PixelSharp

SUMMARY

PixelSharp changes the scaling of images on the current page to be pixel-perfect when activated. Scaled up pixel art in the browser often ends up very blurry due to the default "linear" scaling method. This scaling works well for general browsing, as most images on the web are high resolution, but is detrimental to pixel art and low resolution images. Activating PixelSharp changes the page scaling to "nearest neighbour", the intended scaling method for pixel art. How to use: The extension was designed to be pinned so that you can simply click the icon to activate it. You can also activate PixelSharp by first pressing the "Extensions" button next to the URL bar and then clicking on PixelSharp in the list of installed extensions. You will need to enable "Allow access to file URLs" for the extension to work on images loaded from your computer. Technical details: The extension only activates when clicked. Clicking the extension icon will trigger a single update to the current page which modifies the display styles to use nearest neighbour scaling. After the page has been updated the extension stops. Reloading the page will clear the page modification, essentially reverting the images on the page back to the original browser scaling behaviour. Image attribution: The "before and after" image was created from real screen captures of the same image at 500% browser zoom scale, before and after using the PixelSharp extension. The pixel art used to demonstrate this ("Ninja Adventure - Asset Pack" by pixel-boy and AAA) was licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license ("public domain").

The latest version of PixelSharp is available on the Chrome web and is currently being used by 400 active users. The initial version was launched on 2015-12-10.

HOW TO INSTALL PixelSharp FROM A CRX FILE

1. Download PixelSharp CRX file
2. NOTE: Sometimes the browser may block downloading / installing CRX file from outside the Chrome Web Store. If so, you may need to download the ZIP file instead
3. In the URL bar, go to chrome://extensions
4. Enable Developer mode

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