CBitmapEx - Free C++ Bitmap Manipulation Class

• Download CBitmapEx source - 31.2 KB
• Download Effector source - 3.41 MB

Introduction

This article is about the 'simple' C++ bitmap manipulation class called CBitmapEx. Many times I have faced myself with the fact that the MFC library offers nothing more to read the bitmap files, but the CBitmap class with very limited features. I needed features like scale, rotate, apply different filters etc. but it was just not there. Another class, the CDC class (device context), offered some more options like stretching, transparency and alpha blending, but it was just too slow (proven many times by many different people).

So, my decision was to write another (yes, another) bitmap manipulation class that would not be MFC dependent, and would offer some extended features not present in the original MFC implementation. This class can load any 8, 16, 24 or 32bit bitmap, but internally works with 32bit bitmaps. The results can be saved as the 24bit bitmap on the hard disk, or it can be drawn on the provided device context (DC).

Background

There are many articles here on Code Project considering this topic, so feel free to browse for them and compare the final results with this implementation.

Using the Code

Using this class is very simply, see below:

#include "BitmapEx.h"

// Load bitmap
CBitmapEx bitmapEx;
bitmapEx.Load(_T("Enter bitmap source file path here..."));

// Do whatever you need to do here

bitmapEx.Rotate(45);
bitmapEx.Sepia();
bitmapEx.Scale(50, 50);

// Draw the results on the screen (get hDC somewhere else)
bitmapEx.Draw(hDC);

// Save bitmap
bitmapEx.Save(_T("Enter bitmap destination file path here..."));

There are many public methods available. Please read the rest of the text which explains them all.

Create/Load/Save Bitmap

You can use this class to load any 8bpp to 32bpp bitmap from the hard disk or the memory stream. Also, you can load any bitmap from the Windows HBITMAP handle, but ih has to have more then 8bpp. The class will convert it to the internaly used 32bpp bitmap. After saving, the bitmap will be converted again to the 24bpp bitmap and will be saved to the hard disk or the memory stream. You can also save it to the HBITMAP handle as 32bpp bitmap. You can also create a blank (empty) bitmap using the methods provided.

To create/load/save bitmap to the hard disk or a memory stream, or the HBITMAP handle use the following methods:

void Create(long width, long height);
void Create(CBitmapEx& bitmapEx);
void Create(CBitmapEx* pBitmapEx);
void Load(LPTSTR lpszBitmapFile);
void Load(LPBYTE lpBitmapData);
void Load(HBITMAP hBitmap);
void Save(LPTSTR lpszBitmapFile);
void Save(LPBYTE lpBitmapData);
void Save(HBITMAP& hBitmap);

Using the first method you can create the bitmap of almost any size (well, available RAM could be the limiting factor). This is a general 'blank bitmap'. Using the second and the third method you can create new bitmap from the existing one (this is simulating the so called 'copy constructor'). In this way you actually copy the existing bitmap in the memory. This could be useful when you do some bitmap filtering and you need the original bitmap backup. The next three methods give you an option to load the bitmap from the file or memory stream, or the HBITMAP. And finally, the last three methods provide you a simple way to save the bitmap to the file or memory stream or to the HBITMAP handle. Loading and saving the bitmap from/to the file stream (on the local or network drive) is a general operation. However, if you prefer having the dynamical images (generated in the memory) to be used by some web-server, loading and saving from/to some memory stream could be an option for you. If you need the results embeded inside the HBITMAP handle then use the appropriate methods.

General Transformation Methods

This class offers some general bitmap transformation methods like scaling, rotation, cropping, flipping and mirroring. During the scaling and rotation operation the bitmap details could get lost, so the three basic interpolation methods are implemented:

• Nearest neighbour (fastest, no interpolation, low quality)
• Bilinear (fast, better quality)
• Cubic B-spline (slow, best quality)

You can set the interpolation method using the SetResampleMode() member function. Here is the list of the transformation methods:

void Scale(long horizontalPercent=100, long verticalPercent=100);
void Rotate(long degrees=0, _PIXEL bgColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void Crop(long x, long y, long width, long height);
void FlipHorizontal();
void FlipVertical();
void MirrorLeft();
void MirrorRight();
void MirrorTop();
void MirrorBottom();

You can scale the bitmap along the x and/or the y axis, rotate it from 0 to 360 percents, or perform flipping and/or mirroring. When you flip or mirror the bitmap, no interpolation is required since you don't change the original bitmap dimensions.

