
