How to set a PNG as a MAP? - c#

I'm doing some programming in WPF. My goal is creat a TRPG(Text-RPG), so a map is definitely needed.
I got a PNG picture that can be separated in 5×5.
I want to separate this PNG, the add some Code on these little squares, for example, the picture's code in left bottom corner is (0, 0).
(I'll add functions to make sure I'll be able to travel on this MAP later.)
Now I want to figure out how can I separate the PNG?
Then add it in my code?
Creat a new .cs? .edmx?

I'd recommend taking a step back and concisely identify exactly how you plan to represent geographic area in your application.
If you are planning to have an NxM grid to display geographic area of the "map" in your app, you might want to instead just draw the map's "image" on the background of your window. You can then overlay transparent controls on top of the actual map (such as labels for the individual grid cells).
Fortunately, WPF provides a very applicable layout mechanism for you to do this, a Grid.
See http://wpftutorial.net/GridLayout.html.

You can create a dynamic bitmap array. and define all of the bitmaps and just run a foreach loop to draw them.
Bitmap[] bitmapArray = new Bitmap[width * height]; //the size of your map
for(int i = 0; i <= bitmapArray.Length - 1; i++)
{
//Define the bitmaps here
}
foreach(Bitmap b in bitmapArray)
{
//Drawing Code
}

Related

Creating different brush patterns in c#

I'm trying to make something similar to paint. I'm trying to figure out how make different brush styles. Like in Paint 3D you get a certain line fills when using the pen tool vs using the paint brush tool.
I have no idea where to even start. I've spent a good portion of the day looking through documentations, and watching YouTube videos. I'm more lost than when I started. The closest thing I came across was line caps, but that's definitely not what I'm looking for.
!!See the UPDATE below!!
Hans' link should point you in the right direction, namely toward TextureBrushes.
To help you further here a few points to observe:
TextureBrush is a brush, not a pen. So you can't follow a path, like the mouse movements to draw along that curve. Instead, you need to find an area to fill with the brush.
This also implies that you need to decide how and when to trigger the drawing; basic options are by time and/or by distance. Usually, the user can set parameters for these often called 'flow' and 'distance'..
Instead of filling a simple shape and drawing many of those, you can keep adding the shapes to a GraphicsPath and fill that path.
To create a TextureBrush you need a pattern file that has transparency. You can either make some or download them from the web where loads of them are around, many for free.
Most are in the Photoshop Brush format 'abr'; if they are not too recent (<=CS5) you can use abrMate to convert them to png files.
You can load a set of brushes to an ImageList, set up for large enough size (max 256x256) and 32bpp to allow alpha.
Most patterns are black with alpha, so if you want color you need to create a colored version of the current brush image (maybe using a ColorMatrix).
You may also want to change its transparency (best also with the ColorMatrix).
And you will want to change the size to the current brush size.
Update
After doing a few tests I have to retract the original assumption that a TextureBrush is a suitable tool for drawing with textured tips.
It is OK for filling areas, but for drawing free-hand style it will not work properly. There are several reasons..:
one is that the TextureBrush will always tile the pattern in some way, flipped or not and this will always look like you are revealing one big underlying pattern instead of piling paint with several strokes.
Another is that finding the area to fill is rather problematic.
Also, tips may or may not be square but unless you fill with a rectangle there will be gaps.
See here for an example of what you don't want at work.
The solution is really simple and much of the above still applies:
What you do is pretty much regular drawing but in the end, you do a DrawImage with the prepared 'brush' pattern.
Regular drawing involves:
A List<List<Point>> curves that hold all the finished mouse paths
A List<Point> curentCurve for the current path
In the Paint event you draw all the curves and, if it has any points, also the current path.
For drawing with a pattern, it is necessary to also know when to draw which pattern version.
If we make sure not to leak them we can cache the brush patterns..:
Bitmap brushPattern = null;
List<Tuple<Bitmap,List<Point>>> curves = new List<Tuple<Bitmap,List<Point>>>();
Tuple<Bitmap, List<Point>> curCurve = null;
This is a simple/simplistic caching method. For better efficiency you could use a Dictionary<string, Bitmap> with a naming scheme that produces a string from the pattern index, size, color, alpha and maybe a rotation angle; this way each pattern would be stored only once.
Here is an example at work:
A few notes:
In the MouseDown we create a new current curve:
curCurve = new Tuple<Bitmap, List<Point>>(brushPattern, new List<Point>());
curCurve.Item2.Add(e.Location);
In the MouseUp I add the current curve to the curves list:
curves.Add(new Tuple<Bitmap, List<Point>>(curCurve.Item1, curCurve.Item2.ToList()));
Since we want to clear the current curve, we need to copy its points list; this is achieved by the ToList() call!
In the MouseMove we simply add a new point to it:
if (e.Button == MouseButtons.Left)
{
curCurve.Item2.Add(e.Location);
panel1.Invalidate();
}
The Paint goes over all curves including the current one:
for (int c = 0; c < curves.Count; c++)
{
e.Graphics.TranslateTransform(-curves[c].Item1.Width / 2, -curves[c].Item1.Height / 2);
foreach (var p in curves[c].Item2)
e.Graphics.DrawImage(curves[c].Item1, p);
e.Graphics.ResetTransform();
}
if (curCurve != null && curCurve.Item2.Count > 0)
{
e.Graphics.TranslateTransform(-curCurve.Item1.Width / 2, -curCurve.Item1.Height / 2);
foreach (var p in curCurve.Item2)
e.Graphics.DrawImage(curCurve.Item1, p);
e.Graphics.ResetTransform();
}
It makes sure the patterns are drawn centered.
The ListView is set to SmallIcons and its SmallImageList points to a smaller copy of the original ImageList.
It is important to make the Panel Doublebuffered! to avoid flicker!
Update: Instead of a Panel, which is a Container control and not really meant to draw onto you can use a Picturebox or a Label (with Autosize=false); both have the DoubleBuffered property turned on out of the box and support drawing better than Panels do.
Btw: The above quick and dirty example has only 200 (uncommented) lines. Adding brush rotation, preview, a stepping distance, a save button and implementing the brushes cache takes it to 300 lines.

