Lamina

The overlay app for frontend designers

Lamina Manual — Shortcuts and How It Works

Manual

Everything Lamina does, and the keys that get you there.

The idea in one paragraph

Lamina puts an image on top of your screen as a transparent sheet. Not in a window next to your work — over it. You line the sheet up with what you have built, look through it, and measure where the two drift apart. Then you lock the sheet and keep working underneath it as if it weren't there.

Drop an image here

Pro

⌘V to paste your image ∙ S to take a screenshot

Lamina overlays your design on the build, so you can compare both pixel by pixel.

1. Put a sheet on the screen

Press S and drag a box around any part of your screen. What you capture becomes the sheet immediately.

Drag an image into the window, or press ⌘V to paste one.

Screenshots taken on a Retina display normally come back twice the size of what they show. Lamina knows both sizes when it captures, so the sheet lands at exactly the size it had on screen — nothing to resize, nothing to guess.

Lamina can also wait in the menu bar and open on whichever desktop you are working on. ⇧⌘2 captures from anywhere, even when the window isn't showing. You can change that shortcut in Preferences (⌘,).

2. Work underneath it

⌘J and ⌘K take the opacity down and up in steps of 10 %. The scroll wheel does the same, continuously.

⌘L locks the sheet. It stays visible but stops catching the mouse — every click goes to the app underneath. This is what makes Lamina different from having a picture open next to your work.

⌘+ and ⌘− resize the sheet in steps of 10 %. ⌃⌘+ and ⌃⌘− resize it by a single pixel — this is the one for the final alignment. ⌘0 returns to the original size.

⌘T keeps Lamina above everything else.

3. Measure the difference

Drag

Grab here to move the toolbar. It stays where you put it and follows the sheet from then on. Double-click to send it back.

Magnifier (Z)

Four times magnification under the cursor, for lining things up precisely.

Grid (G)

An adjustable grid over the sheet.

Reset opacity

Straight back to fully opaque.

Copy to clipboard

The current view as an image, measurements and annotations included.

Capture (S)

Same as pressing S: drag a box, and that part of the screen becomes the sheet.

Measure (R)

Rulers, guides and the measuring shapes. Opens the row of shape tools next to it.

Compare (D)

Blend, slide or difference-view a second image against the first.

Always on top

Keeps Lamina above every other window, even when you click into another app.

Export image (⌘E)

The same as a PNG file, at full resolution.

Color picker (I)

Reads the color under the cursor, with a loupe and the hex value. Each click also keeps the color in the palette next to the tool.

Annotate (E)

Numbered markers and text notes for a review. Notes wrap inside a width you drag, sit on their own background so they stay readable on light screenshots, and remain visible while you keep working underneath.

Opacity

How far you see through the sheet. The scroll wheel over the image does the same, ⌘J and ⌘K in steps of ten per cent.

Lock Lamina

The sheet stays visible but stops catching the mouse — every click goes to the app underneath. This is the one that lets you keep building while the design sits on top.

Drag

Grab here to move the toolbar. It stays where you put it and follows the sheet from then on. Double-click to send it back.

Color picker (I)

Reads the color under the cursor, with a loupe and the hex value. Each click also keeps the color in the palette next to the tool.

Measure (R)

Rulers, guides and the measuring shapes. Opens the row of shape tools next to it.

Grid (G)

An adjustable grid over the sheet.

Opacity

How far you see through the sheet. The scroll wheel over the image does the same, ⌘J and ⌘K in steps of ten per cent.

Always on top

Keeps Lamina above every other window, even when you click into another app.

Copy to clipboard

The current view as an image, measurements and annotations included.

Capture (S)

Same as pressing S: drag a box, and that part of the screen becomes the sheet.

Magnifier (Z)

Four times magnification under the cursor, for lining things up precisely.

Annotate (E)

Compare (D)

Blend, slide or difference-view a second image against the first.

Reset opacity

Straight back to fully opaque.

Lock Lamina

The sheet stays visible but stops catching the mouse — every click goes to the app underneath. This is the one that lets you keep building while the design sits on top.

Export image (⌘E)

The same as a PNG file, at full resolution.

Color picker (I)

Part of Lamina Pro — unlocked for the first 14 days.

Your palette

Every click with the eyedropper drops the color here — newest first, four slots. Click one to copy its value, ⌘-click to take it out. The crossed-out squares show where the next color will land.

Color manager

Opens every color you collected in its own window — the strip in the toolbar only ever shows the four most recent.

Pick with Tab

Hold the pointer over a color and press Tab: the value is in your clipboard and in the palette, in one keystroke. If the eyedropper is off it opens as you do it, so you can see where the color lands.

Your palette

Every click with the eyedropper drops the color here — newest first, four slots. Click one to copy its value, ⌘-click to take it out. The crossed-out squares show where the next color will land.

