Configuring Mike's Sprite Editor

Mike's Sprite Editor is meant to be a comfortable program as well as a useful one, and since everybody has different needs, there's an easy way to tweak the way the editor works. Simply select "Preferences" at the bottom of the Edit menu to bring up the Preferences Manager dialog box.

The Preferences Manager

The controls on this dialog are split into six pages. Each page has a specific function, so finding a setting is just a matter of moving to the page containing it.

General Options

On this page, you can configure the dimensions of the canvas created when the editor is first launched, the size of the editor's window, and the default options regarding the way the grid is displayed.

By checking the "Use last image's dimensions" checkbox, the editor will reuse your canvas' current size when creating a new canvas. This is also how MS Paint selects its initial image dimensions. Uncheck the box to set the dimensions yourself.

Normally, the editor's window is 1280px wide and 720px tall. However, you can change this initial size by entering new dimensions in the provided fields or selecting the "Remember the window's dimensions" checkbox. When checked, the editor remembers the window's dimensions and uses them when it loads next.

An additional option on this page allows you to adjust where the thumbnail, floating toolbox, and floating palette subwindows will appear. The values here are relative to the editor's main window, with 0,0 being the editor's upper right corner. Dialogs, like the ones used for filters or creating a new image, will always appear in the center of the editor's main window and aren't affected by this setting.

Path Options

The path options page allows you to specify where certain things may be located. For example, this is where you set your preferred palette or layout file. Leaving either field blank instructs the editor to use the default options.

Note: all three values may be relative paths. In this case, the editor will look for the files relative to the location of its executable file.

Grid Options

The grid options presented here are the options set when the editor starts. For more about how these work, see the page about the Grid Options dialog.

Keyboard Shortcuts

This page provides controls that allow you to change the  used by the editor. Click on the shortcut you want to change, then press the Change Shortcut or Reset Shortcut button to assign a new shortcut. You can use almost any key, as well as combinations of CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT.

Mouse Options

You can scroll the image by rotating the mouse wheel. The "Mouse Speed" option allows you to configure how far the image is moved with each adjustment. Larger numbers will move the image farther.

By default, scrolling up moves the image downwards and vice versa. Many programs, such as web browsers, will scroll the page the other way, so there's an option to reverse the scroll direction if you'd prefer it otherwise.

Verbosity Options

Like many programs out there, Mike's Sprite Editor can be a bit of a nag. There are a number of things that you might want to be warned about, and there are a number of extra messages printed to the console to make the output a little easier to read. Some options are also hidden by default.

Using the checkboxes on this page, you can configure which messages you want to see. Just remember that some of the warnings are there to stop you from accidentally losing your work, so hide them at your own risk.