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The Java Tutorials

Advanced Topics in Java2D
Transforming Shapes,
Text, and Images
Clipping the Drawing
Region
Compositing Graphics
Controlling Rendering
Quality
Constructing Complex
Shapes from Geometry
Primitives
Supporting User
Interaction

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Home Page > 2D Graphics > Advanced Topics in Java2D

Transforming Shapes, Text, and Images

You can modify the transform attribute in the Graphics2D context to move, rotate, scale, and shear graphics primitives when they are rendered. The
transform attribute is defined by an instance of the AffineTransform class. An affine transform is a transformation such as translate, rotate, scale,
or shear in which parallel lines remain parallel even after being transformed.
The Graphics2D class provides several methods for changing the transform attribute. You can construct a new AffineTransform and change the
Graphics2D transform attribute by calling transform.
AffineTransform defines the following factory methods to make it easier to construct new transforms:
getRotateInstance
getScaleInstance
getShearInstance
getTranslateInstance
Alternatively you can use one of the Graphics2D transformation methods to modify the current transform. When you call one of these convenience
methods, the resulting transform is concatenated with the current transform and is applied during rendering:
rotate to specify an angle of rotation in radians
scale to specify a scaling factor in the x and y directions
shear to specify a shearing factor in the x and y directions
translate to specify a translation offset in the x and y directions
You can also construct an AffineTransform object directly and concatenate it with the current transform by calling the transform method.
The drawImage method is also overloaded to allow you to specify an AffineTransform that is applied to the image as it is rendered. Specifying a
transform when you call drawImage does not affect the Graphics2D transform attribute.

Example: Transform
The following program is the same as StrokeandFill, but also allows the user to choose a transformation to apply to the selected object when it is
rendered.
Note: If you don't see the applet running, you need to install at least the Java SE Development Kit (JDK) 7 release.
Transform.java contains the complete code for this applet.
When a transform is chosen from the Transform menu, the transform is concatenated onto the AffineTransform at:
public void setTrans(int transIndex) {
// Sets the AffineTransform.
switch ( transIndex ) {
case 0 :
at.setToIdentity()
at.translate(w/2, h/2)
break
case 1 :
at.rotate(Math.toRadians(45))
break
case 2 :
at.scale(0.5, 0.5)
break
case 3 :
at.shear(0.5, 0.0)
break
}
}

Before displaying the shape corresponding to the menu choices, the application first retrieves the current transform from the Graphics2D object:
AffineTransform saveXform = g2.getTransform()

This transform will be restored to the Graphics2D after rendering.

After retrieving the current transform, another AffineTransform, toCenterAt, is created that causes shapes to be rendered in the center of the
panel. The at AffineTransform is concatenated onto toCenterAt:
AffineTransform toCenterAt = new AffineTransform()
toCenterAt.concatenate(at)
toCenterAt.translate(-(r.width/2), -(r.height/2))

The toCenterAt transform is concatenated onto the Graphics2D transform with the transform method:
g2.transform(toCenterAt)

After rendering is completed, the original transform is restored using the setTransform method:
g2.setTransform(saveXform)

Note: Never use the setTransform method to concatenate a coordinate transform onto an existing transform. The setTransform
method overwrites the Graphics2D object's current transform, which might be needed for other reasons, such as positioning Swing and
lightweight components in a window. Use these steps to perform transformations:
1. Use the getTransform method to get the current transform.
2. Use transform, translate, scale, shear, or rotate to concatenate a transform.
3. Perform the rendering.
4. Restore the original transform using the setTransform method.

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