NAME
       photo - Full-color images

SYNOPSIS
       image create photo ?name? ?options?


DESCRIPTION
       A  photo is an image whose pixels can display any color or
       be transparent.  A photo image  is  stored  internally  in
       full  color  (32  bits  per pixel), and is displayed using
       dithering if necessary.  Image data for a photo image  can
       be obtained from a file or a string, or it can be supplied
       from C code through a procedural interface.   At  present,
       only  GIF and PPM/PGM formats are supported, but an inter-
       face exists to allow additional image file formats  to  be
       added  easily.   A  photo  image is transparent in regions
       where no image data has been supplied.


CREATING PHOTOS
       Like all images, photos are created using the image create
       command.  Photos support the following options:

       -data string
              Specifies  the  contents  of the image as a string.
              The string  can  contain  base64  encoded  data  or
              binary  data.  The format of the string must be one
              of those for which there is an  image  file  format
              handler  that will accept string data.  If both the
              -data and -file options are  specified,  the  -file
              option takes precedence.

       -format format-name
              Specifies  the name of the file format for the data
              specified with the -data or -file option.

       -file name
              name gives the name of a file that is to be read to
              supply  data  for the photo image.  The file format
              must be one of those for which there  is  an  image
              file format handler that can read data.

       -gamma value
              Specifies  that the colors allocated for displaying
              this image in a window should be  corrected  for  a
              non-linear  display  with the specified gamma expo-
              nent value.  (The intensity produced  by  most  CRT
              displays is a power function of the input value, to
              a good approximation; gamma is the exponent and  is
              typically  around  2).  The value specified must be
              greater than zero.  The default value  is  one  (no
              correction).   In  general, values greater than one
              will make the image lighter, and values  less  than
              one will make it darker.

       -height number
              Specifies the height of the image, in pixels.  This
              option is useful primarily in situations where  the
              user  wishes  to build up the contents of the image
              piece by piece.  A  value  of  zero  (the  default)
              allows  the image to expand or shrink vertically to
              fit the data stored in it.

       -palette palette-spec
              Specifies the resolution of the color  cube  to  be
              allocated  for  displaying this image, and thus the
              number of colors used from  the  colormaps  of  the
              windows  where  it  is displayed.  The palette-spec
              string may be either a single decimal number, spec-
              ifying  the  number  of  shades  of gray to use, or
              three decimal numbers  separated  by  slashes  (/),
              specifying  the  number of shades of red, green and
              blue to use, respectively.  If the  first  form  (a
              single number) is used, the image will be displayed
              in monochrome (i.e., grayscale).

       -width number
              Specifies  the  width  of  the  image,  in  pixels.
              This option is useful primarily in situations where
              the user wishes to build up  the  contents  of  the
              image  piece  by  piece.   A  value  of  zero  (the
              default) allows the image to expand or shrink hori-
              zontally to fit the data stored in it.


IMAGE COMMAND
       When  a photo image is created, Tk also creates a new com-
       mand whose name is the same as the  image.   This  command
       may be used to invoke various operations on the image.  It
       has the following general form:
              imageName option ?arg arg ...?
       Option and the args determine the exact  behavior  of  the
       command.

       Those  options  that  write  data  to  the image generally
       expand the size of the image, if necessary, to accommodate
       the  data written to the image, unless the user has speci-
       fied non-zero values for the -width and/or -height config-
       uration  options,  in  which case the width and/or height,
       respectively, of the image will not be changed.

