Magick::Image Class

Quick Contents


Image is the primary object in Magick++ and represents a single image frame (see design). The STL interface must be used to operate on image sequences or images (e.g. of format GIF, TIFF, MIFF, Postscript, & MNG) which are comprized of multiple image frames. Individual frames of a multi-frame image may be requested by adding array-style notation to the end of the file name (e.g. "animation.gif[3]" retrieves the fourth frame of a GIF animation.  Various image manipulation operations may be applied to the image. Attributes may be set on the image to influence the operation of the manipulation operations. The Pixels class provides low-level access to image pixels. As a convenience, including <Magick++.h> is sufficient in order to use the complete Magick++ API. The Magick++ API is enclosed within the Magick namespace so you must either add the prefix "Magick::" to each class/enumeration name or add the statement "using namespace Magick;" after including the Magick++.h header.

The preferred way to allocate Image objects is via automatic allocation (on the stack). There is no concern that allocating Image objects on the stack will excessively enlarge the stack since Magick++ allocates all large data objects (such as the actual image data) from the heap. Use of automatic allocation is preferred over explicit allocation (via new) since it is much less error prone and allows use of C++ scoping rules to avoid memory leaks. Use of automatic allocation allows Magick++ objects to be assigned and copied just like the C++ intrinsic data types (e.g. 'int'), leading to clear and easy to read code. Use of automatic allocation leads to naturally exception-safe code since if an exception is thrown, the object is automatically deallocated once the stack unwinds past the scope of the allocation (not the case for objects allocated via new).

Image is very easy to use. For example, here is a the source to a program which reads an image, crops it, and writes it to a new file (the exception handling is optional but strongly recommended):

#include <Magick++.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
using namespace Magick;
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
  // Construct the image object. Seperating image construction from the
  // the read operation ensures that a failure to read the image file
  // doesn't render the image object useless.
  Image image;

  try {
    // Read a file into image object
    image.read( "girl.gif" );

    // Crop the image to specified size
    // (Geometry implicitly initialized by char *)
    image.crop("100x100+100+100" );

    // Write the image to a file
    image.write( "x.gif" );
  }
  catch( Exception &error_ )
    {
      cout << "Caught exception: " << error_.what() << endl;
      return 1;
    }
  return 0;
}

The following is the source to a program which illustrates the use of Magick++'s efficient reference-counted assignment and copy-constructor operations which minimize use of memory and eliminate unncessary copy operations (allowing Image objects to be efficiently assigned, and copied into containers).  The program accomplishes the following:
  1. Read master image.
  2. Assign master image to second image.
  3. Zoom second image to the size 640x480.
  4. Assign master image to a third image.
  5. Zoom third image to the size 800x600.
  6. Write the second image to a file.
  7. Write the third image to a file.
#include <Magick++.h>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
using namespace Magick;
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
    Image master("horse.jpg");
    Image second = master;
    second.zoom("640x480");
    Image third = master;
    third.zoom("800x600");
    second.write("horse640x480.jpg");
    third.write("horse800x600.jpg");
    return 0;
}
During the entire operation, a maximum of three images exist in memory and the image data is never copied.

The following is the source for another simple program which creates a 100 by 100 pixel white image with a red pixel in the center and writes it to a file:

#include <Magick++.h>
using namespace std;
using namespace Magick;
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
    Image image( "100x100", "white" );
    image.pixelColor( 49, 49, "red" );
    image.write( "red_pixel.png" );
    return 0;
}
If you wanted to change the color image to grayscale, you could add the lines:

    image.quantizeColorSpace( GRAYColorspace );
    image.quantizeColors( 256 );
    image.quantize( );

or, more simply:

    image.type( GrayscaleType );

prior to writing the image.

BLOBs

While encoded images (e.g. JPEG) are most often written-to and read-from a disk file, encoded images may also reside in memory. Encoded images in memory are known as BLOBs (Binary Large OBjects) and may be represented using the Blob class. The encoded image may be initially placed in memory by reading it directly from a file, reading the image from a database, memory-mapped from a disk file, or could be written to memory by Magick++. Once the encoded image has been placed within a Blob, it may be read into a Magick++ Image via a constructor or read(). Likewise, a Magick++ image may be written to a Blob via write().

An example of using Image to write to a Blob follows:
 

#include <Magick++.h>
using namespace std;
using namespace Magick;
int main(int argc,char **argv)
{
    // Read GIF file from disk
    Image image( "giraffe.gif" );

    // Write to BLOB in JPEG format
    Blob blob;
    image.magick( "JPEG" ) // Set JPEG output format
    image.write( &blob );

    [ Use BLOB data (in JPEG format) here ]

    return 0;
}


likewise, to read an image from a Blob, you could use one of the following examples:

[ Entry condition for the following examples is that data is pointer to encoded image data and length represents the size of the data ]

Blob blob( data, length );
Image image( blob );
or
Blob blob( data, length );
Image image;
image.read( blob);
some images do not contain their size or format so the size and format must be specified in advance:
Blob blob( data, length );
Image image;
image.size( "640x480")
image.magick( "RGBA" );
image.read( blob);

