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How to save Direct2D content to an image file

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This topic shows how to use IWICImageEncoder to save content in the form of an ID2D1Image to an encoded image file such as JPEG. If you are writing a Windows Store app, you can have the user select a destination file using Windows::Storage::Pickers::FileSavePicker.

What you need to know

Technologies

Prerequisites

Instructions

Step 1: Get a destination file and stream

If you want to allow the user to select a destination file, you can use FileSavePicker, open the returned file, and obtain an IStream to use with WIC.

Create a Windows::Storage::Pickers::FileSavePicker and set its parameters for image files. Call the PickSaveFileAsync method.

    Pickers::FileSavePicker^ savePicker = ref new Pickers::FileSavePicker();
    auto jpgExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
    pngExtensions->Append(".png");
    savePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("PNG file", pngExtensions);
    auto jpgExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
    jpgExtensions->Append(".jpg");
    savePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("JPEG file", jpgExtensions);
    savePicker->DefaultFileExtension = ".jpg";
    savePicker->SuggestedFileName = "SaveScreen";
    savePicker->SuggestedStartLocation = Pickers::PickerLocationId::PicturesLibrary;

    task<StorageFile^> fileTask(savePicker->PickSaveFileAsync());

Declare a completion handler to run after the file picker async operation returns. Use the GetResults method to retrieve the file and to get the file stream object.

    task<StorageFile^> fileTask(savePicker->PickSaveFileAsync());
    fileTask.then([=](StorageFile^ file) {
        if (file != nullptr)
        {
            // User selects a file.
            GUID wicFormat = GUID_ContainerFormatPng;
            if (file->FileType == ".jpg")
            {
                wicFormat = GUID_ContainerFormatJpeg;
            }

Obtain an IRandomAccessStream by calling OpenAsync on the file and getting the result of the async operation.

    task<Streams::IRandomAccessStream^> createStreamTask(file->OpenAsync(FileAccessMode::ReadWrite));
    createStreamTask.then([=](Streams::IRandomAccessStream^ randomAccessStream) {

Finally, use the CreateStreamOverRandomAccessStream method to convert the file stream. Windows Runtime APIs represent streams with IRandomAccessStream, while WIC consumes IStream.

    ComPtr<IStream> stream;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        CreateStreamOverRandomAccessStream(randomAccessStream, IID_PPV_ARGS(&stream))
        );

Note

To use the CreateStreamOverRandomAccessStream function, you should include shcore.h in your project.

 

Step 2: Get the WIC bitmap and frame encoder

IWICBitmapEncoder and IWICBitmapFrameEncode provide the functionality to save imaging data to an encoded file format.

Create and initialize the encoder objects.

    ComPtr<IWICBitmapEncoder> wicBitmapEncoder;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFactory2->CreateEncoder(
            wicFormat,
            nullptr,    // No preferred codec vendor.
            &wicBitmapEncoder
            )
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->Initialize(
            stream,
            WICBitmapEncoderNoCache
            )
        );

    ComPtr<IWICBitmapFrameEncode> wicFrameEncode;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->CreateNewFrame(
            &wicFrameEncode,
            nullptr     // No encoder options.
            )
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFrameEncode->Initialize(nullptr)
        );

Step 3: Get an IWICImageEncoder

IWICImageEncoder is a new interface in Windows 8. It can be created from IWICImagingFactory2, which extends IWICImagingFactory and is also new for Windows 8.

ComPtr<IWICImagingFactory2> m_wicFactory;

DX::ThrowIfFailed(
    CoCreateInstance(
        CLSID_WICImagingFactory,
        nullptr,
        CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER,
        IID_PPV_ARGS(&m_wicFactory)
        )
    );

Call IWICImagingFactory2::CreateImageEncoder. The first parameter is an ID2D1Device and must be the device on which the image you want to encode was created – you cannot mix images from different resource domains within a single IWICImageEncoder.

    ComPtr<IWICImageEncoder> imageEncoder;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFactory2->CreateImageEncoder(
            d2dDevice.Get(),
            &imageEncoder
            )
       );

Step 4: Write the Direct2D content using IWICImageEncoder

IWICImageEncoder can write a Direct2D image into an image frame, a frame thumbnail, or the container thumbnail. You can then use IWICBitmapEncoder and IWICBitmapFrameEncode to encode the imaging data to a file as normal.

Write the Direct2D image to the frame. In this snippet we write an ID2D1Bitmap that contains rasterized Direct2D content. However, you can provide any interface that implements ID2D1Image.

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        imageEncoder->WriteFrame(
            d2dBitmap.Get(),
            wicFrameEncode.Get(),
            nullptr     // Use default WICImageParameter options.
            )
        );

Note

The ID2D1Image parameter must have been created on the ID2D1Device that was passed into IWICImagingFactory2::CreateImageEncoder.