       The following commands are possible for photo images:

       imageName blank
              Blank the image; that is, set the entire  image  to
              have  no data, so it will be displayed as transpar-
              ent, and the background of whatever  window  it  is
              displayed in will show through.

       imageName cget option
              Returns  the  current  value  of  the configuration
              option given by option.  Option may have any of the
              values  accepted by the image create photo command.

       imageName configure ?option? ?value option value ...?
              Query or modify the configuration options  for  the
              image.   If  no option is specified, returns a list
              describing all of the available options for  image-
              Name  (see  Tk_ConfigureInfo for information on the
              format of this list).  If option is specified  with
              no  value, then the command returns a list describ-
              ing the one named option (this list will be identi-
              cal  to  the  corresponding  sublist  of  the value
              returned if no option is  specified).   If  one  or
              more  option-value  pairs  are  specified, then the
              command modifies the given option(s)  to  have  the
              given  value(s);   in this case the command returns
              an empty string.  Option may have any of the values
              accepted by the image create photo command.

       imageName copy sourceImage ?option value(s) ...?
              Copies  a  region from the image called sourceImage
              (which must be a photo image) to the  image  called
              imageName,  possibly with pixel zooming and/or sub-
              sampling.  If no options are specified,  this  com-
              mand  copies  the  whole of sourceImage into image-
              Name, starting at coordinates (0,0)  in  imageName.
              The following options may be specified:

              -from x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies  a  rectangular  sub-region of the
                     source image  to  be  copied.   (x1,y1)  and
                     (x2,y2)  specify diagonally opposite corners
                     of the rectangle.  If  x2  and  y2  are  not
                     specified,  the default value is the bottom-
                     right corner of the source image.  The  pix-
                     els  copied  will  include  the left and top
                     edges of the specified rectangle but not the
                     bottom  or right edges.  If the -from option
                     is not  given,  the  default  is  the  whole
                     source image.

              -to x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies  a  rectangular  sub-region of the
                     destination image to be  affected.   (x1,y1)
                     and (x2,y2) specify diagonally opposite cor-
                     ners of the rectangle.  If x2 and y2 are not
                     specified, the default value is (x1,y1) plus
                     the size of the source region (after subsam-
                     pling and zooming, if specified).  If x2 and
                     y2 are specified, the source region will  be
                     replicated if necessary to fill the destina-
                     tion region in a tiled fashion.

              -shrink
                     Specifies that the size of  the  destination
                     image  should  be  reduced, if necessary, so
                     that the region being copied into is at  the
                     bottom-right  corner  of  the  image.   This
                     option will not affect the width  or  height
                     of  the  image  if  the user has specified a
                     non-zero value for  the  -width  or  -height
                     configuration option, respectively.

              -zoom x y
                     Specifies  that  the source region should be
                     magnified by a factor of x in the  X  direc-
                     tion  and y in the Y direction.  If y is not
                     given, the default value is the same  as  x.
                     With  this  option, each pixel in the source
                     image will be expanded into a block of x x y
                     pixels  in  the  destination  image, all the
                     same color.  x and y must be greater than 0.

              -subsample x y
                     Specifies  that  the  source image should be
                     reduced in size  by  using  only  every  xth
                     pixel  in  the  X direction and yth pixel in
                     the Y direction.  Negative values will cause
                     the  image  to  be  flipped about the Y or X
                     axes, respectively.  If y is not given,  the
                     default value is the same as x.

       imageName data ?option value(s) ...?
              Returns  image  data  in  the form of a string. The
              following options may be specified:

              -background color
                     If the color is specified, the data will not
                     contain any transparency information. In all
                     transparent  pixels  the   color   will   be
                     replaced by the specified color.

              -format format-name
                     Specifies  the name of the image file format
                     handler to be used.  Specifically, this sub-
                     command searches for the first handler whose
                     name matches a initial substring of  format-
                     name  and  which  has the capability to read
                     this image data.   If  this  option  is  not
                     given,  this  subcommand uses the first han-
                     dler that has the  capability  to  read  the
                     image data.
              -from x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies  a rectangular region of imageName
                     to be returned.  If only x1 and y1 are spec-
                     ified,  the  region  extends from (x1,y1) to
                     the bottom-right corner  of  imageName.   If
                     all four coordinates are given, they specify
                     diagonally opposite corners of the rectangu-
                     lar  region,  including  x1,y1 and excluding
                     x2,y2.  The default, if this option  is  not
                     given, is the whole image.

