## QPix v2.2x | ## Using QPix

Index | File | Edit | Image | View

# Using the plug-in area

The QPix plug-in area with its menu bar and tools can be used directly by end-users: they can import, display and manipulate image files without the interference of the developer. Users have access to the properties of an image, they can change its size, adjust brightness and contrast, control color balance, or apply any of the other pixel transformations offered by QT.

This chapter describes the functionality of the plug-in area that is directly accessible to end users. Developers can modify and use this content in the documentation of their software that uses QPix.

Functions of the plug-in area

The QPix plug-in area is your working area for displaying and processing your pictures. It can be programmatically formatted to be scrollable or fixed-size. Most of the power is only available when the area is scrollable; fixed-size areas simply display an image in a predefined way. Starting with QPix v2, the plug-in area has become a powerful window for general-purpose handling of images: you can use it to open a variety of image file formats, connect to a URL and fetch an image from the Internet, acquire images from scanners and other TWAIN-compliant devices, export the displayed picture to alternate file formats, etc. The plug-in area also has the common tools which are useful when working with images: the pointer (arrow), the marquee (for selecting rectangular areas on an image), the hand (for free-style scrolling), and the magnifying lens that is used to zoom in and out. The area menu bar also hosts a Filters... item under the Image menu. Filters are based on QuickTime's effects. They are similar to your familiar Photoshop filters, that allow you to customize and apply pixel transformations on the picture: brightness and contrast, sharpening, blurring, etc are the most commonly used filters. |

The menu bar

The menu bar is available only with scrollable areas, and only if the developer wants it to be visible.

Each menu appearing in the area's menu bar is described in separate pages. Click on the menu you need explanations for:

- File
- Edit
- Image
- View

The widgets

At the bottom left of the QPix area you can see two areas next to each other. These are (left to right) the tools widget popup and the zoom widget popup. The developer can enable or disable the appearance of each widget, and customize the tools that will show up in the tools widget.

The tools widget | The zoom widget

| Widgets can be enabled only in scrollable areas, with or without a menu bar.