OmniDazzle: Wow Your Screen!

Every once in a while, there comes an app that can be extremely fun and very useful at the same time. One of these apps is called OmniDazzle from the OmniGroup. OmniDazzle is basically a bunch of plugins that highlights certain areas of your screen and to create some snazzy visual effects. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this tasteful review of OmniDazzle.

In the Beginning
When you first open OmniDazzle, you’ll find a relatively small window with a very familiar interface. OmniDazzle uses CoverFlow to display all available plugins. Simply click on one of the panels, and it slides to the center. Located at the bottom is a description and a box showing you how to activate it. For example: Pressing Control + ` when the Pixie Dust plug-in is selected activates it so you can now sprinkle pixie dust all over your screen.

Of course, there are other ways to activate said plugin. Clicking the Configuration tab allows you to select 3 different actions, all of which are fairly straightforward. One way is to choose any key combination you’d like. The default as explained above is Control + `. Another way to activate a plugin is to use the middle button on an Apple Mighty Mouse.

The last way to activate this plugin is to shake the mouse. This action is defined as simply moving the mouse left and right. You can choose the number of times you need to shake the mouse with a slider. Other plugins require you to use multiple keys such as Control + 1 for a certain setting and then Control + ` to reset. You’ll see why later on.

To the right of the activation settings in the Configuration tab are controls that you can tamper with to change different aspects of each plugin. For instance: To change the color of the Pixie Dust, click and change the two color wells to any color you want. You can also change the size and amount of dust. If you can’t remember the default settings, simply click on the gear to revert to the original settings.

The Plugins
Now that you know how to activate each plugin, I’m going to explain what each plugin is and how it can be useful or extremely fun.

Bullseye
This one is pretty easy to explain. Pressing Control + ` puts a big bullseye on your curser so that you can find your curser on a bigger screen. You can customize the size, number and the colors of the rings.

Comic
This one is mainly for play. Hit Control + ` to show a visual sound effect like “Smash” or “Ker-Thunk” over your curser. There are quite a lot of ways to customize this plug-in. You can add more sayings, change the scaling of each visual sound, and change the shadow direction and softness.

Cutout
This plugin is actually quite useful. Using the commands Control + 1 through 3, you can create a cut out of the selected screen dimming everything else. Shapes include a circle, ellipse, and rectangle. Customization includes the border style, cutout colors, and the rectangle’s rounded-corner radius.

Flashlight
This one is sort of a combination of Bullseye and Cutout. Press Control + ` to show a round area of light while the entire screen darkens. Much like shining a flashlight on your screen when the lights are off. You can change the size, color, and brightness of the flashlight as well as the ability to change the color of the darkness.

Focal Point
Focal point is an automated version of Cutout. Simply hover over an interface element and press Controll + `. Control + 1 allows you to switch between focusing on an element and focusing on the whole window that it’s located on. Control + 2 allows you to switch to the element your mouse is hovering on. Pressing Control + ` again deactivates the plugin. There isn’t much customization when it comes to this plugin. You can change the color and toggle the outside matting on and off, in addition to the border’s size and color.

Footprints
This is another fun plugin. Pressing Control + ` gives your mouse footprints. You can change the type of feet you mouse has and its the size and color. Each type of foot print has it’s own sound effect. You can lower the volume if you wish.

Scribble
This is basically an app inside of OmniDazzle. The Scribble plugin allows you to draw on your screen with different colors. Choose between different colors and pens with Control + 1 through 4. Press Control + ` to clear the screen. You can change the fill and outline color as well as the width for each different pen.

Sonar
Have you ever lost your mouse? Well, you could use the sonar plugin to search your screen. Your mouse appears as a tiny blip on a big sonar screen. You can change the ring radius, blip size, and the speed of your sonar.

Waves
This one looks much like an old windows screen saver. Use it to find your cursor by having it emit waves. Change the radius, wavelength, and amplitude of the waves if you like.

Zoom
Use this plugin to zoom in on anything on your screen. Press Control + 1 to bring up the cross hair cursor, and drag across the area on your screen to show a zoomed in picture of it in the middle of your screen. This comes in handy when showing a demo of an app on a projector. You can play with the border’s width and color, as well as the amount of magnification.

So there you have it. If you are doing a video podcast, tutorials, or any type of activity where you will be recording your interactions with the screen, OmniDazzle can add that extra “pzazz” that you need. OmniDazzle is available for purchase from OmniGroup at just $14.95 USD. Feel free to try the demo. It’s fully functional for about an hour of use.

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