Constructors

Image may be constructed in a number of ways. It may be constructed from a file, a URL, or an encoded image (e.g. JPEG) contained in an in-memory BLOB. The available Image constructors are shown in the following table:
 
 
Image Constructors
Signature
Description
const std::string &imageSpec_ Construct Image by reading from file or URL specified by imageSpec_. Use array notation (e.g. filename[9]) to select a specific scene from a multi-frame image.
const Geometry &size_, const Color &color_ Construct a blank image canvas of specified size and color
const Blob &blob_ Construct Image by reading from encoded image data contained in an in-memory BLOB. Depending on the constructor arguments, the Blob size, depth, magick (format) may also be specified. Some image formats require that size be specified. The default ImageMagick uses for depth depends on the compiled-in Quantum size (8 or 16).  If ImageMagick's Quantum size does not match that of the image, the depth may need to be specified. ImageMagick can usually automatically detect the image's format. When a format can't be automatically detected, the format (magick) must be specified.
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size_
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size, unsigned int depth
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size, unsigned int depth_, const string &magick_
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size, const string &magick_
const unsigned int width_, 
const unsigned int height_,
std::string map_,
const StorageType type_,
const void *pixels_
Construct a new Image based on an array of image pixels. The pixel data must be in scanline order top-to-bottom. The data can be character, short int, integer, float, or double. Float and double require the pixels to be normalized [0..1]. The other types are [0..MaxRGB].  For example, to create a 640x480 image from unsigned red-green-blue character data, use

   Image image( 640, 480, "RGB", 0, pixels );

The parameters are as follows:
 
width_ Width in pixels of the image.
height_ Height in pixels of the image.
map_ This character string can be any combination or order of R = red, G = green, B = blue, A = alpha, C = cyan, Y = yellow M = magenta, and K = black. The ordering reflects the order of the pixels in the supplied pixel array.
type_ Pixel storage type (CharPixel, ShortPixel, IntegerPixel, FloatPixel, or DoublePixel)
pixels_ This array of values contain the pixel components as defined by the map_ and type_ parameters. The length of the arrays must equal the area specified by the width_ and height_ values and type_ parameters.

Image Manipulation Methods

Image supports access to all the single-image (versus image-list) manipulation operations provided by the ImageMagick library. If you must process a multi-image file (such as an animation), the STL interface, which provides a multi-image abstraction on top of Image, must be used.

Image manipulation methods are very easy to use.  For example:

Image image;
image.read("myImage.tiff");
image.addNoise(GaussianNoise);
image.write("myImage.tiff");
adds gaussian noise to the image file "myImage.tiff".

The operations supported by Image are shown in the following table:
 
