Functions Graphics

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Graphics and windows

The functions to draw on a graphics screen, read the mouse, build GUI controls for Windows, Linux and macOS, grouped by what you want to do. The From column says what a program needs before it can call one:

• built-in: nothing; it is always available.
• vendor/PsControls/<Name>: #import "vendor/PsControls/<Name>", then using <Name> to call it by its bare name.
• vendor/tkControls/<Name>: #import "vendor/tkControls/<Name>", then using <Name> to call it by its bare name.
• fbgfx.bi: #include "fbgfx.bi".

Jump to: Open a graphics window · Draw lines, shapes and pixels · Draw text · Make colours · Create and inspect images · Copy images to and from the screen · Choose how Put combines pixels · Load and save images · Draw without flicker · Set the drawing area and coordinates · Read the mouse, keyboard and joystick · Run a program of controls · Take text, numbers and dates from the user · Add buttons and switches · Show lists and choices · Add menus, toolbars and status bars · Split, scroll and lay out a window · Show messages, colour pickers and tooltips · Show progress and charts · Paint and support your own controls

Open a graphics window

Function	What it does	From
ScreenRes	Opens a graphics window of a given width, height and colour depth.	built-in
Screen	Opens a graphics mode by mode number, or picks the work and visible pages.	built-in
WindowTitle	Sets the title of the graphics window.	built-in
ScreenList	Returns the fullscreen resolutions for a colour depth, one per call, then 0.	built-in
ScreenInfo	Fills in the screen's width, height, depth and driver, or the desktop's if none is open.	built-in
ScreenControl	Sets or reads graphics library settings, such as the driver or the window position.	built-in
ScreenGLProc	Returns the address of an OpenGL procedure by name, or 0 if it is not found.	built-in

Draw lines, shapes and pixels

Function	What it does	From
PSet	Plots one pixel, in the given colour or the current foreground colour.	built-in
PReset	Plots one pixel, in the given colour or the current background colour.	built-in
Line	Draws a line between two points, or a box or filled box with B or BF.	built-in
Circle	Draws a circle, ellipse or arc, optionally filled.	built-in
Paint	Fills the area enclosed by a border colour with a colour or a pattern.	built-in
Draw	Draws a figure from a string of pen commands such as "U10 R10".	built-in
Point	Returns the colour of a pixel, or -1 if it is off the screen or image.	built-in
PointCoord	Returns the x or y position of the Draw pen.	built-in

Draw text

Function	What it does	From
Draw String	Draws text at a pixel position, on a transparent background, with an optional font.	built-in

Make colours

Function	What it does	From
RGB	Returns an opaque colour value from red, green and blue parts of 0 to 255.	built-in
RGBA	Returns a colour value from red, green, blue and alpha parts of 0 to 255.	built-in
Palette	Sets or reads the colours of a palette mode, or restores the default palette.	built-in

Create and inspect images

Function	What it does	From
ImageCreate	Creates an image of a given size filled with one colour; returns 0 on failure.	built-in
ImageDestroy	Frees an image made by ImageCreate.	built-in
ImageInfo	Fills in an image's width, height, bytes per pixel, pitch and pixel pointer.	built-in
ImageConvertRow	Copies a row of pixels to another buffer, converting its colour depth.	built-in

Copy images to and from the screen

Function	What it does	From
Get	Copies a rectangle of the screen or an image into an image buffer.	built-in
Put	Draws an image onto the screen or another image, with a choice of blending method.	built-in

Choose how Put combines pixels

Function	What it does	From
PSet (Put method)	Copies source pixels over the destination unchanged, as a Put method.	built-in
Trans	Copies pixels with Put but skips the mask colour, magenta or index 0.	built-in
Alpha	Blends pixels with Put by each pixel's alpha, or by one alpha value you give.	built-in
Add	Adds source and destination colour values with Put, capped at 255.	built-in
And	Combines source and destination pixels with a bitwise And, as a Put method.	built-in
Or	Combines source and destination pixels with a bitwise Or, as a Put method.	built-in
Xor	Combines source and destination pixels with a bitwise Xor, as a Put method.	built-in
Custom	Calls your own function for each pixel to combine source and destination in Put.	built-in