Color manager

Opens every color you collected in its own window — the strip in the toolbar only ever shows the four most recent.

Pick with Tab

Hold the pointer over a color and press Tab: the value is in your clipboard and in the palette, in one keystroke. If the eyedropper is off it opens as you do it, so you can see where the color lands.

Working with your colors

Click a color to copy it, type in the field beside it to correct a value, drag a row to reorder. Copy all gives you the plain list, Copy as CSS ready-made variables for a style guide.

The palette belongs to the image: it travels with the session, comes back when you reopen it from Recent, and starts empty on a new one.

Click a color to copy it, type in the field beside it to correct a value, drag a row to reorder. Copy all gives you the plain list, Copy as CSS ready-made variables for a style guide.

The palette belongs to the image: it travels with the session, comes back when you reopen it from Recent, and starts empty on a new one.

Shape tools (R)

Part of Lamina Pro — unlocked for the first 14 days.

Move

No drawing tool selected. Click a measurement to select it, drag it, resize it at the corners — or drag an empty spot to move the sheet.

Ellipse

The same for round shapes, labelled with the width and height of the box around it.

Delete

Removes the selected shape or guide. Greyed out while nothing is selected. Backspace does the same.

Line

Distance plus Δx and Δy, in real image pixels. Hold ⇧ to keep the line at 45°.

Measure gap

Hold the pointer in a gap. Lamina runs through the image data to both sides until the color changes and measures to those edges. A click pins the measurement, ⇧ measures vertically.

Guides

Pull them out of the rulers — horizontal ones from the top, vertical ones from the left. They stay put, show their position in image pixels, and snap to the grid and to the edges of your shapes. ⌥ while dragging flips a guide between horizontal and vertical, ⇧ steps it in fives. Drag one off the image to get rid of it.

Rectangle

Width × height, labelled while you draw. ⇧ holds the proportions, and snapping stays active.

Snap to guides

On by default. Shapes catch on guides, on the edges of the image and on each other — and guides catch on the edges of your measurements.

Move

No drawing tool selected. Click a measurement to select it, drag it, resize it at the corners — or drag an empty spot to move the sheet.

Rectangle

Width × height, labelled while you draw. ⇧ holds the proportions, and snapping stays active.

Measure gap

Hold the pointer in a gap. Lamina runs through the image data to both sides until the color changes and measures to those edges. A click pins the measurement, ⇧ measures vertically.

Delete

Removes the selected shape or guide. Greyed out while nothing is selected. Backspace does the same.

Line

Distance plus Δx and Δy, in real image pixels. Hold ⇧ to keep the line at 45°.

Ellipse

The same for round shapes, labelled with the width and height of the box around it.

Snap to guides

On by default. Shapes catch on guides, on the edges of the image and on each other — and guides catch on the edges of your measurements.

Guides

Grid controls (G)

Part of Lamina Pro — unlocked for the first 14 days.

Decrease grid

Halves the spacing, one step at a time, down to your base value. The [ key does the same.

Grid preferences

A small window for the base value, the zero point as numbers, and whether the grid ends up in the exported PNG.

Increase grid

Doubles it again, up to six steps above the base value. The ] key does the same.

Pin labels

The spacing labels fade out on their own once you stop working, and hide themselves when they sit too close together. This keeps them on screen.

Set zero point

Click where your design starts. Rulers, grid and guides all count from that point, on screen and in the export. It snaps to image edges, guides and the edges of your measurements.

Decrease grid

Halves the spacing, one step at a time, down to your base value. The [ key does the same.

Set zero point

Click where your design starts. Rulers, grid and guides all count from that point, on screen and in the export. It snaps to image edges, guides and the edges of your measurements.

Pin labels

The spacing labels fade out on their own once you stop working, and hide themselves when they sit too close together. This keeps them on screen.

Increase grid

Doubles it again, up to six steps above the base value. The ] key does the same.

Grid preferences

A small window for the base value, the zero point as numbers, and whether the grid ends up in the exported PNG.

Annotation tools (E)

Part of Lamina Pro — unlocked for the first 14 days.

Numbering

Each click drops the next number. Delete one in the middle and the rest close the gap.

Text

Click to open a field, Enter finishes it. Double-click a note to open it again. Annotations sit on the same layer as your measurements, so undo, copy and the PNG export cover both.

Compare controls (D)

Part of Lamina Pro — unlocked for the first 14 days.

Blend

Fades between the two images. The slider next to it weights A against B, all the way to either side.

Proportional / Fit

How the second image sits on the first: proportional, or stretched to match the dimensions of A.

Reset balance

Back to an even 50 / 50 between the two images.

Wipe

A divider across the image: A on the left, B on the right, both fully sharp — so an offset shows up as a jump at the line. Drag the line on the image; it snaps to the middle, and a double-click puts it back there.

Reset adjustments

Puts B back where it started, after you have dragged, nudged or scaled it into place.