When you perform the bitmap rotation you can set the background color. The default is black.

Here are some samples of the described transformation methods (IE only: place mouse pointer above each image to see the applied transformation):

Simple Bitmap Filtering

There are 18 simple filters implemented (and more to come) to do a simple bitmap convolution filtering. The Clear() methods will fill the bitmap with the color you provide.

void Clear(_PIXEL clearColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void Negative();
void Grayscale();
void Sepia(long depth=34);
void Emboss();
void Engrave();
void Pixelize(long size=4);
void Brightness(long brightness=0);
void Contrast(long contrast=0);
void Blur();
void GaussianBlur();
void Sharp();
void Colorize(_PIXEL color);
void Rank(BOOL bMinimum=TRUE);
void Spread(long distanceX=8, long distanceY=8);
void Offset(long offsetX=16, long offsetY=16);
void BlackAndWhite(long offset=128);
void EdgeDetect();
void GlowingEdges(long threshold=2, long scale=5);

For some filters, like Sepia() and Pixelize() and so, you can change the input argument and get the different results on the output.

Here are some samples of the described filtering methods (IE only: place mouse pointer above each image to see the applied filtering):

Drawing the Bitmap

The following list of methods make the core of the CBitmapEx class:

void Draw(HDC hDC);
void Draw(HDC hDC, long dstX, long dstY);
void Draw(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY);
void Draw(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, long alpha);
void Draw(long dstX, long dstY, long dstWidth, long dstHeight, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth, long srcHeight);
void Draw(long dstX, long dstY, long dstWidth, long dstHeight, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth, long srcHeight, long alpha);
void Draw(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx);
void Draw(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long alpha);
void Draw(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth,
    long srcHeight);
void Draw(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth,
    long srcHeight, long alpha);
void DrawTransparent(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, long alpha, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(long dstX, long dstY, long dstWidth, long dstHeight,
    CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth, long srcHeight,
    _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(long dstX, long dstY, long dstWidth, long dstHeight,
    CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth, long srcHeight,
    long alpha, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long alpha,
    _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY,
    long srcWidth, long srcHeight, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawTransparent(_QUAD dstQuad, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY,
    long srcWidth, long srcHeight, long alpha, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(0,0,0));
void DrawBlended(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, long startAlpha, long endAlpha, DWORD mode=GM_NONE);
void DrawBlended(long dstX, long dstY, long dstWidth, long dstHeight,
    CBitmapEx& bitmapEx, long srcX, long srcY, long srcWidth, long srcHeight,
    long startAlpha, long endAlpha, DWORD mode=GM_NONE);
void DrawMasked(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,
    long srcX, long srcY, _PIXEL transparentColor=_RGB(255,255,255));
void DrawAlpha(long dstX, long dstY, long width, long height, CBitmapEx& bitmapEx,

    long srcX, long srcY, long alpha, _PIXEL alphaColor=_RGB(0,0,0));

You can see a number of different bitmap drawing methods. The one that has the source and destination size as an input arguments will perform the bitmap drawing with scaling. The final quality and speed will depend on the interpolation method you have selected. In most cases, the bilinear interpolation is a good choice between the speed and the quality. This is similar to the StretchBlt() GDI method.

Besides the general drawing methods, there are some special ones. Using the Draw() function with _QUAD as an input argument you can draw the bitmap in any polygon defined with four points. It is similar to the PlgBlt() GDI method, only offers some more freedom. That is, it can do 'projective' and not just 'affine' bitmap transformations. Some will find this very useful.

Another group of available bitmap drawing methods is the DrawTransparent() group of methods. It can do all that is described above; even a transparent color in the source bitmap can be specified. Additionaly, one could perform a bitmap 'projective' transformation.

Finally, the last group is the DrawBlended() methods. They provide you the way to draw the source bitmap 'gradiently' over the destination bitmap. There are three types of gradients supported: horizontal, vertical and radial.