Load and save images

Function	What it does	From
BLoad	Loads a BMP file or BSave data onto the screen or into memory.	built-in
BSave	Saves memory or the screen to a file, as a BMP image if the name ends in .bmp.	built-in

Draw without flicker

Function	What it does	From
ScreenLock	Stops screen updates while you draw, so the user never sees half a frame.	built-in
ScreenUnlock	Resumes screen updates after ScreenLock and shows what was drawn.	built-in
ScreenSet	Sets which page is drawn on and which page is shown.	built-in
ScreenCopy	Copies one graphics page onto another, by default the work page onto the shown one.	built-in
PCopy	Copies one graphics or text page onto another.	built-in
Flip	Shows the OpenGL back buffer, or copies a page as ScreenCopy does in other modes.	built-in
ScreenSync	Waits for the display to finish drawing a frame, to reduce flicker.	built-in
ScreenPtr	Returns a pointer to the work page's pixels, or 0 if no graphics mode is set.	built-in

Set the drawing area and coordinates

Function	What it does	From
View	Sets the rectangle that drawing is clipped to, or resets it to the whole screen.	built-in
Window	Sets the coordinate system mapped onto the current view.	built-in
PMap	Converts a coordinate between the Window system and physical pixels.	built-in

Read the mouse, keyboard and joystick

Function	What it does	From
GetMouse	Fills in the mouse position, wheel and buttons, or -1 in each if there is no mouse.	built-in
SetMouse	Moves the mouse pointer, shows or hides it, or keeps it inside the window.	built-in
MultiKey	Returns -1 while the key with a given scancode is held down, or 0 if it is not.	built-in
GetJoystick	Fills in a joystick's buttons and axis positions; returns 0 on success or 1.	built-in
ScreenEvent	Returns -1 if a mouse, keyboard or window event is waiting, and fetches it.	built-in
Event	Holds one event fetched by ScreenEvent: its type and its key or mouse data.	fbgfx.bi

Run a program of controls

Function	What it does	From
PsApp	Runs a program of controls: start-up, the message loop, forms with callbacks, DPI.	vendor/PsControls/PsApp
PsTheme	Colours every control from one light or dark theme that can follow Windows.	vendor/PsControls/PsTheme
tkApp	Runs a tkControls program: start-up, the event loop, forms, fonts and the theme.	vendor/tkControls/tkApp
tkTheme	Keeps the shared light and dark theme every tkControls control takes its colours from.	vendor/tkControls/tkTheme
tkForms	Provides the base a designed form extends: a window, its layout, show and close.	vendor/tkControls/tkForms

Take text, numbers and dates from the user

Function	What it does	From
PsTextBox	Lets the user type text in a themed frame, on one line or several.	vendor/PsControls/PsTextBox
PsNumericUpDown	Lets the user pick a number with minus and plus buttons, or type it.	vendor/PsControls/PsNumericUpDown
PsDatePicker	Lets the user type a date or pick it from a dropdown calendar.	vendor/PsControls/PsDatePicker
PsCalendar	Shows one or more month grids inside your window for choosing a day.	vendor/PsControls/PsCalendar
tkTextBox	Draws an editable text box, single-line or word-wrapped multiline, with its own editor.	vendor/tkControls/tkTextBox
tkNumericUpDown	Draws a numeric spinner: a typed value between minus and plus buttons, kept in range.	vendor/tkControls/tkNumericUpDown
tkDatePicker	Shows an editable date field with a calendar icon that drops down a month calendar.	vendor/tkControls/tkDatePicker
tkCalendar	Draws a month calendar, one month or a grid of up to twelve, with drill-down to years.	vendor/tkControls/tkCalendar
tkCodeEdit	Embeds a Scintilla code editor as a tkControls widget, with lexing, folding and IME.	vendor/tkControls/tkCodeEdit
tkLabel	Shows a line or block of text that the user can't edit.	vendor/tkControls/tkLabel