Difference

Shows the difference per color channel: identical pixels turn black, every mismatch lights up. The − and + next to it raise the gain in five steps, because real differences are often only a few values apart.

Balance

Weights A against B in blend view. Drag it right across to check one image on its own, then back.

Blend

Fades between the two images. The slider next to it weights A against B, all the way to either side.

Difference

Reset adjustments

Puts B back where it started, after you have dragged, nudged or scaled it into place.

Reset balance

Back to an even 50 / 50 between the two images.

Wipe

Proportional / Fit

How the second image sits on the first: proportional, or stretched to match the dimensions of A.

Balance

Weights A against B in blend view. Drag it right across to check one image on its own, then back.

Save and open a Lamina document

Part of Lamina Pro. The free version opens a document and shows it, but the tools stay locked.

Save · ⌘S

Puts the image and everything you built on it into one .lamina file. The first time it asks where; after that it just saves.

The toolbar becomes the menu

Click the disk and the tools step aside for three choices: Save, Save as …, Export as PNG. Escape brings the tools back.

It opens where you are

A document never drags you to another desktop — it opens on the screen you are working on. So you can hand the file to someone else without surprises.

Save as … · ⇧⌘S

The same, but you choose a new name and place. Use it to branch a version without touching the one you already have.

Export as PNG · ⌘E

A flat image with the measurements burned in, for a bug report or a handover. The document stays editable; the export does not.

Open · ⌘O

Picks up exactly where you left off. A double-click in the Finder does the same — whether Lamina is already running or not.

What travels with it

Image, measurements, annotations, guides, the grid with its zero point, the colour palette, opacity and window size. Not the lock, and not a second image from compare.

Save · ⌘S

Puts the image and everything you built on it into one .lamina file. The first time it asks where; after that it just saves.

Open · ⌘O

Picks up exactly where you left off. A double-click in the Finder does the same — whether Lamina is already running or not.

Export as PNG · ⌘E

A flat image with the measurements burned in, for a bug report or a handover. The document stays editable; the export does not.

It opens where you are

A document never drags you to another desktop — it opens on the screen you are working on. So you can hand the file to someone else without surprises.

Save as … · ⇧⌘S

The same, but you choose a new name and place. Use it to branch a version without touching the one you already have.

The toolbar becomes the menu

Click the disk and the tools step aside for three choices: Save, Save as …, Export as PNG. Escape brings the tools back.

What travels with it

Image, measurements, annotations, guides, the grid with its zero point, the colour palette, opacity and window size. Not the lock, and not a second image from compare.

Keyboard shortcuts

Explanation

Key

Capture an area

Move: select and resize, no drawing

Color picker

Magnifier

Measure

Annotate

Grid

Compare

Press the same key again, or Escape, to switch a tool off.

Sheet and window — everything on ⌘.

Explanation

Shortcut

Paste an image

⌘V

Lock, click through

⌘L

Keep on top

⌘T

Opacity down / up

⌘J / ⌘K

Resize by 10 %

⌘+ / ⌘−

Resize by one pixel

⌃⌘+ / ⌃⌘−

Original size

⌘0

Move the window by one point

Arrow keys

Export as PNG

⌘E

Save the document

⌘S

Save as …

⇧⌘S

Open a document

⌘O

Pick the color under the pointer

Tab

Start over

⌘N

Close the window, keep Lamina in the menu bar

⌘W

Preferences

⌘,

Capture from anywhere

⇧⌘2

While measuring

Explanation

Shortcut

Undo / redo a measurement

⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z

Copy / paste a shape

⌘C / ⇧⌘V

Delete the selected shape

Backspace

Nudge it by one pixel (⇧ = ten)

Arrow keys

Grid step finer / coarser, or gain in difference view

[ / ]

Questions people ask

Do I have to give Lamina permission to record my screen?

Only for capturing (S). macOS asks once and applies the permission after a restart, which Lamina offers to do for you. Dragging an image in needs no permission at all.

Does anything leave my Mac?

No. Images, measurements and annotations stay on your machine. There is no account and no sign-in. The only thing Lamina ever sends is your licence key when you activate it, together with the name of your Mac so you can tell your activations apart.

What happens after the 14 days?

Lamina keeps working. Overlaying, capturing, opacity, locking and moving stay free for good — no watermark, no time limit. Measuring, comparing, annotating and exporting are the paid part.

Can I use it on more than one Mac?

One purchase covers three of your own Macs. You can release a Mac from inside the app (Lamina › Licence …) if you replace one.

I closed the window and lost my measurements.

You didn't. Lamina keeps the last ten sessions, complete with measurements, annotations, guides, grid, colours and opacity — and it writes as you work, so quitting costs you nothing. File › Open Recent brings one back. You can switch that off, or clear it, in Preferences.

Lamina

Overlay, measure and compare on macOS

support@lamina-app.com

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