 

Commit the WIC and stream resources to finalize the operation.

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFrameEncode->Commit()
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->Commit()
        );

    // Flush all memory buffers to the next-level storage object.
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        stream->Commit(STGC_DEFAULT)
        );

Note

Some implementations of IStream do not implement the Commit method and return E_NOTIMPL.

 

Now you have a file containing the Direct2D image.

Complete example

Here the full code for this example.

ComPtr<IWICImagingFactory2> m_wicFactory;

DX::ThrowIfFailed(
    CoCreateInstance(
        CLSID_WICImagingFactory,
        nullptr,
        CLSCTX_INPROC_SERVER,
        IID_PPV_ARGS(&m_wicFactory)
        )
    );

void SaveAsImageFile::SaveBitmapToFile()
{
    // Prepare a file picker for customers to input image file name.
    Pickers::FileSavePicker^ savePicker = ref new Pickers::FileSavePicker();
    auto pngExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
    pngExtensions->Append(".png");
    savePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("PNG file", pngExtensions);
    auto jpgExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
    jpgExtensions->Append(".jpg");
    savePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("JPEG file", jpgExtensions);
    auto bmpExtensions = ref new Platform::Collections::Vector<Platform::String^>();
    bmpExtensions->Append(".bmp");
    savePicker->FileTypeChoices->Insert("BMP file", bmpExtensions);
    savePicker->DefaultFileExtension = ".png";
    savePicker->SuggestedFileName = "SaveScreen";
    savePicker->SuggestedStartLocation = Pickers::PickerLocationId::PicturesLibrary;

    task<StorageFile^> fileTask(savePicker->PickSaveFileAsync());
    fileTask.then([=](StorageFile^ file) {
        if (file != nullptr)
        {
            // User selects a file.
            m_imageFileName = file->Name;
            GUID wicFormat = GUID_ContainerFormatPng;
            if (file->FileType == ".bmp")
            {
                wicFormat = GUID_ContainerFormatBmp;
            }
            else if (file->FileType == ".jpg")
            {
                wicFormat = GUID_ContainerFormatJpeg;
            }

            // Retrieve a stream from the file.
            task<Streams::IRandomAccessStream^> createStreamTask(file->OpenAsync(FileAccessMode::ReadWrite));
            createStreamTask.then([=](Streams::IRandomAccessStream^ randomAccessStream) {
                // Convert the RandomAccessStream to an IStream.
                ComPtr<IStream> stream;
                DX::ThrowIfFailed(
                    CreateStreamOverRandomAccessStream(randomAccessStream, IID_PPV_ARGS(&stream))
                    );

                SaveBitmapToStream(m_d2dTargetBitmap, m_wicFactory, m_d2dContext, wicFormat, stream.Get());
            });
        }
    });
}

// Save render target bitmap to a stream using WIC.
void SaveAsImageFile::SaveBitmapToStream(
    _In_ ComPtr<ID2D1Bitmap1> d2dBitmap,
    _In_ ComPtr<IWICImagingFactory2> wicFactory2,
    _In_ ComPtr<ID2D1DeviceContext> d2dContext,
    _In_ REFGUID wicFormat,
    _In_ IStream* stream
    )
{
    // Create and initialize WIC Bitmap Encoder.
    ComPtr<IWICBitmapEncoder> wicBitmapEncoder;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFactory2->CreateEncoder(
            wicFormat,
            nullptr,    // No preferred codec vendor.
            &wicBitmapEncoder
            )
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->Initialize(
            stream,
            WICBitmapEncoderNoCache
            )
        );

    // Create and initialize WIC Frame Encoder.
    ComPtr<IWICBitmapFrameEncode> wicFrameEncode;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->CreateNewFrame(
            &wicFrameEncode,
            nullptr     // No encoder options.
            )
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFrameEncode->Initialize(nullptr)
        );

    // Retrieve D2D Device.
    ComPtr<ID2D1Device> d2dDevice;
    d2dContext->GetDevice(&d2dDevice);

    // Create IWICImageEncoder.
    ComPtr<IWICImageEncoder> imageEncoder;
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFactory2->CreateImageEncoder(
            d2dDevice.Get(),
            &imageEncoder
            )
       );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        imageEncoder->WriteFrame(
            d2dBitmap.Get(),
            wicFrameEncode.Get(),
            nullptr     // Use default WICImageParameter options.
            )
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicFrameEncode->Commit()
        );

    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        wicBitmapEncoder->Commit()
        );

    // Flush all memory buffers to the next-level storage object.
    DX::ThrowIfFailed(
        stream->Commit(STGC_DEFAULT)
        );
}