Microsoft KB Archive/187568

= How To Create Your Own Bitmap Object Class =

Article ID: 187568

Article Last Modified on 7/1/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Control Creation Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Learning Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Enterprise Edition

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This article was previously published under Q187568



SUMMARY
This article shows how to create a simple Bitmap Object class that will store both an image and its mask. This object may be used to blit images quickly within a Visual Basic 5.0 application with built-in ability to perform transparency.



MORE INFORMATION
This example shows how to build a simple Bitmap Object class, which allows you to load an image into the object, and use that image with the Bitblt API or any other drawing API which requires a Device Context. These objects are low in resource use and very fast. This example also shows how to create a Mask bitmap of an image (a Mask image can be used to perform transparency effects with bitmaps). Using an image Mask, you can easily perform fast transparent blitting.

The bitmap class has five properties and one function as listed below:   Property GetImageDC    - Returns a DC to the actual image Property GetInvertedDC - Returns a DC to an inverted copy of the image Property GetMaskDC    - Returns a DC to a masked copy of the image Property Width        - Returns width (in pixels) of image Property Height       - Returns height (in pixels) of image Function SetBitmap    - Loads image, return TRUE if successful

Step-by-Step Example
 Start a new Standard EXE project in Visual Basic 5.0. Form1 is created by default. Add a module (Module1) and a class (Class1) to the project.  Add the following controls to Form1:   1 Picturebox (make this control pretty large) 1 Textbox 4 CommandButtons

  Copy and paste the following code into the Module code window: Option Explicit

' constants used in this example are declared here Public Const SRCAND = &H8800C6 ' used to determine how a blit will ' turn out Public Const SRCCOPY = &HCC0020 ' used to determine how a blit ' will turn out Public Const SRCERASE = &H440328 ' used to determine how a blit ' will turn out Public Const SRCINVERT = &H660046 ' used to determine how a blit ' will turn out Public Const SRCPAINT = &HEE0086  ' used to determine how a blit ' will turn out Public Const IMAGE_BITMAP = &O0   ' used with LoadImage to load a                                       ' bitmap Public Const LR_LOADFROMFILE = 16 ' used with LoadImage

' structures used in this example Type BITMAP bmType As Long bmWidth As Long bmHeight As Long bmWidthBytes As Long bmPlanes As Integer bmBitsPixel As Integer bmBits As Long End Type

' API's used in this example Declare Function GetObject Lib "gdi32" Alias "GetObjectA" _ (ByVal hObject As Long, ByVal nCount As Long, lpObject As Any) _ As Long Declare Function DeleteObject Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hObject As Long) _ As Long Declare Function CreateCompatibleDC Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hdc As Long) _ As Long Declare Function DeleteDC Lib "gdi32" (ByVal hdc As Long) As Long Declare Function SelectObject Lib "gdi32" _ (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal hObject As Long) As Long Declare Function BitBlt Lib "gdi32" _ (ByVal hDestDC As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long, _      ByVal nWidth As Long, ByVal nHeight As Long, ByVal hSrcDC As Long, _       ByVal xSrc As Long, ByVal ySrc As Long, ByVal dwRop As Long) As Long Declare Function SetBkColor Lib "gdi32" _ (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal crColor As Long) As Long Declare Function SetTextColor Lib "gdi32" _ (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal crColor As Long) As Long Declare Function LoadImage Lib "user32" Alias "LoadImageA" _ (ByVal hInst As Long, ByVal lpsz As String, ByVal un1 As Long, _      ByVal n1 As Long, ByVal n2 As Long, ByVal un2 As Long) As Long Declare Function CreateCompatibleBitmap Lib "gdi32" _ (ByVal hdc As Long, ByVal nWidth As Long, ByVal nHeight As Long) _ As Long

  Rename Class1 to "clsBitmap", then copy and paste the following code in clsBitmap's code window: Option Explicit

Private Const CLR_INVALID = &HFFFF ' used to test results of color ' API calls

Private iImageDC As Long       ' DC to the Image bitmap Private iInvertImageDC As Long ' DC to the Inverted Image bitmap Private iMaskDC As Long        ' DC to the Mask bitmap Private hbmImageOld As Long      'used to remove bitmaps Private hbmInvertImageOld As Long 'used to remove bitmaps Private hbmMaskOld As Long       'used to remove bitmaps Private iWidth As Long         ' Size of Bitmap - X       Private iHeight As Long         ' Size of Bitmap - Y       Private iInvertImage As Long    ' temp bitmap used in creating the ' invert image Private iMask As Long          ' temp bitmap used in creating mask ' For this object class, 5 properties are exposed (read only) and one ' function