Add images on chart control

I'm not sure if I titled the question correctly so it would be better if I explained what I'm trying to do. I want to add some images on chart control and
around their to draw graphics.
I want to display the layout of the sensors on the coordinate plane defined by coordinates, while noting the location of geographic objects (forest, river, etc.). These objects will be images which I want to add to the chart/
How can I do it? It is possible?
If you show us an example we may be able to help to find the best way.
There are several options.:
You can place image controls like PictureBox or Panel on the Chart by adding them to the chart's Controls collection
You can draw them in the Pre- or PostPaint event
You can assemble a BackImage that contains all the Images you want to place around the chart.
You can add ImageAnnotations to the chart. (Recommended)
The latter obviously is the one that is best integrated.
Here is an example:
We start by adding the images we want to use to the Chart's Images collection:
List<string> imgFiles = new List<string>()
{ yourImageFileName1, ...};
for (int i = 0; i < imgFiles.Count; i++)
{
Image img = Bitmap.FromFile(imgFiles[i]);
chart1.Images.Add(new NamedImage("Image" + i, img));
}
Note the NamedImage class used here. It allows you to refer to the images by a string; pick better names! Maybe Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(imgFiles[i]) - Also note that you must not Dispose of the Images or else they will disappear!
Next make make a little room at the right side of the chart by reducing the ChartArea's size:
ChartArea ca = chart1.ChartAreas[0];
ca.Position = new ElementPosition(5,5,70,90);
Note the values are percentages of the Chart's ClientSize, so they will grow and shrink when resizing the Chart!
Finally we can add them all. You will want to add them at specific positions. I add them at some space to the right and also make them moveable:
foreach (NamedImage img in chart1.Images)
{
ImageAnnotation ia = new ImageAnnotation();
ia.Image = img.Name;
ia.AllowMoving = true;
ia.X = 77;
ia.Y = 15 * chart1.Images.IndexOf(img) + 5;
chart1.Annotations.Add(ia);
}
Now you should see the Annotions. And if you add this event:
private void chart1_AnnotationPositionChanging(object sender,
AnnotationPositionChangingEventArgs e)
{
testLabel.Text = e.Annotation.X + " " + e.Annotation.Y;
}
..you will see just what the numbers for the best position are. Eventually you will not keep them moveable, of course..
Note the the Annotations' position is also in percentages, so they will move along nicely, when the chart get resized! You may also scale the Images by setting the Width and Height; this is a little tricky, as it will also be in percent (and not as the docs falsely state in pixels). You would probably want to loop over the ImageAnnotations and rescale them in the Resize event..: ia.Height = ia.Width * chart1.Width / chart1.Height;
Also note that there are other ways to position annotations, like anchored to datapoints, but this seem the best for a static adornment.

