Rotate bitmap by real angle - delphi

Question

Once upon a time, reading this question, I wondered how to rotate a bitmap by any degree without fiddling around with all the bits myself. Recently, someone else had obvious difficulties with it too.
There are already many questions dealing with rotation at 90° intervals, most notabaly this one, but I want to rotate by a real angle. Preferably with the possibility to adjust the image size due to the rotation, and with setting a custom (transparent) background color for the parts that will be added to image surface. I then suppose the signature of the routine would look something like:
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap; Angle: Single; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BackColor: TColor);
These answers mention the following candidates for constructing this routine: SetWorldTransform, PlgBlt, GDI+, but I would like to see an (efficient) implementation.

Answer 1

tl;dr; Use GDI+
SetWorldTransform
With WinAPI's SetWorldTransform you can transform the space of device context: rotate, shear, offset, and scale. This is done by setting the members of a transform matrix of type XFORM. Fill its members according the documentation.
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap; Rads: Single; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
C: Single;
S: Single;
XForm: tagXFORM;
Tmp: TBitmap;
begin
C := Cos(Rads);
S := Sin(Rads);
XForm.eM11 := C;
XForm.eM12 := S;
XForm.eM21 := -S;
XForm.eM22 := C;
Tmp := TBitmap.Create;
try
Tmp.TransparentColor := Bmp.TransparentColor;
Tmp.TransparentMode := Bmp.TransparentMode;
Tmp.Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Canvas.Brush.Color := BkColor;
if AdjustSize then
begin
Tmp.Width := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
Tmp.Height := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
XForm.eDx := (Tmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
XForm.eDy := (Tmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end
else
begin
Tmp.Width := Bmp.Width;
Tmp.Height := Bmp.Height;
XForm.eDx := (Bmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
XForm.eDy := (Bmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end;
SetGraphicsMode(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, GM_ADVANCED);
SetWorldTransform(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, XForm);
BitBlt(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, 0, 0, Tmp.Width, Tmp.Height, Bmp.Canvas.Handle,
0, 0, SRCCOPY);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
PlgBlt
The PlgBlt function performs a bit-block transfer from the specified rectangle in the source device context to the specified parallelogram in the destination device context. Map the corner points of the source image via the lpPoint parameter.
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap; Rads: Single; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
C: Single;
S: Single;
Tmp: TBitmap;
OffsetX: Single;
OffsetY: Single;
Points: array[0..2] of TPoint;
begin
C := Cos(Rads);
S := Sin(Rads);
Tmp := TBitmap.Create;
try
Tmp.TransparentColor := Bmp.TransparentColor;
Tmp.TransparentMode := Bmp.TransparentMode;
Tmp.Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Canvas.Brush.Color := BkColor;
if AdjustSize then
begin
Tmp.Width := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
Tmp.Height := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
OffsetX := (Tmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
OffsetY := (Tmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end
else
begin
Tmp.Width := Bmp.Width;
Tmp.Height := Bmp.Height;
OffsetX := (Bmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
OffsetY := (Bmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end;
Points[0].X := Round(OffsetX);
Points[0].Y := Round(OffsetY);
Points[1].X := Round(OffsetX + Bmp.Width * C);
Points[1].Y := Round(OffsetY + Bmp.Width * S);
Points[2].X := Round(OffsetX - Bmp.Height * S);
Points[2].Y := Round(OffsetY + Bmp.Height * C);
PlgBlt(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, Points, Bmp.Canvas.Handle, 0, 0, Bmp.Width,
Bmp.Height, 0, 0, 0);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
Graphics32
Graphics32 is a library especially designed for fast bitmap handling. It requires some experience to grasp its full potential, but the documentation as well as the provided examples should get you started.
A rotation of a TBitmap32 image is done by transforming it by one of the many available transformation classes. The TAffineTransformation class is needed here. First, shift the image half its size to the upper left, then rotate, and shift the result back to the lower right, possibly using the new image dimensions.