Image Image Manipulation Methods
Method Signature(s) Description
addNoise
NoiseType noiseType_ Add noise to image with specified noise type.
annotate
const std::string &text_, const Geometry &location_ Annotate using specified text, and placement location
string text_, const Geometry &boundingArea_, GravityType gravity_ Annotate using specified text, bounding area, and placement gravity. If boundingArea_ is invalid, then bounding area is entire image.
const std::string &text_, const Geometry &boundingArea_, GravityType gravity_, double degrees_,  Annotate with text using specified text, bounding area, placement gravity, and rotation. If boundingArea_ is invalid, then bounding area is entire image.
const std::string &text_, GravityType gravity_ Annotate with text (bounding area is entire image) and placement gravity.
blur
const double radius_ = 1, const double sigma_ = 0.5 Blur image. The radius_ parameter specifies the radius of the Gaussian, in pixels, not counting the center pixel.  The sigma_ parameter specifies the standard deviation of the Laplacian, in pixels.
border
const Geometry &geometry_ = "6x6+0+0" Border image (add border to image).  The color of the border is specified by the borderColor attribute.
channel
ChannelType layer_ Extract channel from image. Use this option to extract a particular channel from  the image.  MatteChannel  for  example, is useful for extracting the opacity values from an image.
charcoal
const double radius_ = 1, const double sigma_ = 0.5 Charcoal effect image (looks like charcoal sketch). The radius_ parameter specifies the radius of the Gaussian, in pixels, not counting the center pixel.  The sigma_ parameter specifies the standard deviation of the Laplacian, in pixels.
chop
const Geometry &geometry_ Chop image (remove vertical or horizontal subregion of image)
colorize
const unsigned int opacityRed_, const unsigned int opacityGreen_, const unsigned int opacityBlue_, const Color &penColor_ Colorize image with pen color, using specified percent opacity for red, green, and blue quantums.
const unsigned int opacity_, const Color &penColor_ Colorize image with pen color, using specified percent opacity.
comment
const string &comment_ Comment image (add comment string to image).  By default, each image is commented with its file name. Use  this  method to  assign a specific comment to the image.  Optionally you can include the image filename, type, width, height, or other  image  attributes by embedding special format characters.
composite
const Image &compositeImage_, int xOffset_, int yOffset_, CompositeOperator compose_ = InCompositeOp Compose an image onto the current image at offset specified by xOffset_, yOffset_ using the composition algorithm specified by compose_
const Image &compositeImage_, const Geometry &offset_, CompositeOperator compose_ = InCompositeOp Compose an image onto the current image at offset specified by offset_ using the composition algorithm specified by compose_
const Image &compositeImage_, GravityType gravity_, CompositeOperator compose_ = InCompositeOp Compose an image onto the current image with placement specified by gravity_ using the composition algorithm specified by compose_
contrast
unsigned int sharpen_ Contrast image (enhance intensity differences in image)
convolve
unsigned int order_, const double *kernel_ Convolve image.  Applies a user-specfied convolution to the image. The order_ parameter represents the number of columns and rows in the filter kernel, and kernel_ is a two-dimensional array of doubles representing the convolution kernel to apply.
crop
const Geometry &geometry_ Crop image (subregion of original image)
cycleColormap
int amount_ Cycle image colormap
despeckle
void Despeckle image (reduce speckle noise)
display
void Display image on screen.
Caution: if an image format is is not compatable with the display visual (e.g. JPEG on a colormapped display) then the original image will be altered. Use a copy of the original if this is a problem.
draw
const Drawable &drawable_ Draw shape or text on image.
const std::list<Drawable> &drawable_ Draw shapes or text on image using a set of Drawable objects contained in an STL list. Use of this method improves drawing performance and allows batching draw objects together in a list for repeated use.
edge
unsigned int radius_ = 0.0 Edge image (hilight edges in image).  The radius is the radius of the pixel neighborhood.. Specify a radius of zero for automatic radius selection.
emboss
const double radius_ = 1, const double sigma_ = 0.5 Emboss image (hilight edges with 3D effect). The radius_ parameter specifies the radius of the Gaussian, in pixels, not counting the center pixel.  The sigma_ parameter specifies the standard deviation of the Laplacian, in pixels.
enhance
void Enhance image (minimize noise)
equalize
void Equalize image (histogram equalization)
erase
void Set all image pixels to the current background color.
flip
void Flip image (reflect each scanline in the vertical direction)
floodFill-
Color
unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_, const Color &fillColor_ Flood-fill color across pixels that match the color of the target pixel and are neighbors of the target pixel. Uses current fuzz setting when determining color match.
const Geometry &point_, const Color &fillColor_
unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_, const Color &fillColor_, const Color &borderColor_ Flood-fill color across pixels starting at target-pixel and stopping at pixels matching specified border color. Uses current fuzz setting when determining color match.
const Geometry &point_, const Color &fillColor_, const Color &borderColor_
floodFillOpacity const long x_, const long y_, const unsigned int opacity_, const PaintMethod method_ Floodfill pixels matching color (within fuzz factor) of target pixel(x,y) with replacement opacity value using method.
floodFill-
Texture
unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_,  const Image &texture_ Flood-fill texture across pixels that match the color of the target pixel and are neighbors of the target pixel. Uses current fuzz setting when determining color match.
const Geometry &point_, const Image &texture_
unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_, const Image &texture_, const Color &borderColor_ Flood-fill texture across pixels starting at target-pixel and stopping at pixels matching specified border color. Uses current fuzz setting when determining color match.
const Geometry &point_, const Image &texture_, const Color &borderColor_
flop
void  Flop image (reflect each scanline in the horizontal direction)
frame
const Geometry &geometry_ = "25x25+6+6" Add decorative frame around image
unsigned int width_, unsigned int height_, int x_, int y_, int innerBevel_ = 0, int outerBevel_ = 0
gamma
double gamma_ Gamma correct image (uniform red, green, and blue correction).
double gammaRed_, double gammaGreen_, double gammaBlue_ Gamma correct red, green, and blue channels of image.
gaussianBlur
const double width_, const double sigma_ Gaussian blur image. The number of neighbor pixels to be included in the convolution mask is specified by 'width_'.  For example, a width of one gives a (standard) 3x3 convolution mask. The standard deviation of the gaussian bell curve is specified by 'sigma_'.
implode
const double factor_ Implode image (special effect)
label
const string &label_ Assign a label to an image. Use this option to  assign  a  specific label to the image. Optionally you can include the image filename, type, width, height, or scene number in the label by embedding  special format characters. If the first character of string is @, the image label is read from a file titled by the remaining characters in the string. When converting to Postscript, use this  option to specify a header string to print above the image.
magnify
void Magnify image by integral size
map
const Image &mapImage_ , bool dither_ = false Remap image colors with closest color from reference image. Set dither_ to true in to apply Floyd/Steinberg error diffusion to the image. By default, color reduction chooses an optimal  set  of colors that best represent the original image. Alternatively, you can  choose  a  particular  set  of colors  from  an image file with this option.
matteFloodfill
const Color &target_, const unsigned int  opacity_, const int x_, const int y_, PaintMethod method_ Floodfill designated area with a replacement opacity value.
medianFilter const double radius_ = 0.0 Filter image by replacing each pixel component with the median color in a circular neighborhood
minify
void Reduce image by integral size
modifyImage void Prepare to update image. Ensures that there is only one reference to the underlying image so that the underlying image may be safely modified without effecting previous generations of the image. Copies the underlying image to a new image if necessary.
modulate
double brightness_, double saturation_, double hue_ Modulate percent hue, saturation, and brightness of an image
negate
bool grayscale_ = false Negate colors in image.  Replace every pixel with its complementary color (white becomes black, yellow becomes blue, etc.).  Set grayscale to only negate grayscale values in image.
normalize
void Normalize image (increase contrast by normalizing the pixel values to span the full range of color values).
oilPaint
unsigned int radius_ = 3 Oilpaint image (image looks like oil painting)
opacity
unsigned int opacity_ Set or attenuate the opacity channel in the image. If the image pixels are opaque then they are set to the specified opacity value, otherwise they are blended with the supplied opacity value.  The value of opacity_ ranges from 0 (completely opaque) to MaxRGB. The defines OpaqueOpacity and TransparentOpacity are available to specify completely opaque or completely transparent, respectively.
opaque
const Color &opaqueColor_, const Color &penColor_ Change color of pixels matching opaqueColor_ to specified penColor_.
ping
const std::string &imageSpec_ Ping is similar to read except only enough of the image is read to determine the image columns, rows, and filesize.  The columns, rows, and fileSize attributes are valid after invoking ping.  The image data is not valid after calling ping.
const Blob &blob_
quantize
bool measureError_ = false Quantize image (reduce number of colors). Set measureError_ to true in order to calculate error attributes.
raise
const Geometry &geometry_ = "6x6+0+0",  bool raisedFlag_ =  false Raise image (lighten or darken the edges of an image to give a 3-D raised or lowered effect)
read
const string &imageSpec_ Read image into current object
const Geometry &size_, const std::string &imageSpec_ Read image of specified size into current object. This form is useful for images that do not specifiy their size or to specify a size hint for decoding an image. For example, when reading a Photo CD, JBIG, or JPEG image, a size request causes the library to return an image which is the next resolution greater or equal to the specified size. This may result in memory and time savings.
const Blob &blob_ Read encoded image of specified size from an in-memory BLOB into current object. Depending on the method arguments, the Blob size, depth, and format may also be specified. Some image formats require that size be specified. The default ImageMagick uses for depth depends on its Quantum size (8 or 16).  If ImageMagick's Quantum size does not match that of the image, the depth may need to be specified. ImageMagick can usually automatically detect the image's format. When a format can't be automatically detected, the format must be specified.
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size_
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size_, unsigned int depth_
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size_, unsigned short depth_, const string &magick_ 
const Blob &blob_, const Geometry &size_, const string &magick_
const unsigned int width_, const unsigned int height_, std::string map_, const StorageType type_, const void *pixels_ Read image based on an array of image pixels. The pixel data must be in scanline order top-to-bottom. The data can be character, short int, integer, float, or double. Float and double require the pixels to be normalized [0..1]. The other types are [0..MaxRGB].  For example, to create a 640x480 image from unsigned red-green-blue character data, use