Photoshop like background on transparent image

I'm making a graphics editor for my class project and i want to make so that when, for example a user loads a picture in to the editor or or draw something in the PictureBox, all the alpha parts are shown the chessboard like background.
My idea is that when I create a PictureBox with transparent background set, I create another one behind it, set its BackColor to white and add grey images 50x50, alternately horizontally and vertically. Is that a good approach to the problem? If, not do You have any suggestions?
In Photoshop, for example, I create image 1600x1600. When I zoom to a certain level, it shrinks the boxes and adds more of them to fill the image. If You'we used Photoshop of similar program you know what I mean. Now, how would I go about achieving the same effect?
Creating a Photoshop-like program is a fun project.
There will be many challenges along your way and it is well worth thinking ahead a little..
Here is a short and incomplete list of things to keep in mind:
Draw- and paint actions
Undo, redo, edit
Multiple layers
Zooming and scrolling
Saving and printing
So getting a checkerboard background is only the start of a long journey..
Using a PictureBox as the base canvas is a very good choice, as its several layers will help. Here is a piece of code that will provide you with a flexible checkerboard background, that will keep its size even when you scale the real graphics:
void setBackGround(PictureBox pb, int size, Color col)
{
if (size == 0 && pb.BackgroundImage != null)
{
pb.BackgroundImage.Dispose();
pb.BackgroundImage = null;
return;
}
Bitmap bmp = new Bitmap(size * 2, size * 2);
using (SolidBrush brush = new SolidBrush(col))
using (Graphics G = Graphics.FromImage(bmp) )
{
G.FillRectangle(brush, 0,0,size, size);
G.FillRectangle(brush, size,size, size, size);
}
pb.BackgroundImage = bmp;
pb.BackgroundImageLayout = ImageLayout.Tile;
}
Load an Image for testing and this is what you'll get, left normal, right zoomed in:
Yes, for saving this background should be removed; as you can see in the code, passing in a size = 0 will do that.
What next? Let me give you a few hints on how to approach the various tasks from above:
Scrolling: Picturebox can't scroll. Instead place it in a Panel with AutoScroll = true and make it as large as needed.
Zooming: Playing with its Size and the SizeMode will let you zoom in and out the Image without problems. The BackgroundImage will stay unscaled, just as it does in Photoshop. You will have to add some more code however to zoom in on the graphics you draw on top of the PB or on the layers. The key here is scaling the Graphics object using a Graphics.MultiplyTransform(Matrix).
Layers: Layers are imo the single most useful feature in PhotoShop (and other quality programs). They can be achieved by nesting transparent drawing canvases. Panels can be used, I prefer Labels. If each is sitting inside the one below it and the one at the bottom has the PB as its Parent, all their contents will be shown combined.
Don't use the Label directly but create a subclass to hold additional data and know-how!
Changing their order is not very hard, just keep the nested structure in mind and intact!
Hiding a layer is done by setting a flag and checking that flag in the painting actions
Other data can include a Name, Opacity, maybe an overlay color..
The layers should also be shown in a Layers Palette, best by creating a thumbnail and inserting a layer userobject in a FlowLayoutPanel
Draw Actions: These are always the key to any drawing in WinForms. When using the mouse to draw, each such activity creates an object of a DrawAction class you need to design, which holds all info needed to do the actual drawing, like:
Type (Rectangle, filledRectangle, Line, FreeHandLine (a series of Points), Text, etc.etc..)
Colors
Points
Widths
Text
The layer to draw on
maybe even a rotation
Along with the LayerCanvas class the DrawAction class will be the most important class in the project, so getting its design right is worth some work!
Only the topmost layer will receive the mouse events. So you need to keep track which layer is the active one and add the action to its actions list. Of course the active layer must also be indicated in the Layers Palette.
Since all drawing is stored in List(s), implementing a unlimited undo and redo is simple. To allow for effective drawing and undo, maybe a common action list and an individual list for each layer is the best design..
Undo and Redo are just matter of removing the last list element and pushing it onto a redo-stack.
Editing actions is also possible, including changing the parameters, moving them up or down the actions list or removing one from the middle of the list. It help to show an Actions Palette, like F9 in PhotoShop.
To flatten two or more layers together all you need is to combine their action lists.
To flatten all layers into the Image you only need to draw them not onto their canvas but into the Image. For the difference of drawing onto a control or into a Bitmap see here! Here we have the PictureBox.Image as the second level of a PB's structure above the Background.Image. (The 3rd is the Control surface, but with the multiple layers on top we don't really need it..)
Saving can be done by either by Image.Save() after flattening all Layers or after you have switched off the BackgroundImage by telling the PB to draw itself into a Bitmap ( control.DrawToBitmap() ) which you can then save.
Have fun!