uses
GR32, GR32_Transforms;
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap32; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone; Transparent: Boolean = False); overload;
var
Tmp: TBitmap32;
Transformation: TAffineTransformation;
begin
Tmp := TBitmap32.Create;
Transformation := TAffineTransformation.Create;
try
Transformation.BeginUpdate;
Transformation.SrcRect := FloatRect(0, 0, Bmp.Width, Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Translate(-0.5 * Bmp.Width, -0.5 * Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Rotate(0, 0, -Degs);
if AdjustSize then
with Transformation.GetTransformedBounds do
Tmp.SetSize(Round(Right - Left), Round(Bottom - Top))
else
Tmp.SetSize(Bmp.Width, Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Translate(0.5 * Tmp.Width, 0.5 * Tmp.Height);
Transformation.EndUpdate;
Tmp.Clear(Color32(BkColor));
if not Transparent then
Bmp.DrawMode := dmTransparent;
Transform(Tmp, Bmp, Transformation);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
Bmp.OuterColor := Color32(BkColor);
if Transparent then
Bmp.DrawMode := dmTransparent;
finally
Transformation.Free;
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone); overload;
var
Tmp: TBitmap32;
Transparent: Boolean;
begin
Tmp := TBitmap32.Create;
try
Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Assign(Bmp);
RotateBitmapGR32(Tmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor, Transparent);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
if Transparent then
Bmp.Transparent := True;
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
GDI+
Introduced in Windows XP, Microsoft's GDI+ API is more efficient then the default GDI API. For Delphi 2009 and up, the library is available from here. For older Delphi versions, the library is available from here.
In GDI+ the rotation is also done by a transformation matrix. Drawing works quite differently though. Create a TGPGraphics object and attach it to a device context with its constructor. Subsequently, drawing operations on the object are translated by the API and will be output to the destination context.
uses
GDIPOBJ, GDIPAPI; // < D2009
GdiPlus; // >= D2009
procedure RotateBitmap(Bmp: TBitmap; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
Tmp: TGPBitmap;
Matrix: TGPMatrix;
C: Single;
S: Single;
NewSize: TSize;
Graphs: TGPGraphics;
P: TGPPointF;
begin
Tmp := TGPBitmap.Create(Bmp.Handle, Bmp.Palette);
Matrix := TGPMatrix.Create;
try
Matrix.RotateAt(Degs, MakePoint(0.5 * Bmp.Width, 0.5 * Bmp.Height));
if AdjustSize then
begin
C := Cos(DegToRad(Degs));
S := Sin(DegToRad(Degs));
NewSize.cx := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
NewSize.cy := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
Bmp.Width := NewSize.cx;
Bmp.Height := NewSize.cy;
end;
Graphs := TGPGraphics.Create(Bmp.Canvas.Handle);
try
Graphs.Clear(ColorRefToARGB(ColorToRGB(BkColor)));
Graphs.SetTransform(Matrix);
Graphs.DrawImage(Tmp, (Cardinal(Bmp.Width) - Tmp.GetWidth) div 2,
(Cardinal(Bmp.Height) - Tmp.GetHeight) div 2);
finally
Graphs.Free;
end;
finally
Matrix.Free;
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
Handling transparency
The routines above preserve the transparent settings of the fead bitmap, with the exception of the Graphics32 solution which requires an additional Transparent parameter.
Performance and image quality
I wrote a test application (see full code below) to tune the performance of the various methods and to compare the resulting image quality.
The first and most important conclusion is that GDI+ uses anti-aliasing where the others do not, resulting in the best image quality. (I unsuccessfully tried to prevent anti-aliasing by setting CompositingQuality, InterpolationMode, SmoothingMode, and PixelOffsetMode, so when anti-aliasing is not preferred, do not use GDI+.)
Furthermore, the GDI+ solution is also the fastest method, by far.
unit RotateTestForm;
interface
uses
Windows, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, ExtCtrls,
JPEG, Math, GR32, GR32_Transforms, GDIPOBJ, GDIPAPI {, GdiPlus};
type
TTestForm = class(TForm)
private
FImage: TImage;
FOpenDialog: TOpenDialog;
procedure FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
public
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent); override;
end;
var
TestForm: TTestForm;
implementation
{$R *.dfm}
procedure RotateBitmapSWT(Bmp: TBitmap; Rads: Single; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
C: Single;
S: Single;
XForm: TXForm;
Tmp: TBitmap;
begin
C := Cos(Rads);
S := Sin(Rads);
XForm.eM11 := C;
XForm.eM12 := S;
XForm.eM21 := -S;
XForm.eM22 := C;