  image.read( 640, 480, "RGB", 0, pixels );

The parameters are as follows:
 
width_ Width in pixels of the image.
height_ Height in pixels of the image.
map_ This character string can be any combination or order of R = red, G = green, B = blue, A = alpha, C = cyan, Y = yellow M = magenta, and K = black. The ordering reflects the order of the pixels in the supplied pixel array.
type_ Pixel storage type (CharPixel, ShortPixel, IntegerPixel, FloatPixel, or DoublePixel)
pixels_ This array of values contain the pixel components as defined by the map_ and type_ parameters. The length of the arrays must equal the area specified by the width_ and height_ values and type_ parameters.

reduceNoise
void Reduce noise in image using a noise peak elimination filter.
unsigned int order_
roll
int columns_, int rows_ Roll image (rolls image vertically and horizontally) by specified number of columnms and rows)
rotate
double degrees_ Rotate image counter-clockwise by specified number of degrees.
sample
const Geometry &geometry_  Resize image by using pixel sampling algorithm
scale
const Geometry &geometry_ Resize image by using simple ratio algorithm
segment
double clusterThreshold_ = 1.0,
double smoothingThreshold_ = 1.5
Segment (coalesce similar image components) by analyzing the histograms of the color components and identifying units that are homogeneous with the fuzzy c-means technique. Also uses quantizeColorSpace and verbose image attributes. Specify clusterThreshold_, as the number  of  pixels  each cluster  must exceed the cluster threshold to be considered valid. SmoothingThreshold_ eliminates noise in the  second derivative of the histogram. As the value is  increased, you can  expect  a  smoother second derivative.  The default is 1.5.
shade
double azimuth_ = 30, double elevation_ = 30,
bool colorShading_ = false
Shade image using distant light source. Specify azimuth_ and elevation_ as the  position  of  the light source. By default, the shading results as a grayscale image.. Set colorShading_ to true to shade the red, green, and blue components of the image.
sharpen
const double radius_ = 1, const double sigma_ = 0.5 Sharpen pixels in image.  The radius_ parameter specifies the radius of the Gaussian, in pixels, not counting the center pixel.  The sigma_ parameter specifies the standard deviation of the Laplacian, in pixels.
shave
const Geometry &geometry_ Shave pixels from image edges.
shear
double xShearAngle_, double yShearAngle_ Shear image (create parallelogram by sliding image by X or Y axis).  Shearing slides one edge of an image along the X  or  Y axis,  creating  a parallelogram.  An X direction shear slides an edge along the X axis, while  a  Y  direction shear  slides  an edge along the Y axis.  The amount of the shear is controlled by a shear angle.  For X direction  shears,  x  degrees is measured relative to the Y axis, and similarly, for Y direction shears  y  degrees is measured relative to the X axis. Empty triangles left over from shearing the  image  are filled  with  the  color  defined as borderColor
solarize
double factor_ = 50.0 Solarize image (similar to effect seen when exposing a photographic film to light during the development process)
spread
unsigned int amount_ = 3 Spread pixels randomly within image by specified amount
stegano
const Image &watermark_ Add a digital watermark to the image (based on second image)
stereo
const Image &rightImage_ Create an image which appears in stereo when viewed with red-blue glasses (Red image on left, blue on right)
swirl
double degrees_ Swirl image (image pixels are rotated by degrees)
texture
const Image &texture_ Layer a texture on pixels matching image background color.
threshold
double threshold_ Threshold image
transform
const Geometry &imageGeometry_ Transform image based on image and crop geometries. Crop geometry is optional.
const Geometry &imageGeometry_, const Geometry &cropGeometry_ 
transparent
const Color &color_ Add matte image to image, setting pixels matching color to transparent.
trim
void Trim edges that are the background color from the image.
unsharpmask
double radius_, double sigma_, double amount_, double threshold_ Replace image with a sharpened version of the original image using the unsharp mask algorithm. The radius_ parameter specifies the radius of the Gaussian, in pixels, not counting the center pixel. The sigma_ parameter specifies the standard deviation of the Gaussian, in pixels. The amount_ parameter specifies the percentage of the difference between the original and the blur image that is added back into the original. The threshold_ parameter specifies the threshold in pixels needed to apply the diffence amount.
wave
double amplitude_ = 25.0, double wavelength_ = 150.0 Alter an image along a sine wave.
write
const string &imageSpec_ Write image to a file using filename imageSpec_.
Caution: if an image format is selected which is capable of supporting fewer colors than the original image or quantization has been requested, the original image will be quantized to fewer colors. Use a copy of the original if this is a problem.
Blob *blob_ Write image to a in-memory BLOBstored in blob_. The magick_ parameter specifies the image format to write (defaults to magick ). The depth_ parameter species the image depth (defaults to depth).
Caution: if an image format is selected which is capable of supporting fewer colors than the original image or quantization has been requested, the original image will be quantized to fewer colors. Use a copy of the original if this is a problem.
Blob *blob_, std::string &magick_
Blob *blob_, std::string &magick_, unsigned int depth_
const int x_, const int y_, const unsigned int columns_, const unsigned int rows_, const std::string &map_, const StorageType type_, void *pixels_ Write pixel data into a buffer you supply. The data is saved either as char, short int, integer, float or double format in the order specified by the type_ parameter. For example, we want to extract scanline 1 of a 640x480 image as character data in red-green-blue order:

  image.write(0,0,640,1,"RGB",0,pixels);

The parameters are as follows:
 
x_ Horizontal ordinate of left-most coordinate of region to extract.
y_ Vertical ordinate of top-most coordinate of region to extract.
columns_ Width in pixels of the region to extract.
rows_ Height in pixels of the region to extract.
map_ This character string can be any combination or order of R = red, G = green, B = blue, A = alpha, C = cyan, Y = yellow, M = magenta, and K = black. The ordering reflects the order of the pixels in the supplied pixel array.
type_ Pixel storage type (CharPixel, ShortPixel, IntegerPixel, FloatPixel, or DoublePixel)
pixels_ This array of values contain the pixel components as defined by the map_ and type_ parameters. The length of the arrays must equal the area specified by the width_ and height_ values and type_ parameters.

zoom
const Geometry &geometry_ Zoom image to specified size.

Image Attributes

Image attributes are set and obtained via methods in Image. Except for methods which accept pointer arguments (e.g. chromaBluePrimary) all methods return attributes by value.

Image attributes are easily used. For example, to set the resolution of the TIFF file "file.tiff" to 150 dots-per-inch (DPI) in both the horizontal and vertical directions, you can use the following example code:

string filename("file.tiff");
Image image;
image.read(filename);
image.resolutionUnits(PixelsPerInchResolution);
image.density(Geometry(150,150));   // could also use image.density("150x150")
image.write(filename)
The supported image attributes and the method arguments required to obtain them are shown in the following table:
 
