Parameters

Description

glReadPixels returns pixel data from the frame buffer, starting with the pixel whose lower left corner is at location (x, y), into client memory starting at location data. Several parameters control the processing of the pixel data before it is placed into client memory. These parameters are set with three commands: glPixelStore, glPixelTransfer, and glPixelMap. This reference page describes the effects on glReadPixels of most, but not all of the parameters specified by these three commands.

If a non-zero named buffer object is bound to the GL_PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER target (see glBindBuffer) while a block of pixels is requested, data is treated as a byte offset into the buffer object's data store rather than a pointer to client memory.

When the ARB_imaging extension is supported, the pixel data may be processed by additional operations including color table lookup, color matrix transformations, convolutions, histograms, and minimum and maximum pixel value computations.

glReadPixels returns values from each pixel with lower left corner at $\left(\mathit{x}+\mathit{i},\mathit{y}+\mathit{j}\right)$ for $0<=\mathit{i}<\mathit{width}$ and $0<=\mathit{j}<\mathit{height}$. This pixel is said to be the $\mathit{i}$th pixel in the $\mathit{j}$th row. Pixels are returned in row order from the lowest to the highest row, left to right in each row.

format specifies the format for the returned pixel values; accepted values are:

The shift, scale, bias, and lookup factors just described are all specified by glPixelTransfer. The lookup table contents themselves are specified by glPixelMap.

Finally, the indices or components are converted to the proper format, as specified by type. If format is GL_COLOR_INDEX or GL_STENCIL_INDEX and type is not GL_FLOAT, each index is masked with the mask value given in the following table. If type is GL_FLOAT, then each integer index is converted to single-precision floating-point format.

If format is GL_RED, GL_GREEN, GL_BLUE, GL_ALPHA, GL_RGB, GL_BGR, GL_RGBA, GL_BGRA, GL_LUMINANCE, or GL_LUMINANCE_ALPHA and type is not GL_FLOAT, each component is multiplied by the multiplier shown in the following table. If type is GL_FLOAT, then each component is passed as is (or converted to the client's single-precision floating-point format if it is different from the one used by the GL).

Return values are placed in memory as follows. If format is GL_COLOR_INDEX, GL_STENCIL_INDEX, GL_DEPTH_COMPONENT, GL_RED, GL_GREEN, GL_BLUE, GL_ALPHA, or GL_LUMINANCE, a single value is returned and the data for the $\mathit{i}$th pixel in the $\mathit{j}$th row is placed in location $\left(\mathit{j}\right)\mathit{width}+\mathit{i}$. GL_RGB and GL_BGR return three values, GL_RGBA and GL_BGRA return four values, and GL_LUMINANCE_ALPHA returns two values for each pixel, with all values corresponding to a single pixel occupying contiguous space in data. Storage parameters set by glPixelStore, such as GL_PACK_LSB_FIRST and GL_PACK_SWAP_BYTES, affect the way that data is written into memory. See glPixelStore for a description.

Notes

Values for pixels that lie outside the window connected to the current GL context are undefined.

If an error is generated, no change is made to the contents of data.

Errors

GL_INVALID_ENUM is generated if format or type is not an accepted value.

GL_INVALID_ENUM is generated if type is GL_BITMAP and format is not GL_COLOR_INDEX or GL_STENCIL_INDEX.

GL_INVALID_VALUE is generated if either width or height is negative.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if format is GL_COLOR_INDEX and the color buffers store RGBA color components.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if format is GL_STENCIL_INDEX and there is no stencil buffer.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if format is GL_DEPTH_COMPONENT and there is no depth buffer.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if type is one of GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_3_3_2, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_2_3_3_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5, or GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5_REV and format is not GL_RGB.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if type is one of GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_5_5_1, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_1_5_5_5_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_10_10_10_2, or GL_UNSIGNED_INT_2_10_10_10_REV and format is neither GL_RGBA nor GL_BGRA.

The formats GL_BGR, and GL_BGRA and types GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_3_3_2, GL_UNSIGNED_BYTE_2_3_3_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_6_5_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_4_4_4_4_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_5_5_5_1, GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT_1_5_5_5_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_8_8_8_8_REV, GL_UNSIGNED_INT_10_10_10_2, and GL_UNSIGNED_INT_2_10_10_10_REV are available only if the GL version is 1.2 or greater.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if a non-zero buffer object name is bound to the GL_PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER target and the buffer object's data store is currently mapped.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if a non-zero buffer object name is bound to the GL_PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER target and the data would be packed to the buffer object such that the memory writes required would exceed the data store size.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if a non-zero buffer object name is bound to the GL_PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER target and data is not evenly divisible into the number of bytes needed to store in memory a datum indicated by type.

GL_INVALID_OPERATION is generated if glReadPixels is executed between the execution of glBegin and the corresponding execution of glEnd.

Associated Gets

glGet with argument GL_INDEX_MODE

glGet with argument GL_PIXEL_PACK_BUFFER_BINDING

Tutorials

Songho - OpenGL Rendering Pipeline

See Also

glCopyPixels, glDrawPixels, glPixelMap, glPixelStore, glPixelTransfer, glReadBuffer