' Get ImageDC          - returns a DC that contains the original '                        image ' Get InvertImageDC    - returns a DC that contains an invert of the '                        image's background ' Get MaskDC           - returns a DC that contains an invert of the '                        original image ' Fnc SetBitmap        - returns TRUE/FALSE when attempting to load '                        image into bitmap object

Property Get ImageDC As Long ImageDC = iImageDC             ' return the DC that contains the ' regular image End Property

Property Get InvertImageDC As Long InvertImageDC = iInvertImageDC ' return the DC that contains the ' inverted image End Property

Property Get MaskDC As Long MaskDC = iMaskDC               ' return the DC that contains the ' mask image End Property

Property Get Width As Long Width = iWidth                 ' return the width of the bitmap End Property

Property Get Height As Long Height = iHeight               ' return the height of the bitmap End Property

Public Function SetBitmap(NewBitmap As Long) As Boolean

' The NewBitmap argument is a handle to a bitmap. This is used to      ' grab the bitmap info, place the data into a bitmap structure, and ' use the structure to build a bitmap/mask grab the bitmap ' information.

Dim lresult As Long        ' lResults of our API calls Dim BitmapData As BITMAP   ' data on the incoming bitmap SetBitmap = True lresult = GetObject(NewBitmap, Len(BitmapData), BitmapData)

' Verify the bitmap data If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Persist the height/width of the bitmap image

iWidth = BitmapData.bmWidth    ' Determine the bitmaps width iHeight = BitmapData.bmHeight   ' Determine the bitmaps height

' Three Device Contexts (DC) are created. One is temporary (for      ' the incoming bitmap that will be copied. The second is for the       ' bitmap image that will be contained with this bitmap object class,       ' and the third is for the image mask that will also be contained       ' within this bitmap object class.

iImageDC = CreateCompatibleDC(0) iInvertImageDC = CreateCompatibleDC(0) iMaskDC = CreateCompatibleDC(0)

' Ensure that there are three new DCs to use in this bitmap object. If (iImageDC = 0) Or (iInvertImageDC = 0) Or (iMaskDC = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Save the actual bitmap within this bitmap object. hbmImageOld = SelectObject(iImageDC, NewBitmap)

' Make sure that the object is selected. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Create the bitmap to hold the inverted image, and connect it to a DC. iInvertImage = CreateCompatibleBitmap(iImageDC, iWidth, iHeight)

' Make sure that a bitmap can be created. If (iMask = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Copy the image into the bitmap that was just created. hbmInvertImageOld = SelectObject(iInvertImageDC, iInvertImage)

' Make sure that the object is selected. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Create the bitmap to hold the mask, and connect it to a DC. iMask = CreateCompatibleBitmap(iMaskDC, iWidth, iHeight)

' Make sure that a bitmap can be created. If (iMask = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' The bitmap is now in memory. Attach it to the DC created for the Mask. hbmMaskOld = SelectObject(iMaskDC, iMask)

' Make sure that the object is selected. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Blit the incoming image into the ImageDC created. Now there is a         ' permanent copy of the original image. lresult = BitBlt(iInvertImageDC, 0, 0, iWidth, iHeight, iImageDC, _                        0, 0, SRCCOPY)

' If the first blit fails, SetBitmap = False. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Create the Mask image first. lresult = BitBlt(iMaskDC, 0, 0, iWidth, iHeight, iImageDC, 0, 0, _                 SRCCOPY)

' If the first blit fails, SetBitmap = False. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Next, change the background of the real bitmap. This is done to         ' create the Mask image. lresult = SetBkColor(iInvertImageDC, vbBlack)

' Make sure that the background color is set successfully. If (lresult = CLR_INVALID) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Change the textcolor of the real bitmap. This is done to create ' the mask image. lresult = SetTextColor(iInvertImageDC, vbWhite)

' Make sure that the text color is set successfully. If (lresult = CLR_INVALID) Then SetBitmap = False End If

' Invert the white background to black on the real bitmap by         ' blitting the Mask that is created over the slightly modified ' original bitmap. The background color becomes black - ' perfect for transparent blitting. lresult = BitBlt(iInvertImageDC, 0, 0, iWidth, iHeight, iMaskDC, _                    0, 0, SRCAND)

' Make sure that the blit succeeded. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If

lresult = DeleteObject(NewBitmap) ' Make sure that the temporary bitmap is deleted. If (lresult = 0) Then SetBitmap = False End If         ' The bitmap image has been loaded into the bitmap object, ' return a successful attempt.

