xwpick(1)xwpick(1)NAMExwpick - pick images from an X11-screen and store in files
SYNOPSISxwpick [-local] [-window id] [-gray] [-reverse] [-pause] [-format frmt]
[<file>]
DESCRIPTION
Xwpick lets you pick an image from an arbitrary window or rectangular
area of an X11-server and write it to a file in a variety of formats.
The output format is defined whether by the -format option or by the
extension in the file name. Possible formats/extentions are:
ps An Encapsulated PostScript file with a compressed image. The
image is centered, rotated and scaled to fill the maximum space
on a page. It is displayed in color on viewers and printers
that support color Postscript, otherwise it is displayed as
grayscale. This format is convenient for transparency prepara‐
tion.
eps Also an Encapsulated PostScript file with a compressed image,
but the image is only centered, not rotated and scaled. It is
intended for insertion into a document.
epsi The same as eps, but contains a black and white preview.
gif Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). Use this format when you
want to keep files or transfer them to other computers. It is
also convenient for visualisations, for example, with xv by
John Bradley.
pcx PCX format for IBM PC.
pict PICT format for Macintosh. It is intended for image transfer on
Macintosh, but GIF format is also convenient for this purpose
(see Macintosh GIFConverter by Kevin A. Mitchell).
ppm PPM format from the PBM Plus library by Jef Poskanzer. Use it
and a routine from the PBM Plus library if you wish to have the
image in a format not mentioned above.
The main feature of xwpick is that it uses the Lempel-Ziv Welch (LZW)
compression scheme for image encoding in Postscript, thus producing
very compact files (4-5 times less than files produced with Run-Length
encoding (RLE) and 10-20 times less than files produced without com‐
pression)
HOW IT WORKS
When xwpick is invoked, the user sees a blinking rectangle surrounding
the contents of the window in which the mouse pointer is currently
placed. When the mouse is moved to a different window, the perimeter
automatically changes to the size of the new window. If the mouse
pointer is placed on the Window Manager border of a window, then the
blinking rectangle will surround the window together with the Window
Manager border. To select the image inside the blinking rectangle it is
sufficient to click the left mouse button.
If a user-defined perimeter is required, then hold down the left mouse
button to choose the first corner of the perimeter and then drag the
mouse to define the opposite corner. The blinking rectangle will expand
with the movement of the mouse.
If it is required to produce some changes inside the selected area just
before outputing to a file, for example, to change the palette or dis‐
play a pop-up menu, then the -pause option can be used.
OPTIONS-local When -local is in the parameter list, xwpick picks an
image from the window under the mouse pointer. This
option is intended to pick images from pop-up menus,
which are on the screen only when a mouse button is
pressed and disappear immediately after the button is
released.
-window id Pick an image from the window with integer identifier
equal to id. The identifier for a window can be obtained
with the X Window program xwininfo. To pick the entire
screen (root window) the user may use the word root as an
identifier.
-gray Transfer the image to grayscale. This option can be used
to optimize output on level 1 gray scale PostScript
printers.
-reverse Transfer the image to reverse colors. This option can
help you to save the toner on your printer in case when
the image is too dark.
-pause Do not output the image till the <SPACE> bar will be
pressed. This option allows to use the mouse to produce
some changes inside the selected image just before out‐
puting to a file.
-format frmt Set output format. The format is defined by frmt string.
If this option is omited, then the output format is
defined by the extension in the file name. Possible frmt
strings/extensions are: ps, eps, epsi, gif, pcx, pict,
ppm. In case when -format is in the parameter list and a
file name is omited the output is directed to the stan‐
dard output.
EXAMPLES
· xwpick
This is the simplest form of use. You will be prompted to input a file
name.
· xwpick image.ppm
ppmtoxpm image >image.xpm
This is an example of how to get an image in X11 pixmap format. First
you pick the image from the screen into the file image.ppm and then
convert it using the ppmtoxpm routine from the PBM PLUS library.
· xwpick-local menu.epsi
This is an example of how to pick the image of a pop-up menu window and
store it in a file as encapsulated Postscript with preview.
· xwininfo
xwpick-w 0x8000c1 -g clock.ps
This is an example of how to pick an image from the window by the win‐
dow's identifier. First you find the identifier using the xwininfo com‐
mand and then pick an image from the window and store it in a Post‐
script file as a grayscale image.
· xwpick-window root -format ps | lpr
This is an example of how to send an image of the root window directly
to the printer.
AUTHOR
Evgeni Chernyaev chernaev@mx.ihep.su
SEE ALSOxwd(1), xv(1), xgrabsc(1), XtoPS(1), xwininfo(1), ppm(5)COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1993, 1994 by Evgeni Chernyaev.
10 September 1994 xwpick(1)