Image Image Attributes
Attribute
Type
Get Signature
Set Signature
Description
adjoin
bool void bool flag_ Join images into a single multi-image file.
antiAlias
bool void bool flag_ Control antialiasing of rendered Postscript and Postscript or TrueType fonts. Enabled by default.
animation-
Delay
unsigned int (0 to 65535) void unsigned int delay_ Time in 1/100ths of a second (0 to 65535) which must expire before displaying the next image in an animated sequence. This option is useful for regulating the animation of a sequence  of GIF images within Netscape.
animation-
Iterations
unsigned int void unsigned int iterations_ Number of iterations to loop an animation (e.g. Netscape loop extension) for.
background-
Color
Color void const Color &color_ Image background color
background-
Texture
string void const string &texture_ Image file name to use as the background texture. Does not modify image pixels.
baseColumns
unsigned int void   Base image width (before transformations)
baseFilename
string void   Base image filename (before transformations)
baseRows
unsigned int void   Base image height (before transformations)
borderColor
Color void  const Color &color_ Image border color
boundingBox Geometry void   Return smallest bounding box enclosing non-border pixels. The current fuzz value is used when discriminating between pixels. This is the crop bounding box used by crop(Geometry(0,0)).
boxColor
Color void const Color &boxColor_ Base color that annotation text is rendered on.
cacheThreshold const unsigned int   const int Pixel cache threshold in megabytes. Once this threshold is exceeded, all subsequent pixels cache operations are to/from disk. This is a static method and the attribute it sets is shared by all Image objects.
chroma-
BluePrimary
double x & y double *x_, double *y_ double x_, double y_ Chromaticity blue primary point (e.g. x=0.15, y=0.06)
chroma-
GreenPrimary
double x & y double *x_, double *y_ double x_, double y_ Chromaticity green primary point (e.g. x=0.3, y=0.6)
chroma-
RedPrimary
double x & y double *x_, double *y_ double x_, double y_ Chromaticity red primary point (e.g. x=0.64, y=0.33)
chroma-
WhitePoint
double x & y double*x_, double *y_ double x_, double y_ Chromaticity white point (e.g. x=0.3127, y=0.329)
classType
ClassType void  ClassType class_ Image storage class.  Note that conversion from a DirectClass image to a PseudoClass image may result in a loss of color due to the limited size of the palette (256 or 65535 colors).
clipMask
Image void const Image &clipMask_ Associate a clip mask image with the current image. The clip mask image must have the same dimensions as the current image or an exception is thrown. Clipping occurs wherever pixels are transparent in the clip mask image. Clipping Pass an invalid image to unset an existing clip mask.
colorFuzz
double void double fuzz_ Colors within this distance are considered equal. A number of algorithms search for a target  color. By default the color must be exact. Use this option to match colors that are close to the target color in RGB space.
colorMap
Color unsigned int index_ unsigned int index_, const Color &color_ Color at color-pallet index.
colorSpace
ColorspaceType colorSpace_ void ColorspaceType colorSpace_ The colorspace (e.g. CMYK) used to represent the image pixel colors. Image pixels are always stored as RGB(A) except for the case of CMY(K).
columns
unsigned int void   Image width
comment
string void   Image comment
compress-
Type
CompressionType void CompressionType compressType_ Image compresion type. The default is the compression type of the specified image file.
debug
bool void bool flag_ Enable printing of internal debug messages from ImageMagick as it executes.
density
Geometry  (default 72x72) void const Geometry &density_ Vertical and horizontal resolution in pixels of the image. This option specifies an image density when decoding a Postscript or Portable Document page. Often used with psPageSize.
depth
 unsigned int (8 or 16) void unsigned int depth_ Image depth. Used to specify the bit depth when reading or writing  raw images or when the output format supports multiple depths. Defaults to the quantum depth that ImageMagick is compiled with.
endian
EndianType void EndianType endian_ Specify (or obtain) endian option for formats which support it.
directory
string void   Tile names from within an image montage
fileName
string void const string &fileName_ Image file name.
fileSize
off_t void   Number of bytes of the image on disk
fillColor
Color void const Color &fillColor_ Color to use when filling drawn objects
fillPattern
Image void const Image &fillPattern_ Pattern image to use when filling drawn objects.
fillRule
FillRule void const Magick::FillRule &fillRule_ Rule to use when filling drawn objects.
filterType
FilterTypes void FilterTypes filterType_ Filter to use when resizing image. The reduction filter employed has a sigificant effect on the time required to resize an image and the resulting quality. The default filter is Lanczos which has been shown to produce high quality results when reducing most images.
font
string void const string &font_ Text rendering font. If the font is a fully qualified X server font name, the font is obtained from an X  server. To use a TrueType font, precede the TrueType filename with an @. Otherwise, specify  a  Postscript font name (e.g. "helvetica").
fontPointsize
unsigned int void unsigned int pointSize_ Text rendering font point size
fontTypeMetrics
TypeMetric const std::string &text_, TypeMetric *metrics   Update metrics with font type metrics using specified text, and current font and fontPointSize settings.
format
string void   Long form image format description.
gamma
double (typical range 0.8 to 2.3) void   Gamma level of the image. The same color image displayed on two different  workstations  may  look  different due to differences in the display monitor.  Use gamma correction  to  adjust  for this  color  difference.
geometry
Geometry void   Preferred size of the image when encoding.
gifDispose-
Method
unsigned int
{ 0 = Disposal not specified,
1 = Do not dispose of graphic,
3 = Overwrite graphic with background color,
4 = Overwrite graphic with previous graphic. }
void unsigned int disposeMethod_ GIF disposal method. This option is used to control how successive frames are rendered (how the preceding frame is disposed of) when creating a GIF animation.
iccColorProfile
Blob void const Blob &colorProfile_ ICC color profile. Supplied via a Blob since Magick++/ and ImageMagick do not currently support formating this data structure directly.  Specifications are available from the International Color Consortium for the format of ICC color profiles.
interlace-
Type
InterlaceType void InterlaceType interlace_ The type of interlacing scheme (default NoInterlace). This option is used to specify the type of  interlacing scheme  for  raw  image formats such as RGB or YUV. NoInterlace means do not  interlace, LineInterlace uses scanline interlacing, and PlaneInterlace uses plane interlacing. PartitionInterlace is like PlaneInterlace except the  different planes  are saved  to individual files (e.g.  image.R, image.G, and image.B). Use LineInterlace or PlaneInterlace to create an interlaced GIF or progressive JPEG image.
iptcProfile
Blob void const Blob& iptcProfile_ IPTC profile. Supplied via a Blob since Magick++ and ImageMagick do not currently  support formating this data structure directly. Specifications are available from the International Press Telecommunications Council for IPTC profiles.
label
string void const string &label_ Image label
magick
string void  const string &magick_ Get image format (e.g. "GIF")
matte
bool void bool matteFlag_ True if the image has transparency. If set True, store matte channel if  the image has one otherwise create an opaque one.
matteColor
Color void const Color &matteColor_ Image matte (transparent) color
meanError-
PerPixel
double void   The mean error per pixel computed when an image is color reduced. This parameter is only valid if verbose is set to true and the image has just been quantized.
monochrome
bool void bool flag_ Transform the image to black and white
montage-
Geometry
Geometry void   Tile size and offset within an image montage. Only valid for montage images.
normalized-
MaxError
double void   The normalized max error per pixel computed when an image is color reduced. This parameter is only valid if verbose is set to true and the image has just been quantized.
normalized-
MeanError
double void   The normalized mean error per pixel computed when an image is color reduced. This parameter is only valid if verbose is set to true and the image has just been quantized.
packets
unsigned int void   The number of runlength-encoded packets in
the image
packetSize
unsigned int void   The number of bytes in each pixel packet
page
Geometry void const Geometry &pageSize_ Preferred size and location of an image canvas.

