QPixmap Class

The QPixmap class is an off-screen image representation that can be used as a paint device. More...

Header: #include <QPixmap>
qmake: QT += gui
Inherits: QPaintDevice
Inherited By:

QBitmap

Public Functions

QPixmap()
QPixmap(int w, int h)
QPixmap(const QSize &size)
QPixmap(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QPixmap(const char *const [] xpm)
QPixmap(const QPixmap &pixmap)
virtual ~QPixmap()
QPixmap alphaChannel() const
qint64 cacheKey() const
bool convertFromImage(const QImage &image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QPixmap copy(int x, int y, int width, int height) const
QPixmap copy(const QRect &rect = QRect()) const
QBitmap createHeuristicMask(bool clipTight = true) const
QBitmap createMaskFromColor(const QColor &maskColor, Qt::MaskMode mode = Qt::MaskInColor) const
QPixmap::DataPtr &data_ptr()
int depth() const
void detach()
qreal devicePixelRatio() const
void fill(const QColor &color = Qt::white)
void fill(const QPaintDevice *device, int xofs, int yofs)
bool hasAlpha() const
bool hasAlphaChannel() const
int height() const
bool isNull() const
bool isQBitmap() const
bool load(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
bool loadFromData(const uchar *buf, uint len, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
bool loadFromData(const QByteArray &data, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QBitmap mask() const
QRect rect() const
bool save(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, int quality = -1) const
bool save(QIODevice *device, const char *format = nullptr, int quality = -1) const
QPixmap scaled(int w, int h, Qt::AspectRatioMode aspectMode = Qt::IgnoreAspectRatio, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
QPixmap scaled(const QSize &s, Qt::AspectRatioMode aspectMode = Qt::IgnoreAspectRatio, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
QPixmap scaledToHeight(int h, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
QPixmap scaledToWidth(int w, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
void scroll(int dx, int dy, int x, int y, int width, int height, QRegion *exposed = nullptr)
void scroll(int dx, int dy, const QRect &rect, QRegion *exposed = nullptr)
int serialNumber() const
void setAlphaChannel(const QPixmap &)
void setDevicePixelRatio(qreal scaleFactor)
void setMask(const QBitmap &mask)
QSize size() const
void swap(QPixmap &other)
QImage toImage() const
QPixmap transformed(const QTransform &transform, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
QPixmap transformed(const QMatrix &matrix, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const
int width() const
QVariant operator QVariant() const
bool operator!() const
QPixmap &operator=(const QPixmap &pixmap)
QPixmap &operator=(QPixmap &&other)

Static Public Members

int defaultDepth()
QPixmap fromImage(const QImage &image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QPixmap fromImage(QImage &&image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QPixmap fromImageReader(QImageReader *imageReader, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)
QPixmap grabWidget(QObject *widget, int x = 0, int y = 0, int w = -1, int h = -1)
QPixmap grabWindow(WId, int x = 0, int y = 0, int w = -1, int h = -1)
QTransform trueMatrix(const QTransform &m, int w, int h)
QMatrix trueMatrix(const QMatrix &m, int w, int h)
QDataStream &operator<<(QDataStream &stream, const QPixmap &pixmap)
QDataStream &operator>>(QDataStream &stream, QPixmap &pixmap)

Additional Inherited Members

Detailed Description

The QPixmap class is an off-screen image representation that can be used as a paint device.

Qt provides four classes for handling image data: QImage, QPixmap, QBitmap and QPicture. QImage is designed and optimized for I/O, and for direct pixel access and manipulation, while QPixmap is designed and optimized for showing images on screen. QBitmap is only a convenience class that inherits QPixmap, ensuring a depth of 1. The isQBitmap() function returns true if a QPixmap object is really a bitmap, otherwise returns false. Finally, the QPicture class is a paint device that records and replays QPainter commands.

A QPixmap can easily be displayed on the screen using QLabel or one of QAbstractButton's subclasses (such as QPushButton and QToolButton). QLabel has a pixmap property, whereas QAbstractButton has an icon property.

QPixmap objects can be passed around by value since the QPixmap class uses implicit data sharing. For more information, see the Implicit Data Sharing documentation. QPixmap objects can also be streamed.

Note that the pixel data in a pixmap is internal and is managed by the underlying window system. Because QPixmap is a QPaintDevice subclass, QPainter can be used to draw directly onto pixmaps. Pixels can only be accessed through QPainter functions or by converting the QPixmap to a QImage. However, the fill() function is available for initializing the entire pixmap with a given color.