Add buttons and switches

Function	What it does	From
PsButton	Draws a push button with an optional caption and icons on either side.	vendor/PsControls/PsButton
PsCheckBox	Draws a checkbox, checked or unchecked, with an optional caption.	vendor/PsControls/PsCheckBox
PsOptionButton	Draws a radio button; checking one in a group unchecks the others.	vendor/PsControls/PsOptionButton
PsToggle	Draws an on and off switch: a pill with a knob at one end.	vendor/PsControls/PsToggle
tkButton	Draws a momentary command button with an optional glyph or image on either side.	vendor/tkControls/tkButton
tkCheckBox	Draws a two-state checkbox with an optional caption on either side of the box.	vendor/tkControls/tkCheckBox
tkOptionButton	Draws a radio button whose group allows at most one checked choice.	vendor/tkControls/tkOptionButton
tkToggle	Draws an on/off switch: a rounded track and a knob that marks the state.	vendor/tkControls/tkToggle

Show lists and choices

Function	What it does	From
PsListTree	Shows a list, tree or multi-column report of rows you paint, with in-place renaming.	vendor/PsControls/PsListTree
PsComboBox	Shows the current choice on a button that drops down a list of the others.	vendor/PsControls/PsComboBox
PsSelectBar	Shows a row of labels with a line under the current one, for switching views.	vendor/PsControls/PsSelectBar
PsTabBar	Shows a strip of tabs that can be selected, closed and dragged to a new place.	vendor/PsControls/PsTabBar
tkListTree	Shows a scrolling list of rows you paint that is also a tree, with columns and editing.	vendor/tkControls/tkListTree
tkComboBox	Shows the current choice on a button that drops a scrolling list of the alternatives.	vendor/tkControls/tkComboBox
tkSelectBar	Draws a strip of text panels where exactly one is current, marked by a line beneath it.	vendor/tkControls/tkSelectBar
tkTabBar	Draws a row of document tabs that scroll, close and reorder by drag.	vendor/tkControls/tkTabBar

Add menus, toolbars and status bars

Function	What it does	From
PsMenuBar	Shows a menu bar of items such as File and Edit, each with its own dropdown.	vendor/PsControls/PsMenuBar
PsToolbar	Shows a strip of command buttons; items that do not fit move into an overflow menu.	vendor/PsControls/PsToolbar
PsIconPanel	Shows a strip of icon buttons and toggles, spaced exactly as you declare.	vendor/PsControls/PsIconPanel
PsStatusBar	Shows panels of text in a strip along the bottom of a window.	vendor/PsControls/PsStatusBar
tkMenuBar	Draws a window's menu bar, whose items drop down tkPopupMenu menus.	vendor/tkControls/tkMenuBar
tkToolbar	Draws a toolbar of command, toggle, split and dropdown buttons that overflows to a menu.	vendor/tkControls/tkToolbar
tkIconPanel	Draws a row or column of icon-only buttons, toggles and separators.	vendor/tkControls/tkIconPanel
tkStatusBar	Draws a status bar of text panels, one of which stretches to fill the leftover width.	vendor/tkControls/tkStatusBar

Split, scroll and lay out a window

Function	What it does	From
PsSplitter	Draws a divider between two panes that the user drags, and reports where it went.	vendor/PsControls/PsSplitter
PsScrollPanel	Scrolls a page of ordinary child controls that is taller than the space for it.	vendor/PsControls/PsScrollPanel
PsVScrollBar	Draws a vertical scrollbar for content whose scrolling you manage yourself.	vendor/PsControls/PsVScrollBar
PsHScrollBar	Draws a horizontal scrollbar for content whose scrolling you manage yourself.	vendor/PsControls/PsHScrollBar
tkSplitter	Draws a draggable divider bar between two panes and reports where the user drags it.	vendor/tkControls/tkSplitter
tkScrollPanel	Scrolls a page of ordinary child widgets that is taller than the space it is shown in.	vendor/tkControls/tkScrollPanel
tkVScrollBar	Draws a vertical scrollbar that you size, feed a range, and listen to.	vendor/tkControls/tkVScrollBar
tkHScrollBar	Draws a horizontal scrollbar that you size, feed a range, and listen to.	vendor/tkControls/tkHScrollBar
tkPanel	Groups controls on a plain background, with an optional border.	vendor/tkControls/tkPanel
tkGroupBox	Frames a set of controls under a caption.	vendor/tkControls/tkGroupBox
tkTabControl	Shows one page of controls at a time under a strip of tabs.	vendor/tkControls/tkTabControl
tkLayout	Keeps controls placed as the window resizes, by Anchor or Dock.	vendor/tkControls/tkLayout