All the bitmap drawing methods described offer an opacity parameter (alpha) that can be applied during the drawing operation. This is similar to using the AlphaBlend() GDI method.

By combining the different bitmap drawing methods, some really cool looking effects can be done.

To output the bitmap on the screen (or any other device context) use the first two methods, with the HDC as an input argument.

Here are some samples of the described drawing methods (IE only: place mouse pointer above each image to see the applied drawing):

Changing Colors in the Bitmap

This is a special method defined in the CBitmapEx class. It allows the developer to change the existing color in the bitmap with another one. The transparency and the 'strength' of new color can be specified. Also, this operation can be done localy (on some region), or in the whole image. Please see the images below:

The following code snippet is showing how is this done:

CBitmapEx bitmap;
bitmap.Load(_T("Original3.bmp"));

bitmap.ReplaceColor(345, 275, _RGB(255,0,0), 10, 150, FALSE);	   // Sea rock
bitmap.ReplaceColor(105, 305, _RGB(255,255,0), 10, 90, FALSE);     // Bottom of the sea
bitmap.Save(_T("Original3_r.bmp"));

This processing could take some time, so please don't expect the final result at the moment. Also, to get the best output bitmap it could request some experimenting with different options. Here is the definition on the ReplaceColor() method:

void ReplaceColor(long x, long y, _PIXEL newColor, long alpha=20, long error=100,
    BOOL bImage=TRUE);

Actually, you take the pixel from the location x and y and change its color with newColor. Also, you specify the transparency level of the new color that is to be applied alpha, as also the 'strength', that is the error value. The last parameter bImage is applying the re-coloring of the whole image or just the region which is defined by the 'strength'. You have to experiment to see how this method is working on different images. This could be useful is you want to change the background color of the image, or to re-color the grayscale images.

Creating a Drop Shadow Effect

This is a very popular effect and can be achieved using the CBitmapEx class easily. Please see the images below:

The following code snippet is showing how is this done:

CBitmapEx bitmap1, bitmap2, bitmap3;

bitmap1.Load(_T("Original4.bmp"));
bitmap2.Load(_T("Original5.bmp"));
bitmap3.Create(bitmap2.GetWidth(), bitmap2.GetHeight());
bitmap3.DrawMasked(0, 0, bitmap2.GetWidth(), bitmap2.GetHeight(), bitmap2, 0, 0,
    bitmap2.GetPixel(0, 0));

bitmap3.Blur();
bitmap3.Blur();
bitmap3.Blur();
bitmap1.DrawAlpha(4, 4, bitmap3.GetWidth(), bitmap3.GetHeight(), bitmap3, 0, 0, 25,
    _RGB(0,0,0));
bitmap1.DrawTransparent(0, 0, bitmap2.GetWidth(), bitmap2.GetHeight(), bitmap2, 0, 0,
    50, bitmap2.GetPixel(0, 0));

bitmap1.Save(_T("Original4_s.bmp"));

This processing is quite quick so you would not have to wait a long time for the final results. The bottleneck of this process is the number of Blur() methods you call. Also, using the special method DrawMasked() you can create a monochromatic mask of just any image with the transparent background. Another special method called DrawAlpha() renders the created mask in just any color (here we need the shadow to be black, right) and with the selected transparency level (the shadows are mainly semi-transparent).

Creating a Fire Effect

The CBitmapEx class can produce the 'burning fire' effect. Please see the code below:

CBitmapEx bitmap;
bitmap.Create(300, 300);
bitmap.Clear();
bitmap.CreateFireEffect();
// Call the following method for some time (ie. a few seconds)

bitmap.UpdateFireEffect();

See the results below:

Here is the definition of the methods used:

void CreateFireEffect();
void UpdateFireEffect(BOOL bLarge=TRUE, long iteration=5, long height=16);

You control the fire (speed and size), by changing the params in the UpdateFireEffect() method. This method should be called in some thread or loop to get the 'burning fire' animation.