There are functions to convert between QImage and QPixmap. Typically, the QImage class is used to load an image file, optionally manipulating the image data, before the QImage object is converted into a QPixmap to be shown on screen. Alternatively, if no manipulation is desired, the image file can be loaded directly into a QPixmap.

QPixmap provides a collection of functions that can be used to obtain a variety of information about the pixmap. In addition, there are several functions that enables transformation of the pixmap.

Reading and Writing Image Files

QPixmap provides several ways of reading an image file: The file can be loaded when constructing the QPixmap object, or by using the load() or loadFromData() functions later on. When loading an image, the file name can either refer to an actual file on disk or to one of the application's embedded resources. See The Qt Resource System overview for details on how to embed images and other resource files in the application's executable.

Simply call the save() function to save a QPixmap object.

The complete list of supported file formats are available through the QImageReader::supportedImageFormats() and QImageWriter::supportedImageFormats() functions. New file formats can be added as plugins. By default, Qt supports the following formats:

FormatDescriptionQt's support
BMPWindows BitmapRead/write
GIFGraphic Interchange Format (optional)Read
JPGJoint Photographic Experts GroupRead/write
JPEGJoint Photographic Experts GroupRead/write
PNGPortable Network GraphicsRead/write
PBMPortable BitmapRead
PGMPortable GraymapRead
PPMPortable PixmapRead/write
XBMX11 BitmapRead/write
XPMX11 PixmapRead/write

Pixmap Information

QPixmap provides a collection of functions that can be used to obtain a variety of information about the pixmap:

Available Functions
GeometryThe size(), width() and height() functions provide information about the pixmap's size. The rect() function returns the image's enclosing rectangle.
Alpha componentThe hasAlphaChannel() returns true if the pixmap has a format that respects the alpha channel, otherwise returns false. The hasAlpha(), setMask() and mask() functions are legacy and should not be used. They are potentially very slow.

The createHeuristicMask() function creates and returns a 1-bpp heuristic mask (i.e. a QBitmap) for this pixmap. It works by selecting a color from one of the corners and then chipping away pixels of that color, starting at all the edges. The createMaskFromColor() function creates and returns a mask (i.e. a QBitmap) for the pixmap based on a given color.

Low-level informationThe depth() function returns the depth of the pixmap. The defaultDepth() function returns the default depth, i.e. the depth used by the application on the given screen.

The cacheKey() function returns a number that uniquely identifies the contents of the QPixmap object.

The x11Info() function returns information about the configuration of the X display used by the screen to which the pixmap currently belongs. The x11PictureHandle() function returns the X11 Picture handle of the pixmap for XRender support. Note that the two latter functions are only available on x11.

Pixmap Conversion

A QPixmap object can be converted into a QImage using the toImage() function. Likewise, a QImage can be converted into a QPixmap using the fromImage(). If this is too expensive an operation, you can use QBitmap::fromImage() instead.

To convert a QPixmap to and from HICON you can use the QtWinExtras functions QtWin::toHICON() and QtWin::fromHICON() respectively.

Pixmap Transformations

QPixmap supports a number of functions for creating a new pixmap that is a transformed version of the original:

The scaled(), scaledToWidth() and scaledToHeight() functions return scaled copies of the pixmap, while the copy() function creates a QPixmap that is a plain copy of the original one.

The transformed() function returns a copy of the pixmap that is transformed with the given transformation matrix and transformation mode: Internally, the transformation matrix is adjusted to compensate for unwanted translation, i.e. transformed() returns the smallest pixmap containing all transformed points of the original pixmap. The static trueMatrix() function returns the actual matrix used for transforming the pixmap.

Note: When using the native X11 graphics system, the pixmap becomes invalid when the QApplication instance is destroyed.

See also QBitmap, QImage, QImageReader, and QImageWriter.

Member Function Documentation

QPixmap::QPixmap()

Constructs a null pixmap.

See also isNull().

QPixmap::QPixmap(int w, int h)

Default constructs an instance of QPixmap.

QPixmap::QPixmap(const QSize &size)

This is an overloaded function.

Constructs a pixmap of the given size.

Warning: This will create a QPixmap with uninitialized data. Call fill() to fill the pixmap with an appropriate color before drawing onto it with QPainter.