Tmp := TBitmap.Create;
try
Tmp.TransparentColor := Bmp.TransparentColor;
Tmp.TransparentMode := Bmp.TransparentMode;
Tmp.Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Canvas.Brush.Color := BkColor;
if AdjustSize then
begin
Tmp.Width := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
Tmp.Height := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
XForm.eDx := (Tmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
XForm.eDy := (Tmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end
else
begin
Tmp.Width := Bmp.Width;
Tmp.Height := Bmp.Height;
XForm.eDx := (Bmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
XForm.eDy := (Bmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end;
SetGraphicsMode(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, GM_ADVANCED);
SetWorldTransform(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, XForm);
BitBlt(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, 0, 0, Tmp.Width, Tmp.Height, Bmp.Canvas.Handle,
0, 0, SRCCOPY);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure RotateBitmapPLG(Bmp: TBitmap; Rads: Single; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
C: Single;
S: Single;
Tmp: TBitmap;
OffsetX: Single;
OffsetY: Single;
Points: array[0..2] of TPoint;
begin
C := Cos(Rads);
S := Sin(Rads);
Tmp := TBitmap.Create;
try
Tmp.TransparentColor := Bmp.TransparentColor;
Tmp.TransparentMode := Bmp.TransparentMode;
Tmp.Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Canvas.Brush.Color := BkColor;
if AdjustSize then
begin
Tmp.Width := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
Tmp.Height := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
OffsetX := (Tmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
OffsetY := (Tmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end
else
begin
Tmp.Width := Bmp.Width;
Tmp.Height := Bmp.Height;
OffsetX := (Bmp.Width - Bmp.Width * C + Bmp.Height * S) / 2;
OffsetY := (Bmp.Height - Bmp.Width * S - Bmp.Height * C) / 2;
end;
Points[0].X := Round(OffsetX);
Points[0].Y := Round(OffsetY);
Points[1].X := Round(OffsetX + Bmp.Width * C);
Points[1].Y := Round(OffsetY + Bmp.Width * S);
Points[2].X := Round(OffsetX - Bmp.Height * S);
Points[2].Y := Round(OffsetY + Bmp.Height * C);
PlgBlt(Tmp.Canvas.Handle, Points, Bmp.Canvas.Handle, 0, 0, Bmp.Width,
Bmp.Height, 0, 0, 0);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure RotateBitmapGR32(Bmp: TBitmap32; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone; Transparent: Boolean = False); overload;
var
Tmp: TBitmap32;
Transformation: TAffineTransformation;
begin
Tmp := TBitmap32.Create;
Transformation := TAffineTransformation.Create;
try
Transformation.BeginUpdate;
Transformation.SrcRect := FloatRect(0, 0, Bmp.Width, Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Translate(-0.5 * Bmp.Width, -0.5 * Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Rotate(0, 0, -Degs);
if AdjustSize then
with Transformation.GetTransformedBounds do
Tmp.SetSize(Round(Right - Left), Round(Bottom - Top))
else
Tmp.SetSize(Bmp.Width, Bmp.Height);
Transformation.Translate(0.5 * Tmp.Width, 0.5 * Tmp.Height);
Transformation.EndUpdate;
Tmp.Clear(Color32(BkColor));
if not Transparent then
Bmp.DrawMode := dmTransparent;
Transform(Tmp, Bmp, Transformation);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
Bmp.OuterColor := Color32(BkColor);
if Transparent then
Bmp.DrawMode := dmTransparent;
finally
Transformation.Free;
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure RotateBitmapGR32(Bmp: TBitmap; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone); overload;
var
Tmp: TBitmap32;
Transparent: Boolean;
begin
Tmp := TBitmap32.Create;
try
Transparent := Bmp.Transparent;
Tmp.Assign(Bmp);
RotateBitmapGR32(Tmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor, Transparent);
Bmp.Assign(Tmp);
if Transparent then
Bmp.Transparent := True;
finally
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure RotateBitmapGDIP(Bmp: TBitmap; Degs: Integer; AdjustSize: Boolean;
BkColor: TColor = clNone);
var
Tmp: TGPBitmap;
Matrix: TGPMatrix;
C: Single;
S: Single;
NewSize: TSize;
Graphs: TGPGraphics;
P: TGPPointF;
begin
Tmp := TGPBitmap.Create(Bmp.Handle, Bmp.Palette);
Matrix := TGPMatrix.Create;
try
Matrix.RotateAt(Degs, MakePoint(0.5 * Bmp.Width, 0.5 * Bmp.Height));
if AdjustSize then
begin
C := Cos(DegToRad(Degs));
S := Sin(DegToRad(Degs));
NewSize.cx := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(C) + Bmp.Height * Abs(S));
NewSize.cy := Round(Bmp.Width * Abs(S) + Bmp.Height * Abs(C));
Bmp.Width := NewSize.cx;
Bmp.Height := NewSize.cy;
end;
