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QuickTime 4 Reference

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Graphics Importer Components

This chapter describes graphics importer components, including features introduced in QuickTime 4. Graphics importer components provide a standard method for opening and displaying still images contained within graphics documents and for working with any type of image data, regardless of the file format or compression used in the graphics document.

You use the GetGraphicsImporterForFile function or the GetGraphicsImporterForDataRef function to obtain a graphics importer component instance for a particular file. Then you can use that component instance to find out the image file's characteristics and draw it. When you are done with the component instance, you call CloseComponent .

This chapter is divided into the following major sections:

• "Introduction to Graphics Importer Components" discusses the basic functions used to draw an image file. It explains the supported image file formats as well as the QuickTime Image file format, in addition to the atom types in QuickTime Image files. The section also discusses how graphics import components work.
• "New Features of Graphics Importer Components" discusses the new features provided by QuickTime 4.
• "Using Graphics Importer Components" discusses how you can obtain graphics importer component instances and use them to draw and manipulate image files.
• "Writing Graphics Import Components" describes how graphics import components work and briefly discusses how to write a component.
• "Graphics Importer Components Reference" describes the new and changed constants, data types, and functions in the Graphics Importer Component.