QPixmap::QPixmap(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

Constructs a pixmap from the file with the given fileName. If the file does not exist or is of an unknown format, the pixmap becomes a null pixmap.

The loader attempts to read the pixmap using the specified format. If the format is not specified (which is the default), the loader probes the file for a header to guess the file format.

The file name can either refer to an actual file on disk or to one of the application's embedded resources. See the Resource System overview for details on how to embed images and other resource files in the application's executable.

If the image needs to be modified to fit in a lower-resolution result (e.g. converting from 32-bit to 8-bit), use the flags to control the conversion.

The fileName, format and flags parameters are passed on to load(). This means that the data in fileName is not compiled into the binary. If fileName contains a relative path (e.g. the filename only) the relevant file must be found relative to the runtime working directory.

See also Reading and Writing Image Files.

QPixmap::QPixmap(const char *const [] xpm)

Constructs a pixmap from the given xpm data, which must be a valid XPM image.

Errors are silently ignored.

Note that it's possible to squeeze the XPM variable a little bit by using an unusual declaration:


  static const char * const start_xpm[]={
      "16 15 8 1",
      "a c #cec6bd",
  ....

The extra const makes the entire definition read-only, which is slightly more efficient (for example, when the code is in a shared library) and ROMable when the application is to be stored in ROM.

QPixmap::QPixmap(const QPixmap &pixmap)

Constructs a pixmap that is a copy of the given pixmap.

See also copy().

[virtual] QPixmap::~QPixmap()

Destroys the pixmap.

QPixmap QPixmap::alphaChannel() const

See also setAlphaChannel().

qint64 QPixmap::cacheKey() const

Returns a number that identifies this QPixmap. Distinct QPixmap objects can only have the same cache key if they refer to the same contents.

The cacheKey() will change when the pixmap is altered.

bool QPixmap::convertFromImage(const QImage &image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

Replaces this pixmap's data with the given image using the specified flags to control the conversion. The flags argument is a bitwise-OR of the Qt::ImageConversionFlags. Passing 0 for flags sets all the default options. Returns true if the result is that this pixmap is not null.

Note: this function was part of Qt 3 support in Qt 4.6 and earlier. It has been promoted to official API status in 4.7 to support updating the pixmap's image without creating a new QPixmap as fromImage() would.

This function was introduced in Qt 4.7.

See also fromImage().

QPixmap QPixmap::copy(int x, int y, int width, int height) const

QPixmap QPixmap::copy(const QRect &rect = QRect()) const

QBitmap QPixmap::createHeuristicMask(bool clipTight = true) const

Creates and returns a heuristic mask for this pixmap.

The function works by selecting a color from one of the corners and then chipping away pixels of that color, starting at all the edges. If clipTight is true (the default) the mask is just large enough to cover the pixels; otherwise, the mask is larger than the data pixels.

The mask may not be perfect but it should be reasonable, so you can do things such as the following:


  QPixmap myPixmap;
  myPixmap.setMask(myPixmap.createHeuristicMask());

This function is slow because it involves converting to/from a QImage, and non-trivial computations.

See also QImage::createHeuristicMask() and createMaskFromColor().

QBitmap QPixmap::createMaskFromColor(const QColor &maskColor, Qt::MaskMode mode = Qt::MaskInColor) const

Creates and returns a mask for this pixmap based on the given maskColor. If the mode is Qt::MaskInColor, all pixels matching the maskColor will be transparent. If mode is Qt::MaskOutColor, all pixels matching the maskColor will be opaque.

This function is slow because it involves converting to/from a QImage.

See also createHeuristicMask() and QImage::createMaskFromColor().

QPixmap::DataPtr &QPixmap::data_ptr()

[static] int QPixmap::defaultDepth()

Returns the default pixmap depth used by the application.

On all platforms the depth of the primary screen will be returned.

Note: QGuiApplication must be created before calling this function.

See also depth(), QColormap::depth(), and Pixmap Information.

int QPixmap::depth() const

void QPixmap::detach()

Detaches the pixmap from shared pixmap data.

A pixmap is automatically detached by Qt whenever its contents are about to change. This is done in almost all QPixmap member functions that modify the pixmap (fill(), fromImage(), load(), etc.), and in QPainter::begin() on a pixmap.

There are two exceptions in which detach() must be called explicitly, that is when calling the handle() or the x11PictureHandle() function (only available on X11). Otherwise, any modifications done using system calls, will be performed on the shared data.