End Function

Private Sub Class_Terminate Dim lresult As Long lresult = DeleteObject(SelectObject(iImageDC, hbmImageOld)) lresult = DeleteObject(SelectObject(iInvertImageDC, hbmInvertImageOld)) lresult = DeleteObject(SelectObject(iMaskDC, hbmMaskOld)) ' When this object is destroyed, destroy the Device Contexts that ' are being used. Call DeleteDC(iImageDC)        ' delete the image DC        Call DeleteDC(iInvertImageDC)   ' delete the inverted image DC        Call DeleteDC(iMaskDC)          ' delete the mask DC

End Sub   Copy and paste the following code into the Form1 code window: Option Explicit

Private oTestBitmap As clsBitmap   ' sample bitmap object

Private Sub Command1_Click Dim hBitmap As Long    ' handle to bitmap being loaded Dim sFileName As String ' path + name of bitmap file to be loaded Dim bResult As Boolean ' result of loading bitmap into bitmap ' object ' use the LoadImage API to load in a bitmap image. The name of the ' image file will be retrieved from the textbox control sited on the ' form.

sFileName = Text1.Text

' call the LoadImage API to attempt to load in the test bitmap. hBitmap = LoadImage(0, sFileName, IMAGE_BITMAP, 0, 0, LR_LOADFROMFILE)

' if LoadImage fails, the return result is a zero, test for this ' before attempting to create our bitmap object.

If (hBitmap = 0) Then MsgBox "Error : Unable To Load Bitmap Image : " & sFileName, _ vbOKOnly, "Bitmap Load Error" Exit Sub End If

' create a new bitmap object for testing purposes Set oTestBitmap = New clsBitmap

' attempt to load the bitmap into to into the bitmap object using its ' handle

bResult = oTestBitmap.SetBitmap(hBitmap)

' verify the image was successfully loaded into the bitmap object. ' SetBitmap returns true if successful.

If (bResult = False) Then MsgBox "Error : Unable To Load Image Into Bitmap Object", _ vbOKOnly, "Bitmap Object Error" Set oTestBitmap = Nothing Exit Sub End If

' test the bitmap object with the loaded image Command2.Enabled = True Command3.Enabled = True Command4.Enabled = True

End Sub

Private Sub Command2_Click

' blit the bitmap object's image onto the picturebox Call BitBlt(Picture1.hdc, 10, 10, oTestBitmap.Width, _      oTestBitmap.Height, oTestBitmap.ImageDC, 0, 0, SRCCOPY)

' refresh the picturebox to show the blit Picture1.Refresh

End Sub

Private Sub Command3_Click

' blit the bitmap object's mask onto the picturebox Call BitBlt(Picture1.hdc, 10, 10, oTestBitmap.Width, _      oTestBitmap.Height, oTestBitmap.MaskDC, 0, 0, SRCCOPY)

' refresh the picturebox to show the blit Picture1.Refresh

End Sub

Private Sub Command4_Click

' demonstrate the transparency capabilities of the Bitmap Object ' class

' first, blit the mask to the Picture Box Control Call BitBlt(Picture1.hdc, 50, 10, oTestBitmap.Width, _           oTestBitmap.Height, oTestBitmap.MaskDC, 0, 0, SRCAND)

' next blit the actual bitmap, which will fill in the black hole ' that the Mask image created in the Picturebox. Call BitBlt(Picture1.hdc, 50, 10, oTestBitmap.Width, _           oTestBitmap.Height, oTestBitmap.InvertImageDC, 0, 0, SRCPAINT)

' refresh the Picturebox Control to show the effects Picture1.Refresh

End Sub

Private Sub Form_Load

' disable the test buttons Command2.Enabled = False Command3.Enabled = False Command4.Enabled = False

' get the path of the test bitmap Text1.Text = App.Path & "\test.bmp"

' set the picturebox to autoredraw so the blits will show up      Picture1.AutoRedraw = True

End Sub

</li> Save and compile the project.</li></ol>

Creating a Test Bitmap
Use Microsoft Paint (MSPAINT.EXE) to create a bitmap with white (default) background and save it in the project's directory as TEST.BMP. Under Image menu, select Attributes to size the bitmap.

Running The Example

 * 1) Press the F5 key while in the Visual Basic 5.0 to run the project.
 * 2) Click "Command1" to load the bitmap.
 * 3) Click "Command2" to blit the bitmap image to the picturebox.
 * 4) Click "Command3" to blit the mask image to the picturebox.
 * 5) Click "Command4" to show the transparent effect using both the mask image and the inverted image.

NOTE: The test bitmap must have all the "Transparent" pixels set to white. These white pixels will become the transparent part of the mask, and all the other pixels will be black when the mask is blitted.

Additional query words: blitting animation sprites

Keywords: kbhowto kbbitmap KB187568

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