Use this option to specify the dimensions and position of the Postscript page in dots per inch or a TEXT page in pixels. This option is typically used in concert with density.

Page may also be used to position a GIF image (such as for a scene in an animation)

pixelColor
Color unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_ unsigned int x_, unsigned int y_, const Color &color_ Get/set pixel color at location x & y.
quality
unsigned int (0 to 100) void unsigned int quality_ JPEG/MIFF/PNG compression level (default 75).
quantize-
Colors
unsigned int void unsigned int colors_ Preferred number of colors in the image. The actual number of colors in the image may be less than your request, but never more. Images with less unique colors than specified with this option will have any duplicate or unused colors removed.
quantize-
ColorSpace
ColorspaceType void ColorspaceType colorSpace_ Colorspace to quantize colors in (default RGB). Empirical evidence suggests that distances in color spaces such as YUV or YIQ correspond to perceptual color differences more closely than do distances in RGB space. These color spaces may give better results when color reducing an image.
quantize-
Dither
bool void bool flag_ Apply Floyd/Steinberg error diffusion to the image. The basic strategy of dithering is to  trade  intensity resolution  for  spatial  resolution  by  averaging the intensities  of  several  neighboring  pixels. Images which  suffer  from  severe  contouring  when  reducing colors can be improved with this option. The quantizeColors or monochrome option must be set for this option to take effect.
quantize-
TreeDepth
unsigned int  void unsigned int treeDepth_ Depth of the quantization color classification tree. Values of 0 or 1 allow selection of the optimal tree depth for the color reduction algorithm. Values between 2 and 8 may be used to manually adjust the tree depth.
rendering-
Intent
RenderingIntent void RenderingIntent render_ The type of rendering intent
resolution-
Units
ResolutionType void ResolutionType units_ Units of image resolution
rows
unsigned int void   The number of pixel rows in the image
scene
unsigned int void unsigned int scene_ Image scene number
signature
string bool force_ = false   Image MD5 signature. Set force_ to 'true' to force re-computation of signature.
size
Geometry void const Geometry &geometry_ Width and height of a raw image (an image which does not support width and height information).  Size may also be used to affect the image size read from a multi-resolution format (e.g. Photo CD, JBIG, or JPEG.
strokeAntiAlias
bool void bool flag_ Enable or disable anti-aliasing when drawing object outlines.
strokeColor
Color void const Color &strokeColor_ Color to use when drawing object outlines
strokeDashOffset
unsigned int void double strokeDashOffset_ While drawing using a dash pattern, specify distance into the dash pattern to start the dash (default 0).
strokeDashArray
const double* void const double* strokeDashArray_ Specify the pattern of dashes and gaps used to stroke paths. The strokeDashArray represents a zero-terminated array of numbers that specify the lengths (in pixels) of alternating dashes and gaps in user units. If an odd number of values is provided, then the list of values is repeated to yield an even number of values.  A typical strokeDashArray_ array might contain the members 5 3 2 0, where the zero value indicates the end of the pattern array.
strokeLineCap
LineCap void LineCap lineCap_ Specify the shape to be used at the corners of paths (or other vector shapes) when they are stroked. Values of LineJoin are UndefinedJoin, MiterJoin, RoundJoin, and BevelJoin.
strokeLineJoin
LineJoin void LineJoin lineJoin_ Specify the shape to be used at the corners of paths (or other vector shapes) when they are stroked. Values of LineJoin are UndefinedJoin, MiterJoin, RoundJoin, and BevelJoin.
strokeMiterLimit
unsigned int void unsigned int miterLimit_ Specify miter limit. When two line segments meet at a sharp angle and miter joins have been specified for 'lineJoin', it is possible for the miter to extend far beyond the thickness of the line stroking the path. The miterLimit' imposes a limit on the ratio of the miter length to the 'lineWidth'. The default value of this parameter is 4.
strokeWidth
double void double strokeWidth_ Stroke width for use when drawing vector objects (default one)
strokePattern
Image void const Image &strokePattern_ Pattern image to use while drawing object stroke (outlines).
subImage
unsigned int void unsigned int subImage_ Subimage of an image sequence
subRange
unsigned int void unsigned int subRange_ Number of images relative to the base image
tileName
string void const string &tileName_ Tile name
totalColors
unsigned long void   Number of colors in the image
type
ImageType void ImageType Image type.
verbose
bool void bool verboseFlag_ Print detailed information about the image
view
string void const string &view_ FlashPix viewing parameters.
x11Display
string (e.g. "hostname:0.0") void const string &display_ X11 display to display to, obtain fonts from, or to capture image from
xResolution
double void   x resolution of the image
yResolution
double void   y resolution of the image