              -grayscale
                     If  this options is specified, the data will
                     not contain  color  information.  All  pixel
                     data will be transformed into grayscale.

       imageName get x y
              Returns the color of the pixel at coordinates (x,y)
              in the image as a list of three integers between  0
              and  255, representing the red, green and blue com-
              ponents respectively.

       imageName put data ?option value(s) ...?
              Sets pixels in  imageName to the data specified  in
              data. This command first searches the list of image
              file format handlers for a handler that can  inter-
              pret  the data in data, and then reads the image in
              filename into imageName  (the  destination  image).
              The following options may be specified:

              -format format-name
                     Specifies  the  format  of the image data in
                     data.  Specifically, only image file  format
                     handlers  whose names begin with format-name
                     will be used while searching  for  an  image
                     data format handler to read the data.

              -from x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies  a  rectangular  sub-region of the
                     image file data to be returned. If  only  x1
                     and  y1  are  specified,  the region extends
                     from (x1,y1) to the bottom-right  corner  of
                     the  image  in  the image file.  If all four
                     coordinates  are  specified,  they   specify
                     diagonally  opposite  corners or the region.
                     The default, if this option  is  not  speci-
                     fied, is the whole of the image.

              -shrink
                     If  this  option, the size of imageName will
                     be reduced, if necessary, so that the region
                     into  which  the image file data are read is
                     at the bottom-right corner of the imageName.
                     This  option  will  not  affect the width or
                     height of the image if the user  has  speci-
                     fied  a  non-zero  value  for  the -width or
                     -height configuration option,  respectively.

              -to x y
                     Specifies  the  coordinates  of the top-left
                     corner of the region of imageName into which
                     data  from  filename  are  to  be read.  The
                     default is (0,0).

       imageName read filename ?option value(s) ...?
              Reads image data from the file named filename  into
              the image.  This command first searches the list of
              image file format handlers for a handler  that  can
              interpret  the data in filename, and then reads the
              image in filename into imageName  (the  destination
              image).  The following options may be specified:

              -format format-name
                     Specifies  the  format  of the image data in
                     filename.   Specifically,  only  image  file
                     format  handlers whose names begin with for-
                     mat-name will be used while searching for an
                     image  data format handler to read the data.

              -from x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies a rectangular  sub-region  of  the
                     image file data to be copied to the destina-
                     tion image.  If only x1 and  y1  are  speci-
                     fied, the region extends from (x1,y1) to the
                     bottom-right corner  of  the  image  in  the
                     image  file.   If  all  four coordinates are
                     specified, they specify diagonally  opposite
                     corners or the region.  The default, if this
                     option is not specified, is the whole of the
                     image in the image file.

              -shrink
                     If  this  option, the size of imageName will
                     be reduced, if necessary, so that the region
                     into  which  the image file data are read is
                     at the bottom-right corner of the imageName.
                     This  option  will  not  affect the width or
                     height of the image if the user  has  speci-
                     fied  a  non-zero  value  for  the -width or
                     -height configuration option,  respectively.

              -to x y
                     Specifies  the  coordinates  of the top-left
                     corner of the region of imageName into which
                     data  from  filename  are  to  be read.  The
                     default is (0,0).
       imageName redither
              The dithering algorithm used  in  displaying  photo
              images  propagates  quantization  errors  from  one
              pixel to its neighbors.  If the image data for ima-
              geName  is  supplied  in pieces, the dithered image
              may not be exactly correct.  Normally  the  differ-
              ence  is  not  noticeable,  but if it is a problem,
              this  command  can  be  used  to  recalculate   the
              dithered  image  in  each window where the image is
              displayed.

       imageName write filename ?option value(s) ...?
              Writes image data from imageName to  a  file  named
              filename.  The following options may be specified:

              -background color
                     If the color is specified, the data will not
                     contain any transparency information. In all
                     transparent   pixels   the   color  will  be
                     replaced by the specified color.