Show messages, colour pickers and tooltips

Function	What it does	From
PsMessageBox	Shows a themed modal message box with an optional icon and one to three buttons.	vendor/PsControls/PsMessageBox
PsColorPicker	Shows a modal colour picker and returns true with the colour, or false if abandoned.	vendor/PsControls/PsColorPicker
PsTooltip	Shows a themed tooltip near the cursor, with an optional title, wrapping and fade.	vendor/PsControls/PsTooltip
tkMessageBox	Shows a themed modal message box and returns the id of the button that closed it.	vendor/tkControls/tkMessageBox
tkColorPicker	Shows a modal colour picker popup and returns the colour and alpha the user chose.	vendor/tkControls/tkColorPicker
tkFileDialog	Shows the system open, save and folder dialogs and returns the chosen paths.	vendor/tkControls/tkFileDialog
tkTooltip	Shows an owner-drawn tooltip for a widget after the mouse rests on it.	vendor/tkControls/tkTooltip

Show progress and charts

Function	What it does	From
PsProgressBar	Draws a progress bar, flat or gradient, solid or in blocks, or with no known end.	vendor/PsControls/PsProgressBar
PsChart	Draws a line, column, price or pie chart from the series you supply.	vendor/PsControls/PsChart
tkProgressBar	Draws a horizontal or vertical progress bar, determinate or with a running marquee.	vendor/tkControls/tkProgressBar
tkChart	Draws line, column, HLOC and pie charts from series of labelled values.	vendor/tkControls/tkChart
tkPicture	Shows an image, scaled or clipped to its area.	vendor/tkControls/tkPicture

Paint and support your own controls

Function	What it does	From
PsBufferPaint	Paints a window offscreen and copies it in one go, so drawing never flickers.	vendor/PsControls/PsBufferPaint
PsImage	Loads an icon, PNG, BMP or JPEG file so a control can show it in an icon slot.	vendor/PsControls/PsImage
PsPopupMenu	Shows a themed popup menu with checks, accelerator labels and nested submenus.	vendor/PsControls/PsPopupMenu
PsColumnHeader	Draws a band of resizable column headers above a list or grid.	vendor/PsControls/PsColumnHeader
PsTipHost	Switches the controls' tooltips between the system tooltip and PsTooltip.	vendor/PsControls/PsTipHost
PsRegistry	Keeps what each control needs from the message loop, the theme and DPI changes.	vendor/PsControls/PsRegistry
tkHost	Runs every tkControls widget: SDL windows, the widget tree, input, timers and fonts.	vendor/tkControls/tkHost
tkPaint	Paints shapes, text and images for tkControls widgets on SDL_Renderer and SDL_ttf.	vendor/tkControls/tkPaint
tkKeys	Parses, formats and dispatches keyboard shortcuts for tkControls surfaces.	vendor/tkControls/tkKeys
tkImage	Loads an image file once and draws it in any tkControls window.	vendor/tkControls/tkImage
tkPopupMenu	Shows a popup menu of commands, separators, check marks and submenus.	vendor/tkControls/tkPopupMenu
tkColumnHeader	Draws a band of column headings with draggable dividers and one column taking the rest.	vendor/tkControls/tkColumnHeader
tkScrollBar	Runs the one scrollbar engine behind tkVScrollBar and tkHScrollBar.	vendor/tkControls/tkScrollBar
tkFontList	Lists the fonts installed on the machine by family, style and file.	vendor/tkControls/tkFontList
tkTest	Drives tkControls self-tests by pushing real SDL input events and checking the results.	vendor/tkControls/tkTest

See Also

• Screen functions
• 2D drawing functions
• Graphics input functions
• PsControls guide
• Vendor packages
• tkControls guide

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