PureRef: Amazing Canvas Tool

Hello, all. I would like to introduce you to PureRef, a completely free tool for mainly builders. It is an infinite canvas so you can just drag and drop pictures and reference on the stays on top of your screen so you don’t need to keep flipping back to your image.


How do I install it?

To begin, go to this link: PureRef. Press “Download”. You’ll then see step 1.


Pick your platform

Step 2. “Oh no! I must pay for it.” No you don’t. Simply enter 0 USD in the custom amount box.

Download this and open it up.


What do I do once downloaded?
Open it up, it should look like the picture below.
image

You can copy and paste reference or simply drag it into the box. This can be enabled on top so it can overlay your studio. This helps so you do not need to keep going back and forth to your reference.

You can zoom in and out on the picture(s) too and add multiple.


Recommended Features/Settings

  • Right click, Mode, Always on top. (This is a really good thing to enable).
  • Right click, Window, Lock Window. (prevents it moving)
  • Locking the canvas prevents you moving pictures.

Studio Example


Frequently Asked Questions
How do I move the PureRef window?

Make sure Maximize is toggled off either through the right click menu → Window → Maximize or the shortcut CTRL + F. Hold down the right mouse button to move the window.

How do I turn off Mouse Transparency Mode?

The default shortcut is Ctrl+T. Depending on your shortcut settings you might also need to give PureRef focus by clicking on the task bar icon or ALT + TAB to it. If you want to avoid this set the shortcut context to Global. In Windows you can also use the taskbar preview buttons to enable and disable mouse transparency.

I would like to use PureRef, do I need a license?

No, PureRef does not have any kind of licensing restrictions and can be used by anyone for both commercial and non-commercial use, read more in the license agreement.

What image formats does PureRef support?

BMP, DDS, GIF(First frame only), ICNS, ICO, JPEG, JP2, MNG, PBM, PGM, PNG, PNM, PPM, PSD, TIFF, WEBP, XBM, XPM, TGA, SVG, EXR.

PureRef also supports some more formats so even if your format is not listed here PureRef might still support it, give it a try!

Can I open multiple instances of PureRef in OSX?

Yes. Open the terminal and type in: open -n -a “PureRef”.

Can different PureRef windows have different settings?

Yes, in Windows. You can provide PureRef with a path to the settings file on the command line: PureRef.exe -s C:\path\to\settings.ini. To automate this, create a shortcut to PureRef containing the command line settings.

What does the ‘Context’ drop down menu in the keybinder mean?

It indicates in which window context the shortcut will trigger. If it is set to ‘Global’ the shortcut will trigger even if PureRef does not have window focus. If set to ‘Window’ it will only trigger for the currently open window that belongs to PureRef. And if it is set to ‘Application’ it will trigger as long as PureRef has focus.

I maximized my window and can’t resize it again. Minimize just collapses it to the taskbar. What do I do?

Maximize is a toggle, just press CTRL + F (CMD + F) again or toggle it in the right click menu under Window → Maximize.


Extra

This was my first post in the resources section! Feedback shall be took as constructive and I won’t get offended (lol).

How was the tutorial?
  • Good
  • Bad
  • Could be better
  • Improve it!

0 voters

Will you be using PureRef?
  • Yes
  • Maybe
  • No
  • I’ll think about it.

0 voters

Many thanks,
Michael.

9 Likes

What’s the difference between 1. 11. 1 and 1. 10. 4?

Version 1.11.1 August 7th 2020

Fixes

- Crash on startup when “Number of recent loaded files” was set to something else than default.
- Some keybindings would not work on all keyboard layouts.

Version 1.11.0 August 6rd 2020

Features

- Slideshow selection. (Alt+S)
- When enabling auto save PureRef will now auto save to your temp directory until you have decided where to save the scene. Any auto saved scenes that are lost during unexpected shutdowns will be restorable from a new dialog on startup of PureRef.
- Added a transform gizmo that can scale and rotate the selection by dragging handles. (Can be disabled in the settings)
- Distribute Horizontal / Vertical functions (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Up/Down).
- Option to invert the scroll wheel.
- Escape now clears the selection.

Tweaks

- Moved the open save file name to the start of the window title so it is easier to see in the task bar.
- Made snapped rotate snap to the closest 45 instead of the next 45.
- The Save As dialog now uses the current save file name as a suggestion instead of “NewScene”.
- Added warning when saving scenes that originates from newer versions of PureRef than the one you’re saving with.
- Selected text now has a background.
- Windows: Added always on top toggle button to the windows taskbar preview.

Fixes

- Issue where toggling maximized would stop working if it was toggled off during loading of a scene.
- Some keybindings would not work on all keyboard layouts.
- Bug where disabling “Select and pack new” would not add undo actions when adding new images.
- Fixed incorrect image transform after zooming in multiple croppings.
- Maximized pan should now work while canvas is locked.
- Issue where stepping with arrow keys would miss one image and instead reset the camera position.
- Issue where Reset Camera Zoom needs to be toggled twice to actually reset the zoom level correctly.
- Issue where setting one keybinding alias to System Global would make all of that action’s keybindings System Global as well.
- Rare issue where copies of linked images would become broken after relinking.
- Crash when trying to relink deleted missing images.
- Resizing the window from the top or left edge now doesn’t move the canvas.
- Changing colors in settings is now a lot smoother.
- Windows: Modernized the installer.
- Windows: Maximize no longer covers the taskbar on secondary screens.
- Windows: Fixed warnings about an invalid signature of the executable.
- Windows: Taskbar thumb buttons would sometimes not show.
- Mac: Crash when shutting down through the menu bar.
- Mac: Issue where PureRef would become unresponsive.
- Mac: The context menu should now be a bit more responsive.
- Mac: Issue with black screen after unmaximizing when using “Show maximized in its own space” setting.

Version 1.10.4 April 16th 2020

Features

- Focus canvas action. (Ctrl+Space)
- Normalize Scale function. (Ctrl+Alt+Down)
- Setting to disable finishing note editing with enter.
- Setting to disable selecting all text in a note when starting editing.
- Button to manually check for updates in settings.

Tweaks

- Lock icon in lower right corner when canvas is locked, and a setting to change its placement or to disable it completely.
- Improved the force load option to have a better chance at recovering corrupted scenes.

Fixes

- Window would sometimes get stuck outside the screen.
- Drag dropping of URLs to load all images of a web page. It will only work for sites that doesn’t rely on javascript.
- Incorrect scaling when pasting notes parented to notes.
- Paste or add notes was possible while the canvas was locked.
- Issue where auto save would trigger the Save As dialog if the scene filename was changed externally.
- Notes now support input methods, for example Chinese Pinyin.
- Double clicking an image to focus now works even if Select is not bound to Left click.
- Dragging text in notes would create a new identical note.
- Pre-focus zoom is now retained even after using the arrow keys to step between images.
- The text in the empty canvas should now refer to the correct help keybinding even if it was changed.
- Editing notes in overlay mode.
- Crash when removing key binding aliases.
- Incorrect undoing of transforms for parented notes.
- Background option wouldn’t work when exporting a scene.
- Scale creeping when executing subsequent normalize size actions.
- Mac: Window transparency was lost after minimize.

Personally, both versions should work for ROBLOX.

2 Likes