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I would like to execute a command-line command that activates "click and drag" mouse selection on a single local X11 screen.

The goal is to:

  • get the selected rectangle X and Y coordinates,
  • get the rectangle width and height,
  • output these values to stdout,
  • (optional) draw a selection border while dragging the mouse.
Jaakko
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  • Do you mean you want to move the mouse, as in "click and drag", to draw a rectangle on the desktop, and have some program then tell you what its size is? – Chindraba Feb 27 '17 at 11:12
  • @Gypsy Spellweaver, yes the rectangle can simply be outlines. does not have to be a filled box. I want the size of it ( in pixels ) also.. if it can include the X and Y coordinates on the screen. that would be extra help. –  Feb 27 '17 at 11:19
  • Perhaps soon as the rectangle drawn is complete.. the rectangle can disappear.. and I can return to the command prompt to see the data. –  Feb 27 '17 at 11:20

1 Answers1

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A simple tool is the import command from ImageMagick. Simply provide an output filename:

$ import /tmp/out.png

and it will grab the mouse and show an appropriate cursor. Press button 1 and drag out a rectangle which will be shown as a wire frame. Let go and the file will be created. You can get the info from this file:

$ identify /tmp/out.png
/tmp/out.png PNG 1515x14 1920x1080+24+15 ...

The rectangle in this example was 1515 by 14 pixels, with top-left offset of 24 and 15 on the screen.

To extract a geometry string:

$ identify /tmp/out.png | perl -ne '/ (\d+x\d+) \d+x\d+([-+]\d+[-+]\d+) / and print "$1$2\n"'
1515x14+24+15

Everything in one line:

import PNG:- | identify PNG:- | perl -ne '/ (\d+x\d+) \d+x\d+([-+]\d+[-+]\d+) / and print "$1$2\n"
Kirill Bulygin
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meuh
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