Siticone Ruler Control

The SiticoneRuler is a professional, high-precision measurement control for Windows Forms. It supports both metric (Centimeters) and imperial (Inches) units, horizontal and vertical orientations, and features dual draggable markers for measuring distances or defining ranges. It is fully DPI-aware and responsive, ensuring accuracy across different screen resolutions.

Important Note on DPI Awareness:
To ensure this control provides accurate real-world measurements on different screens, your application must be DPI-aware. Please uncomment or add the DPI-Aware settings in your app.manifest file as detailed in the source code header.

Core Configuration

Configure the scale, orientation, and measurement units of the ruler.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`Orientation`	RulerOrientation	ruler.Orientation = RulerOrientation.Vertical; Sets the layout direction. Can be `Horizontal` (default) or `Vertical`.
`Unit`	MeasurementUnit	ruler.Unit = MeasurementUnit.Inches; Defines the scale units: `Centimeters` or `Inches`.
`StartValue`	decimal	ruler.StartValue = 10.0m; The value displayed at the origin (left or top edge) of the ruler. Can be adjusted by panning (Middle Mouse Button).
`MinValue`	decimal	ruler.MinValue = 0m; The absolute minimum value allowed for markers.
`MaxValue`	decimal	ruler.MaxValue = 100m; The absolute maximum value allowed for markers.

Markers & Selection

The ruler features two interactive markers that can be used to measure distance or define a region.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`Marker1Value`	decimal	ruler.Marker1Value = 5.5m; The position of the first marker on the scale.
`Marker2Value`	decimal	ruler.Marker2Value = 12.0m; The position of the second marker on the scale.
`Value`	decimal	decimal distance = ruler.Value; Read-only. The absolute difference between Marker1 and Marker2. Useful for measuring length.

Appearance & Styling

Customize the colors, fonts, and visual elements to match your application's theme.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`TickColor`	Color	ruler.TickColor = Color.Black; Color of the measurement lines (ticks) and text labels.
`MarkerColor`	Color	ruler.MarkerColor = Color.Red; Color of the vertical/horizontal lines indicating marker positions.
`SelectionColor`	Color	ruler.SelectionColor = Color.FromArgb(50, Color.Blue); Background fill color for the region between the two markers.
`GuideLineColor`	Color	ruler.GuideLineColor = Color.Gray; Color of the dotted lines that extend across the parent container.
`MarkerCircleSize`	float	ruler.MarkerCircleSize = 10f; Size of the draggable handle at the top/left of each marker.

Interaction & Behavior

Configure how users interact with the ruler using mouse and keyboard.

Property	Type	Description & Usage Example
`ShowGuideLines`	bool	ruler.ShowGuideLines = true; Draws dotted guide lines across the entire parent control (form or panel), useful for alignment.
`SnapToTicks`	bool	ruler.SnapToTicks = true; When dragging, markers automatically snap to the nearest tick mark (e.g., exact millimeters).
`EnableAnimations`	bool	ruler.EnableAnimations = true; Enables smooth transition animations when marker values are changed programmatically.
`EnableMarkerPulse`	bool	ruler.EnableMarkerPulse = true; Shows an animated pulse effect around the currently selected marker.
`ReadOnly`	bool	ruler.ReadOnly = false; Prevents user modification of markers or panning.

Events

Event Handling

// 1. Value Changed
// Fires when the distance between markers changes.
ruler.ValueChanged += (s, e) => 
{
                Console.WriteLine($"Measured Length: {e.NewValue} {e.Unit}");
                Console.WriteLine($"Delta: {e.Difference}");
};

// 2. Marker Interaction
// Fires when a specific marker is moved.
ruler.MarkerValueChanged += (s, e) => 
{
                if (e.MarkerIndex == 1)
                Console.WriteLine($"Start Point: {e.Value}");
                else
                Console.WriteLine($"End Point: {e.Value}");
};

// 3. Selection Changed
// Fires when the user selects a different marker.
ruler.SelectedMarkerChanged += (s, e) => 
{
                Console.WriteLine($"Active Marker: {e.SelectedMarkerIndex}");
};

Designer Experience

The control provides extensive Smart Tag support in the Visual Studio Designer.

Category	Features
`Theme Presets`	One-click styling presets including: Deep Ocean, Emerald, Sunset, Corporate, Pastel, Midnight, Elegant, Glass, Neon, Primary, Secondary, Success, Error, Info, Light, Dark.
`Actions`	Copy Settings / Paste Settings: Easily duplicate complex ruler configurations across forms. Reset to Default: Restore factory settings.

Detailed Usage Examples

Example 1: Basic Horizontal Centimeter Ruler

A standard horizontal ruler for measuring centimeters.

C# - Basic Setup

private SiticoneRuler CreateCmRuler()
{
                var ruler = new SiticoneRuler
    {
        Dock = DockStyle.Top,
        Height = 60,
        Unit = SiticoneRuler.MeasurementUnit.Centimeters,
        
                // Configuration
        StartValue = 0,
        MinValue = 0,
        MaxValue = 50,
        
                // Markers
        Marker1Value = 0,
        Marker2Value = 10,
        
                // Styling
        TickColor = Color.Black,
        SelectionColor = Color.FromArgb(50, Color.SkyBlue)
    };

    ruler.ValueChanged += (s, e) => 
    {
        lblMeasurement.Text = $"Width: {e.NewValue:F2} cm";
    };

                return ruler;
}

Example 2: Vertical Layout Guide

A vertical ruler used as a layout guide with snapping and guide lines enabled.

C# - Vertical Guide

private void SetupVerticalGuide(SiticoneRuler ruler)
{
    ruler.Orientation = SiticoneRuler.RulerOrientation.Vertical;
    ruler.Dock = DockStyle.Left;
    ruler.Width = 60;
    
                // Enable Guide Lines to show alignment across the form
    ruler.ShowGuideLines = true;
    ruler.GuideLineColor = Color.Red;
    
                // Snap to ticks for precision
    ruler.SnapToTicks = true;
    
                // Aesthetics
    ruler.MarkerColor = Color.Red;
    ruler.TickColor = Color.DarkGray;
    ruler.BackColor = Color.WhiteSmoke;
}

Example 3: Dynamic Theming

Applying a dark theme programmatically.

C# - Dark Theme

public void ApplyDarkTheme(SiticoneRuler ruler)
{
    ruler.BackColor = Color.FromArgb(30, 30, 30);
    ruler.TickColor = Color.LightGray;
    ruler.ValueFont = new Font("Segoe UI", 10, FontStyle.Bold);
    ruler.ForeColor = Color.White; // Measurement Text Color
    
    ruler.MarkerColor = Color.Cyan;
    ruler.MarkerCircleColor = Color.DarkCyan;
    ruler.MarkerCircleBorderColor = Color.Cyan;
    
    ruler.SelectionColor = Color.FromArgb(40, Color.Cyan);
    ruler.GuideLineColor = Color.FromArgb(100, Color.White);
    
    ruler.Invalidate();
}