Raw Image Pixel Access

Image pixels (of type PixelPacket) may be accessed directly via the Image Pixel Cache.  The image pixel cache is a rectangular window into the actual image pixels (which may be in memory, memory-mapped from a disk file, or entirely on disk). Two interfaces exist to access the Image Pixel Cache. The interface described here (part of the Image class) supports only one view at a time. See the Pixels class for a more abstract interface which supports simultaneous pixel views (up to the number of rows). As an analogy, the interface described here relates to the Pixels class as stdio's gets() relates to fgets(). The Pixels class provides the more general form of the interface.

Obtain existing image pixels via getPixels(). Create a new pixel region using setPixels().

Depending on the capabilities of the operating system, and the relationship of the window to the image, the pixel cache may be a copy of the pixels in the selected window, or it may be the actual image pixels. In any case calling syncPixels() insures that the base image is updated with the contents of the modified pixel cache. The method readPixels() supports copying foreign pixel data formats into the pixel cache according to the QuantumTypes. The method writePixels() supports copying the pixels in the cache to a foreign pixel representation according to the format specified by QuantumTypes.

The pixel region is effectively a small image in which the pixels may be accessed, addressed, and updated, as shown in the following example:
Image image("cow.png");
// Obtain pixel region with size 60x40, and top origin at 20x30
int columns = 60;
PixelPacket *pixel_cache = image.GetPixels(20,30,columns,40);
// Set pixel at column 5, and row 10 in the pixel cache to red.
int column = 5;
int row = 10;
PixelPacket *pixel = pixel_cache+row*columns*sizeof(PixelPacket)+column;
pixel = Color("red");
// Save updated pixel cache back to underlying image
image.syncPixels();
image.write("horse.png");

The image cache supports the following methods:
 
Image Cache Methods
Method
Returns
Signature
Description
getConstPixels
const PixelPacket* const int x_, const int y_, const unsigned int columns_, const unsigned int rows_ Transfers pixels from the image to the pixel cache as defined by the specified rectangular region. 
getConstIndexes
const IndexPacket* void Returns a pointer to the Image pixel indexes. Only valid for PseudoClass images or CMYKA images. The pixel indexes represent an array of type IndexPacket, with each entry corresponding to an x,y pixel position. For PseudoClass images, the entry's value is the offset into the colormap (see colorMap) for that pixel. For CMYKA images, the indexes are used to contain the alpha channel.
getIndexes
IndexPacket* void Returns a pointer to the Image pixel indexes corresponding to the pixel region requested by the last getConstPixels, getPixels, or setPixels call. Only valid for PseudoClass images or CMYKA images. The pixel indexes represent an array of type IndexPacket, with each entry corresponding to a pixel x,y position. For PseudoClass images, the entry's value is the offset into the colormap (see colorMap)  for that pixel. For CMYKA images, the indexes are used to contain the alpha channel.
getPixels
PixelPacket* const int x_, const int y_, const unsigned int columns_, const unsigned int rows_ Transfers pixels from the image to the pixel cache as defined by the specified rectangular region. Modified pixels may be subsequently transferred back to the image via syncPixels.
setPixels
PixelPacket* const int x_, const int y_, const unsigned int columns_, const unsigned int rows_ Allocates a pixel cache region to store image pixels as defined by the region rectangle.  This area is subsequently transferred from the pixel cache to the image via syncPixels.
syncPixels
void void Transfers the image cache pixels to the image.
readPixels
void QuantumTypes quantum_, unsigned char *source_, Transfers one or more pixel components from a buffer or file into the image pixel cache of an image. ReadPixels is typically used to support image decoders.
writePixels
void QuantumTypes quantum_, unsigned char *destination_ Transfers one or more pixel components from the image pixel cache to a buffer or file. WritePixels is typically used to support image encoders.