How to create an image with multiple tiles in the background?

I would like to know how I can create one image from many. I would like to create a tile in my windows phone application like in this image (specifically, the People tile):
(source: addictivetips.com)
I have nine pictures, and I would create an image, that I will add like tile to background. Does anybody know how can I create an image that looks like the one in that picture?
I have very little experience in this space, but have you considered creating a control that simply displays up to 9 pictures side by side in a grid like that? You then can bind each image independently & change them out however you want. This article touches on how to bind phontos in WP7 nicely:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh286418(v=vs.92).aspx
If you're talking about assembling an actual graphic image like a jpeg or bitmap, you'll need to look at the Image Class, Bitmap Class, and Graphics Class. Essentially you'll need to implement the following steps:
Load the relevant images with From method in Image, typically Image.FromFile.
Determine how many rows and columns you'll be using.
Calculate the total width and height for your layout using the widths and heights of the loaded images with appropriate padding added.
Create a new Bitmap of the appropriate size with the correct background color and iamge format.
Have variables for the current drawing location (x & y).
Have variables for the current row and column in your layout.
In a loop, Create your Graphics object.
Use Graphics.DrawImage to add your loaded image to the layout bitmap.
Increment your drawing row and or column as appropriate.
Calculate your new drawing location.
Repeat until done.
One of the options is to use WriteableBitmapEx
Also you can probably find an answer to your question here: How can I merge two images into one?

Drawing a map based on an array, and applying run time changes

I am writing a program to control a mobile robot. One of the things it has to do is to draw a map of the "world" as the robot senses it and apply changes in the map as it senses them.
It also has to highlight in some way the location of the robot and (ideally) the direction it points to.
I currently have an auto-updating array (100 x150) representing the map, using the following representations: 0 represents a clear path, 1 represents an obstacle.
I also have a variable containing the robot's location and next location.
What I need is to visualize it. I thought about using labels, but it is way too tedious using them, and the end result is not so pretty. My other possibility is to write all that data into an Excel spreadsheet, but then I will be back to square one: visualizing the data in an attractive way. Is there a drawing package of some sort that can do the job?
To sum it up:
Using:
- int[] MapArray //100 x 150 array representing the robot's world, and the data there is changing.
- Point[] Locations //Locations[0] is the current location, Locations[1] is the next step.
And I want to draw a map on a Windows Forms application that updates itself in a nice visual manner.
I hope my question is clear enough, don't hesitate to contact me if not!
Try Code: Drawing a Filled Rectangle on a Form (Visual C#) or something similar.
Graphics Programming Example Topics
Just write a couple of cycles which accesses every cell of an array and draws a rectangle on a form according to coords - that's the simplest way.
for(int i=0; i<100; i++)
{
for(int j=0;j<150;j++)
{
<access[i,j] and draw a rectangle with color accordingly to your contents.>
}
}
The same for the drawing location.
If you don't find any nice controls, you can always use a DataGridView with the column width = row height so that it always displays square cells. After that, just change the background color of the obstacles.
You could also look into observable collections for the map array so that the grid updates based on events rather than on timers. Make sure that you overwrite the observable collection to send the CollectionChanged event even when a cell changes its value, not only when adding/removing cells.

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