The detach() function returns immediately if there is just a single reference or if the pixmap has not been initialized yet.

qreal QPixmap::devicePixelRatio() const

Returns the device pixel ratio for the pixmap. This is the ratio between device pixels and device independent pixels.

Use this function when calculating layout geometry based on the pixmap size: QSize layoutSize = image.size() / image.devicePixelRatio()

The default value is 1.0.

See also setDevicePixelRatio() and QImageReader.

void QPixmap::fill(const QColor &color = Qt::white)

Fills the pixmap with the given color.

The effect of this function is undefined when the pixmap is being painted on.

See also Pixmap Transformations.

void QPixmap::fill(const QPaintDevice *device, int xofs, int yofs)

[static] QPixmap QPixmap::fromImage(const QImage &image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

[static] QPixmap QPixmap::fromImage(QImage &&image, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

[static] QPixmap QPixmap::fromImageReader(QImageReader *imageReader, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

[static] QPixmap QPixmap::grabWidget(QObject *widget, int x = 0, int y = 0, int w = -1, int h = -1)

[static] QPixmap QPixmap::grabWindow(WId, int x = 0, int y = 0, int w = -1, int h = -1)

bool QPixmap::hasAlpha() const

Returns true if this pixmap has an alpha channel, or has a mask, otherwise returns false.

See also hasAlphaChannel() and mask().

bool QPixmap::hasAlphaChannel() const

Returns true if the pixmap has a format that respects the alpha channel, otherwise returns false.

See also hasAlpha().

int QPixmap::height() const

bool QPixmap::isNull() const

bool QPixmap::isQBitmap() const

bool QPixmap::load(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

Loads a pixmap from the file with the given fileName. Returns true if the pixmap was successfully loaded; otherwise invalidates the pixmap and returns false.

The loader attempts to read the pixmap using the specified format. If the format is not specified (which is the default), the loader probes the file for a header to guess the file format.

The file name can either refer to an actual file on disk or to one of the application's embedded resources. See the Resource System overview for details on how to embed pixmaps and other resource files in the application's executable.

If the data needs to be modified to fit in a lower-resolution result (e.g. converting from 32-bit to 8-bit), use the flags to control the conversion.

Note that QPixmaps are automatically added to the QPixmapCache when loaded from a file; the key used is internal and can not be acquired.

See also loadFromData() and Reading and Writing Image Files.

bool QPixmap::loadFromData(const uchar *buf, uint len, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

bool QPixmap::loadFromData(const QByteArray &data, const char *format = nullptr, Qt::ImageConversionFlags flags = Qt::AutoColor)

QBitmap QPixmap::mask() const

See also setMask().

QRect QPixmap::rect() const

bool QPixmap::save(const QString &fileName, const char *format = nullptr, int quality = -1) const

Saves the pixmap to the file with the given fileName using the specified image file format and quality factor. Returns true if successful; otherwise returns false.

The quality factor must be in the range [0,100] or -1. Specify 0 to obtain small compressed files, 100 for large uncompressed files, and -1 to use the default settings.

If format is 0, an image format will be chosen from fileName's suffix.

See also Reading and Writing Image Files.

bool QPixmap::save(QIODevice *device, const char *format = nullptr, int quality = -1) const

This is an overloaded function.

This function writes a QPixmap to the given device using the specified image file format and quality factor. This can be used, for example, to save a pixmap directly into a QByteArray:


          QPixmap pixmap;
          QByteArray bytes;
          QBuffer buffer(&bytes);
          buffer.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly);
          pixmap.save(&buffer, "PNG"); // writes pixmap into bytes in PNG format

QPixmap QPixmap::scaled(int w, int h, Qt::AspectRatioMode aspectMode = Qt::IgnoreAspectRatio, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

QPixmap QPixmap::scaled(const QSize &s, Qt::AspectRatioMode aspectMode = Qt::IgnoreAspectRatio, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

QPixmap QPixmap::scaledToHeight(int h, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

QPixmap QPixmap::scaledToWidth(int w, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

void QPixmap::scroll(int dx, int dy, int x, int y, int width, int height, QRegion *exposed = nullptr)

void QPixmap::scroll(int dx, int dy, const QRect &rect, QRegion *exposed = nullptr)

Scrolls the area rect of this pixmap by (dx, dy). The exposed region is left unchanged. You can optionally pass a pointer to an empty QRegion to get the region that is exposed by the scroll operation.