              -format format-name
                     Specifies the name of the image file  format
                     handler  to be used to write the data to the
                     file.    Specifically,    this    subcommand
                     searches  for  the  first handler whose name
                     matches a initial substring  of  format-name
                     and  which  has  the  capability to write an
                     image file.  If this option  is  not  given,
                     this  subcommand uses the first handler that
                     has the capability to write an image file.

              -from x1 y1 x2 y2
                     Specifies a rectangular region of  imageName
                     to be written to the image file.  If only x1
                     and y1 are  specified,  the  region  extends
                     from  (x1,y1)  to the bottom-right corner of
                     imageName.   If  all  four  coordinates  are
                     given, they specify diagonally opposite cor-
                     ners  of  the   rectangular   region.    The
                     default, if this option is not given, is the
                     whole image.

              -grayscale
                     If this options is specified, the data  will
                     not  contain  color  information.  All pixel
                     data will be transformed into grayscale.

IMAGE FORMATS
       The photo image code is structured to allow  handlers  for
       additional  image  file  formats  to be added easily.  The
       photo image code maintains a list of these handlers.  Han-
       dlers  are  added  to  the list by registering them with a
       call  to  Tk_CreatePhotoImageFormat.   The   standard   Tk
       distribution  comes with handlers for PPM/PGM and GIF for-
       mats, which are automatically  registered  on  initializa-
       tion.

       When reading an image file or processing string data spec-
       ified with the -data configuration option, the photo image
       code  invokes each handler in turn until one is found that
       claims to be able to read the data in the file or  string.
       Usually  this  will  find  the  correct handler, but if it
       doesn't, the user may give a format name with the  -format
       option to specify which handler to use.  In fact the photo
       image code will try those handlers whose names begin  with
       the  string specified for the -format option (the compari-
       son is case-insensitive).  For example, if the user speci-
       fies  -format gif, then a handler named GIF87 or GIF89 may
       be invoked, but a handler named  JPEG  may  not  (assuming
       that such handlers had been registered).

       When  writing  image data to a file, the processing of the
       -format option is slightly  different:  the  string  value
       given  for the -format option must begin with the complete
       name of the requested handler, and may contain  additional
       information following that, which the handler can use, for
       example, to specify which variant to use  of  the  formats
       supported by the handler.


COLOR ALLOCATION
       When  a  photo  image  is displayed in a window, the photo
       image code allocates colors to use to  display  the  image
       and  dithers the image, if necessary, to display a reason-
       able approximation to the image using the colors that  are
       available.  The colors are allocated as a color cube, that
       is, the number of colors allocated is the product  of  the
       number of shades of red, green and blue.

       Normally,  the  number of colors allocated is chosen based
       on the depth of the window.   For  example,  in  an  8-bit
       PseudoColor  window,  the photo image code will attempt to
       allocate seven shades of red, seven shades  of  green  and
       four  shades  of  blue,  for  a total of 198 colors.  In a
       1-bit StaticGray (monochrome) window, it will allocate two
       colors, black and white.  In a 24-bit DirectColor or True-
       Color window, it will allocate 256  shades  each  of  red,
       green  and  blue.   Fortunately,  because  of the way that
       pixel values can be combined in DirectColor and  TrueColor
       windows,  this  only  requires 256 colors to be allocated.
       If not all of the colors can be allocated, the photo image
       code  reduces  the  number of shades of each primary color
       and tries again.

       The user can exercise some control over the number of col-
       ors  that  a photo image uses with the -palette configura-
       tion option.  If this option is  used,  it  specifies  the
       maximum  number  of shades of each primary color to try to
       allocate.  It can also be used to force the  image  to  be
       displayed  in  shades of gray, even on a color display, by
       giving a single number rather than three numbers separated
       by slashes.


CREDITS
       The  photo image type was designed and implemented by Paul
       Mackerras, based on his earlier photo widget and some sug-
       gestions from John Ousterhout.


KEYWORDS
       photo, image, color