Graphs := TGPGraphics.Create(Bmp.Canvas.Handle);
try
Graphs.Clear(ColorRefToARGB(ColorToRGB(BkColor)));
Graphs.SetTransform(Matrix);
Graphs.DrawImage(Tmp, (Cardinal(Bmp.Width) - Tmp.GetWidth) div 2,
(Cardinal(Bmp.Height) - Tmp.GetHeight) div 2);
finally
Graphs.Free;
end;
finally
Matrix.Free;
Tmp.Free;
end;
end;
{ TTestForm }
constructor TTestForm.Create(AOwner: TComponent);
begin
inherited Create(AOwner);
Font.Name := 'Tahoma';
Top := 0;
ClientWidth := 560;
ClientHeight := 915;
Show;
FImage := TImage.Create(Self);
FOpenDialog := TOpenDialog.Create(Self);
FOpenDialog.Title := 'Select an small sized image (min. 100 x 100)';
FOpenDialog.Options := FOpenDialog.Options + [ofFileMustExist];
FOpenDialog.Filter := 'JPEG|*.JPG|BMP|*.BMP';
if FOpenDialog.Execute then
begin
FImage.Picture.LoadFromFile(FOpenDialog.FileName);
OnPaint := FormPaint;
Invalidate;
end
else
Application.Terminate;
end;
procedure TTestForm.FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
var
Img: TBitmap;
Bmp: TBitmap;
Bmp32: TBitmap32;
BkColor: TColor;
AdjustSize: Boolean;
Degs: Integer;
Rads: Single;
RotCount: Integer;
I: Integer;
Tick: Cardinal;
begin
Img := TBitmap.Create;
Bmp := TBitmap.Create;
Bmp32 := TBitmap32.Create;
try
BkColor := clBtnFace;
Img.Canvas.Brush.Color := BkColor;
Img.Width := 100;
Img.Height := 100;
Img.Canvas.Draw(0, 0, FImage.Picture.Graphic);
AdjustSize := False;
Degs := 45;
Rads := DegToRad(Degs);
RotCount := 1000;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Original:');
Canvas.Draw(10, 30, Img);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 140, Format('Size = %d x %d', [Img.Width, Img.Height]));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 160, Format('Angle = %d°', [Degs]));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 250, Format('%d rotations:', [RotCount]));
Canvas.TextOut(120, 10, 'SetWorldTransform:');
Bmp.Assign(Img);
RotateBitmapSWT(Bmp, Rads, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.Draw(120, 30, Bmp);
if not AdjustSize then
begin
Tick := GetTickCount;
for I := 0 to RotCount - 2 do
RotateBitmapSWT(Bmp, Rads, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.TextOut(120, 250, Format('%d msec', [GetTickCount - Tick]));
Canvas.Draw(120, 140, Bmp);
end;
Canvas.TextOut(230, 10, 'PlgBlt:');
Bmp.Assign(Img);
RotateBitmapPLG(Bmp, Rads, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.Draw(230, 30, Bmp);
if not AdjustSize then
begin
Tick := GetTickCount;
for I := 0 to RotCount - 2 do
RotateBitmapPLG(Bmp, Rads, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.TextOut(230, 250, Format('%d msec', [GetTickCount - Tick]));
Canvas.Draw(230, 140, Bmp);
end;
Canvas.TextOut(340, 10, 'Graphics32:');
Bmp.Assign(Img);
RotateBitmapGR32(Bmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.Draw(340, 30, Bmp);
if not AdjustSize then
begin
Tick := GetTickCount;
for I := 0 to RotCount - 2 do
RotateBitmapGR32(Bmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.TextOut(340, 250, Format('%d msec', [GetTickCount - Tick]));
Canvas.Draw(340, 140, Bmp);
// Without in between conversion to TBitmap:
Bmp32.Assign(Img);
Tick := GetTickCount;
for I := 0 to RotCount - 1 do
RotateBitmapGR32(Bmp32, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor, False);
Canvas.TextOut(340, 270, Format('%d msec (optimized)',
[GetTickCount - Tick]));
end;
Canvas.TextOut(450, 10, 'GDI+ :');
Bmp.Assign(Img);
RotateBitmapGDIP(Bmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.Draw(450, 30, Bmp);
if not AdjustSize then
begin
Tick := GetTickCount;
for I := 0 to RotCount - 2 do
RotateBitmapGDIP(Bmp, Degs, AdjustSize, BkColor);
Canvas.TextOut(450, 250, Format('%d msec', [GetTickCount - Tick]));
Canvas.Draw(450, 140, Bmp);
end;
finally
Bmp32.Free;
Bmp.Free;
Img.Free;
OnPaint := nil;
end;
end;
end.

Answer 2

If someone is looking into image rotation, they might also take a look at the Mitov video library (free for non-commercial use: link). VCL and FireMonkey. It takes care of all the low-level details, which lets us avoid the kind of detailed coding that NGLN's excellent answer explores.
We've been using it for the past two years and have been very happy with it in our commercial app.
It has a rotate component that works with static images and video streams. Their library is fully-multi-tasking, optionally using all the cores and low level primitives available, on Intel chipsets with Intel's own performance library (http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-ipp)
On moderate hardware we can run multiple video or bmp streams which we rotate, clip, scale, and process at the pixel level, in real-time.