ImageGear Supported Versions:

Version 1.0.0

Version 1.0.1

ImageGear Supported Features:

• IG_FLTR_DETECTSUPPORT - autodetection
• IG_FLTR_PAGEREADSUPPORT - single page file reading
• IG_FLTR_PAGEINSERTSUPPORT - single-page file writing

ImageGear Read Support:

• IG_COMPRESSION_NONE:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;
  • Grayscale + Alpha: 16 bpp (converted to RGB during loading);
  • RGB + Alpha: 16 bpp (converted to RGB during loading);
• IG_COMPRESSION_FPX_SINCOLOR:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;
  • Grayscale + Alpha: 16 bpp (converted to RGB during loading);
  • RGB + Alpha: 16 bpp (converted to RGB during loading);
• IG_COMPRESSION_JPEG:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;

ImageGear Write Support:

• IG_COMPRESSION_NONE:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;
• IG_COMPRESSION_FPX_NOCHANGE:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;
• IG_COMPRESSION_FPX_SINCOLOR:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;
• IG_COMPRESSION_JPEG:
  • Grayscale: 8 bpp;
  • RGB: 24 bpp;

ImageGear Filter Control Parameters:

Comments:

The FlashPix File Format was created to make the desktop handling of digital color photographic images easy, enjoyable, affordable, and commonplace. It was developed and published by Eastman Kodak Company in collaboration with Hewlett-Packard, Live Picture Inc. and Microsoft.

Kodak is marketing the Kodak Image Magic system, which includes such components as a FlashPix CD, digital cameras, scanners, and print services - that can be accessed through the internet, or through your local film developer. You do not, however, have to use digital equipment to put your photographs onto CD. You can still take your "old-fashioned" camera film to a film developer and request that it be sent to Kodak for transfer to a CD. You can also bring in existing negatives and have them transferred to CD. Ultimately, Kodak envisions a world where amateur PC users can put their latest photographs into digital storage, improve them and enhance them, drop them into card or calendar templates, and E-mail them off to Grandma and Grandpa's home computer.

When you think FlashPix file format, three major structural features should come to mind: Source Plus Transform storage scheme, hierarchy of resolutions, and tiled storage. These three key features best illustrate the purpose of the format and also set it apart from most others.

• The Source Plus Transform storage scheme refers to Kodak's use of "transformation parameters". This set of non-image data tags (fields) stores the last set of FlashPix-specific transformations that were made to the image. In this unique storage scheme the bitmap data and the transformations for it are stored separately. This keeps the bitmap data in its original state. The bitmap data, or "source image" of a FlashPix image is never directly altered by a FlashPix transformation. One of the reasons for this structure is that it allows the end-user of a FlashPix application always to be able to return to the source image if their transformations have gotten out-of-hand. Transformation parameters can be applied (enabled) to the source image when the image is being displayed, or they can be "turned off" (disabled) so that the unaltered source image is displayed. The API functions IG_FPX_enable() and IG_FPX_disable() are used for this purpose, respectively. Additionally, you can "burn in" the transformations directly to the DIB, if so desired.
• The "hierarchy of resolutions" refers to the multiple pages with which FlashPix stores several versions of the same image - each with a different resolution. The highest resolution image represents the first image or "page" of a FlashPix file. Each subsequent image is at a lower resolution. The resolution hierarchy was developed in the interest of optimizing speed during image loading. The lower resolution images can be used for display, depending on the capability of the monitor, and the highest resolution image will always be used for printing. Kodak likes to refer to this storage as being like a pyramid.

The FlashPix is available as an ImageGear component, which brings you the core of the FlashPix features:

• a full hierarchy of resolutions for each image,
• a "Source Plus Transform" storage scheme for easy "undos" and no loss of image quality, no matter how many transformations are applied,
• a choice of JPEG or Single Color compression,
• a details-oriented stash of non-image data (title, subject, people in the picture, creation date, etc.),
• thumbnail support,
• tiled storage,
• and the use of all ImageGear functions to load, save, and transform FlashPix images.
• a special FlashPix-specific API, including functions that make reading and writing of non-image information easy,
• the ability to perform all FlashPix transformations on any ImageGear image,
• the ability to perform ImageGear transformations without losing FlashPix transformations.