Creating a Water Effect

The CBitmapEx class can produce the 'water' effect. Please see the code below:

CBitmapEx bitmap;
bitmap.Load(_T("Undersea.bmp"));

bitmap.CreateWaterEffect();
bitmap.MakeWaterBlob(100, 100, 20, -500);
bitmap.MakeWaterBlob(150, 150, 20, 500);
bitmap.MakeWaterBlob(200, 200, 20, -500);
// Call the following method for some time (ie. a few seconds)
bitmap.UpdateWaterEffect();

See the results below:

Here is the definition of the methods used:

void CreateWaterEffect();
void UpdateWaterEffect(long iteration=5);
void MakeWaterBlob(long x, long y, long size, long height);

You control the water (drops, speed, size), by changing the params in the UpdateWaterEffect() method and MakeWaterBlob() method. This method should be called in some thread or loop to get the 'water' animation.

Bitmap from RGB to HSV and Back

Here is the list of methods that can be useful when converting bitmap from RGB color-space to HSV and vice-versa:

_PIXEL _RGB2HSV(_PIXEL rgbPixel);
_PIXEL _HSV2RGB(_PIXEL hsvPixel);
void ConvertToHSV();
void ConvertToRGB();
_COLOR_MODE GetColorMode() {return m_ColorMode;}

This color transformations were very useful when implementing the ReplaceColor() method described above.

Bitmap Information Methods

Various bitmap information methods are available, see the list below:

LPBITMAPFILEHEADER GetFileInfo() {return &m_bfh;}
LPBITMAPINFOHEADER GetInfo() {return &m_bih;}
long GetWidth() {return m_bih.biWidth;}
long GetHeight() {return m_bih.biHeight;}
long GetPitch() {return m_iPitch;}
long GetBpp() {return m_iBpp;}
long GetPaletteEntries() {return m_iPaletteEntries;}
LPRGBQUAD GetPalette() {return m_lpPalette;}
DWORD GetSize() {return m_dwSize;}
LPBYTE GetData() {return m_lpData;}
void SetResampleMode(RESAMPLE_MODE mode=RM_NEARESTNEIGHBOUR) {m_ResampleMode = mode;}
RESAMPLE_MODE GetResampleMode() {return m_ResampleMode;}
BOOL IsValid() {return (m_lpData != NULL);}

Direct Pixel Access Methods

These important methods are also provided, look below:

_PIXEL GetPixel(long x, long y);
void SetPixel(long x, long y, _PIXEL pixel);

These methods are, however, slower than a direct memory access. You can get the bitmap memory buffer using the GetData() member function. Use this memory buffer to do any 'real-time' bitmap processing you plan. For testing purposes it is safer to use direct pixel access methods.

Notice on Using the CBitmapEx Class

Using all these methods you should be able to do any type of drawing and trasformation you need. Well, almost any type. There are surely many more filters to add, and also many more transformations to apply.

Also, the comments of the readers were very useful while updating the original source code. New methods, like loading/saving from/to memory stream have been added, as well as another method for drawing on the custom device context (DC) using the insertion point.

Many of the original methods for drawing are now written in the 'inline assembler' to obtain the speed increase. The original source code is left commented for the better understanding. All optimizations considering the ASM code (since I am not an expert on this) are welcome.

About the Demo Project

There is a special class, written just for the demo project, called CEffectorBuilder that is used to create animations. This class uses the original CBitmapEx class to load the bitmap files and then apply different transformations on them. The screenshot above is showing the demo project screen output. There are many drawing and transformation effects available in this class so feel free to experiment. The final results could look just great.

Points of Interest

Working on this class I have found the perfect way to speed-up any graphical operation many times. It is done using the fixed point arithmetic. It is applied everywhere in the CBitmapEx class, almost in every single operation that has divisions and multiplications, with floating point numbers. So, don't be surprised with the speed of the real-time animation you can achieve using only this class. Take a look at the demo project for the example of the real-time animation project that is using the CBitmapEx class.

You must Sign In to use this message board.