  QPixmap pixmap("background.png");
  QRegion exposed;
  pixmap.scroll(10, 10, pixmap.rect(), &exposed);

You cannot scroll while there is an active painter on the pixmap.

This function was introduced in Qt 4.6.

See also QWidget::scroll() and QGraphicsItem::scroll().

int QPixmap::serialNumber() const

void QPixmap::setAlphaChannel(const QPixmap &)

See also alphaChannel().

void QPixmap::setDevicePixelRatio(qreal scaleFactor)

Sets the device pixel ratio for the pixmap. This is the ratio between image pixels and device-independent pixels.

The default scaleFactor is 1.0. Setting it to something else has two effects:

QPainters that are opened on the pixmap will be scaled. For example, painting on a 200x200 image if with a ratio of 2.0 will result in effective (device-independent) painting bounds of 100x100.

Code paths in Qt that calculate layout geometry based on the pixmap size will take the ratio into account: QSize layoutSize = pixmap.size() / pixmap.devicePixelRatio() The net effect of this is that the pixmap is displayed as high-DPI pixmap rather than a large pixmap (see Drawing High Resolution Versions of Pixmaps and Images).

See also devicePixelRatio().

void QPixmap::setMask(const QBitmap &mask)

Sets a mask bitmap.

This function merges the mask with the pixmap's alpha channel. A pixel value of 1 on the mask means the pixmap's pixel is unchanged; a value of 0 means the pixel is transparent. The mask must have the same size as this pixmap.

Setting a null mask resets the mask, leaving the previously transparent pixels black. The effect of this function is undefined when the pixmap is being painted on.

Warning: This is potentially an expensive operation.

See also mask(), Pixmap Transformations, and QBitmap.

QSize QPixmap::size() const

void QPixmap::swap(QPixmap &other)

QImage QPixmap::toImage() const

Converts the pixmap to a QImage. Returns a null image if the conversion fails.

If the pixmap has 1-bit depth, the returned image will also be 1 bit deep. Images with more bits will be returned in a format closely represents the underlying system. Usually this will be QImage::Format_ARGB32_Premultiplied for pixmaps with an alpha and QImage::Format_RGB32 or QImage::Format_RGB16 for pixmaps without alpha.

Note that for the moment, alpha masks on monochrome images are ignored.

See also fromImage() and Image Formats.

QPixmap QPixmap::transformed(const QTransform &transform, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

Returns a copy of the pixmap that is transformed using the given transformation transform and transformation mode. The original pixmap is not changed.

The transformation transform is internally adjusted to compensate for unwanted translation; i.e. the pixmap produced is the smallest pixmap that contains all the transformed points of the original pixmap. Use the trueMatrix() function to retrieve the actual matrix used for transforming the pixmap.

This function is slow because it involves transformation to a QImage, non-trivial computations and a transformation back to a QPixmap.

See also trueMatrix() and Pixmap Transformations.

QPixmap QPixmap::transformed(const QMatrix &matrix, Qt::TransformationMode mode = Qt::FastTransformation) const

This is an overloaded function.

This convenience function loads the matrix into a QTransform and calls the overloaded function.

[static] QTransform QPixmap::trueMatrix(const QTransform &m, int w, int h)

[static] QMatrix QPixmap::trueMatrix(const QMatrix &m, int w, int h)

This is an overloaded function.

This convenience function loads the matrix m into a QTransform and calls the overloaded function with the QTransform and the width w and the height h.

int QPixmap::width() const

QVariant QPixmap::operator QVariant() const

Returns the pixmap as a QVariant.

bool QPixmap::operator!() const

QPixmap &QPixmap::operator=(const QPixmap &pixmap)

Assigns the given pixmap to this pixmap and returns a reference to this pixmap.

See also copy() and QPixmap().

QPixmap &QPixmap::operator=(QPixmap &&other)

Move-assignment operator.

Related Non-Members

QDataStream &operator<<(QDataStream &stream, const QPixmap &pixmap)

Writes the given pixmap to the given stream as a PNG image. Note that writing the stream to a file will not produce a valid image file.

See also QPixmap::save() and Serializing Qt Data Types.

QDataStream &operator>>(QDataStream &stream, QPixmap &pixmap)

Reads an image from the given stream into the given pixmap.

See also QPixmap::load() and Serializing Qt Data Types.