FAQ  Noise Tolerance Very HighHighMediumLowVery Low  Search Messages    Layout Expand All MessagesThread ViewNo Javascript (slow)No Javascript Preview    Per page 102550

Msgs 1 to 25 of 45 (Total in Forum: 45) (Refresh) FirstPrevNext

OpenCV and IPP Myzhar 5:16 18 Nov '08   Hello, I found your class very very interesting. It would be useful to be able to load pixel data from 24 bit memory source and make the reverse thing too. These simple functions will make you class compatible with IplImage type used in OpenCV and IPP library. Do you plan to add those kind of functions? Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: OpenCV and IPP darkoman 5:30 18 Nov '08   Hello, you can use the Load() and Save() methods with LPBYTE input argument which loads/saves the bitmap from/to memory stream. Best regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: OpenCV and IPP [modified] Myzhar 5:56 18 Nov '08   Yes, I noticed those function, but there is a problem: LOAD uses BITMAPINFOHEADER informations. // Read BITMAPFILEHEADER info memcpy(&m_bfh, lpBitmapData, sizeof(BITMAPFILEHEADER)); // Read BITMAPINFOHEADER info memcpy(&m_bih, lpBitmapData+sizeof(BITMAPFILEHEADER), sizeof(BITMAPINFOHEADER)); I'd like to load/save only "pixel data" from/to memory, without BITMAPINFOHEADER I created these functions... tell me if they are right: void CBitmapEx::LoadImageData24( LPBYTE lpImageData ) { // Check for valid bitmap data buffer if (lpImageData != NULL) { _ConvertTo24Bpp(); memcpy( m_lpData, lpImageData, m_dwSize*sizeof(BYTE) ); // Convert to 32bpp bitmap _ConvertTo32Bpp(); } } void CBitmapEx::SaveImageData24( LPBYTE lpImageData ) { // Check for valid bitmap data buffer if (lpImageData != NULL && IsValid() ) { // Convert to 24bpp bitmap _ConvertTo24Bpp(); // Write data memcpy( lpImageData, m_lpData, m_dwSize*sizeof(BYTE) ); // Convert to 32bpp bitmap _ConvertTo32Bpp(); } } modified on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:20 AM Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: OpenCV and IPP darkoman 12:02 18 Nov '08   Hello, yes, actually you can use the methods you have proposed, but have this question on your mind when using the LoadImageData24() function: - How will you know the size of the bitmap you are loading, or the bit depth? It is always better to pass additional information considering the bitmap data. But, if you plan to work with the bitmaps of the same size and the same bit depth, you can always use the proposed methods. Best regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: OpenCV and IPP Myzhar 21:40 18 Nov '08   I considered the question you proposed and actually there are not controls about size and bit depth. The better way would be to pass directly a pointer to IplImage to load data from and a pointer to CBitmapx to save data to... but this take the need to include Ipp header in your class and it's not a great thing Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Fade in and out. descartes 23:20 16 Nov '08   Dear Darkoman, Can you tell me where to start making a bitmap fade in and out function. I want to load a bitmap (works fine) and display this fading on the screen. thanks and regards. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Fade in and out. darkoman 2:22 17 Nov '08   Hello, you can use Draw() methods with alpha as input argument. Draw you original bitmap on some other bitmap (created or loaded), and change the alpha param each time you perform the drawing. You can start from 100 and finish with 0, and vice-versa. You will get the 'fade-in' and 'fade-out' effect in this manner. Best regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Fade in and out. descartes 2:35 17 Nov '08   Thanks, I am going to make it… Regards Henk. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Works very well, but something mentioned in the doc is missing Tage Lejon 3:54 12 Nov '08   Hello Darcoman Thanks a lot for your nice code, which rotate and process the bitmap in various ways very well. And it is extremely easy to use! The following functions seems to be however missing from the downloaded source code. void Brightness(long brightness=0); void Contrast(long contrast=0); void Blur(); void Sharp(); void Colorize(_PIXEL color); void Rank(BOOL bMinimum=TRUE); Another issue is that user cannot really tell if loading a file has succeeded or not? The Load() function returns void, giving no good indication about the result. For example, loading a Jpeg file will fail, but instead of returning FALSE, the code will collapse in some later stage. Scaling a bitmap image seems to be more difficult than rotate and other operations. I haven’t figured out a method to directly draw a loaded image on DC (while other operation worked well). The only means I found is to create another bitmap of the expected size (e.g. the size of the target window), draw the original one to it, scale it up to the full size using Scale(), and draw the created second bitmap. Scaling the original one won’t work, probably because its size is predefined and cannot be changed dynamically. Is it the right way to draw an image to other size than the original, by your design? Best regards, and thanks again for your great code! Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Works very well, but something mentioned in the doc is missing darkoman 4:49 12 Nov '08   Hello, thanks for the interest in this class... Yes, you are right considering the missing methods. It happened somehow that I have not uploaded the latest CBitmapEx class version with the updated article text. I'll fix this with the next release which will ne very soon. Yes, there is no returning value from the Load() method, but you could use the IsValid() member instead. Also, this class is only to be used with the .BMP files. Yes, you can draw the original bitmap on the HDC, but not scaled one. Instead,` scale the bitmap first and then draw it on the destination HDC, or create another bitmap with the dimensions of the target HDC and use it instead. Best regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Wow! Paul Conrad 19:19 10 Nov '08   Very impressive. Have to bookmark this one "The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Loading more than one Bitmap? descartes 5:25 7 Nov '08   Hello, How can i loading more than one bitmap? Maybe CBitmapEx bitmap[6]; bitmap[0].Load(_T("images\\image01.bmp")); bitmap[1].Load(_T("images\\image02.bmp")); bitmap[2].Load(_T("images\\image03.bmp")); bitmap[3].Load(_T("images\\image04.bmp")); bitmap[0].Draw(hDc); bitmap[1].Draw(hDc); bitmap[2].Draw(hDc); bitmap[3].Draw(hDc); Or something else? Thanks..Henk Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Loading more than one Bitmap? darkoman 7:59 7 Nov '08   Hello, exactly in the way you have written... Best regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Loading more than one Bitmap? descartes 8:16 7 Nov '08   Yes Darkoman it works Thanks, now i am going to work on fade the picture's in and out. regards Henk. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Nice article, thank you! min_2_max 17:05 3 Nov '08   It's easy to use and fit for general daily tasks for me. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink import from OpenGL rendering Bevan C Bird 19:06 22 Oct '08   Do you know of a way to get the current view of a rendered scene, and capture it to a bitmap? I'm aware of plotutils Plotter, which you can use to make 2D plots with shapes and text in vector graphic formats, but I'm wondering about capturing views of 3D scenes. It probably is something simple to do with a device context handle. Hope you can help... Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: import from OpenGL rendering darkoman 22:06 22 Oct '08   Hello, please visit the following links: <a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dialog/screencap.aspx">http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dialog/screencap.aspx</a>[<a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/dialog/screencap.aspx" target="_blank" title="New Window">^</a>] <a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/audio-video/capvidscrn.aspx">http://www.codeproject.com/KB/audio-video/capvidscrn.aspx</a>[<a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/audio-video/capvidscrn.aspx" target="_blank" title="New Window">^</a>] <a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/directx/SimulationRecording.aspx">http://www.codeproject.com/KB/directx/SimulationRecording.aspx</a>[<a href="http://www.codeproject.com/KB/directx/SimulationRecording.aspx" target="_blank" title="New Window">^</a>] Hope I could help... Regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Thanks! How i can use the Grayscale function Dominator_Legand 12:58 19 Oct '08   Really thanks for wonderful code! I have a function that capture the screen, I need to use your grayscale function, Its the fastest I saw! My function return me a HBitmap, how i can use your function? It will be great if you help me! Really thanks! Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Re: Thanks! How i can use the Grayscale function darkoman 22:59 19 Oct '08   Hello, thanks for your interest in this class... 1. You can use GetBitmapBits() method to obtain the bitmap data and GetObject() method to get the BITMAP structure that describes your bitmap. 2. Build BITMAPFILEHEADER and BITMAPINFOHEADER structures from this info and, finally, build a memory stream that holds the actual bitmap file which is composed like this: [BITMAPFILEHEADER] [BITMAPINFOHEADER] [bitmap_data] 3. You can pass this memory stream to the Load() method of the CBitmapEx class. Hope I could help you... PS. I will add this functionality in the next release of the CBitmapEx class. Regards, Darkoman "Avaritia est radix omnium malorum..." Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink Save to JPG format descartes 5:21 24 Sep '08   Dear Darkoman, First, top source!! But i have question , can you help me? is there a example to save jpg bitmap? Or can you give me hint to some lib or source to use in your source. I want to save the sepia conversion (bmp) save as picture.jpg.. thanks and regards Henk.. Sign In·View Thread·PermaLink