QualityMeter.Formats Property ActiveX/Java Uploader PHP

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Gets or sets print formats for the quality meter.

Syntax

PHP 
public function getFormats() {
}

public function setFormats($value) {
}

Property Value

Type: string

Print formats used in the quality meter. Format of this string is the following:

Format1 name,format1 width (pixels),format1 height (pixels),format1 acceptable ratio;Format2 name,format2 width (pixels),format2 height (pixels),format2 acceptable ratio;...

In other words:

  • Each format is defined with 4 mandatory parameters: name, width, height, and acceptable ratio.
  • Parameters are separated by comma.
  • Formats are separated by semicolon.

See the Remarks section for more details about syntax of this string.

If this property is not initialized or set to incorrect value no quality meter is displayed.

Default value is "".

Remarks

As mentioned above, each print format is described with four parameters:

Format name

Name of the print format which will be displayed as a tooltip when a mouse is hovering over an appropriate quality meter element.

If the format name contains semicolon or quotation mark characters, enclose this format in single (' ') or double (" ") quotes. Additionally, quotation marks (both single ' and double ") inside the name should be escaped with a backslash. For example, to get a User's format name, set this format as follows:

"User\'s format,1800,1200,1.2";...

Format width
Minimum width (in pixels) which the photo should have to be interpreted as high quality for this print format (i.e. colored by the HighQualityColor value).
Format height
Minimum height (in pixels) which the photo should have to be interpreted as high quality for this print format (i.e. colored by the HighQualityColor value).
Acceptable ratio (further, AR)
Maximum acceptable ratio of format width (or height) and actual photo width (or height). If format width/photo width will be larger than AR, the photo will be interpreted as unacceptable for this print format.
Note

To be interpreted as high quality, the photo should have both width and height equal or larger than specified ones. Say, if width conforms to the limitation, but height does not, the photo will not be interpreted as high quality.

Example

Imagine we specify the following quality meter string:

PHP
$uploader = new Uploader("Uploader1");
$uploader->getPaneItem()->getQualityMeter()->setFormats("4x6 inches,1800,1200,1.2;6x8 inches,2400,1800,1.3");
$uploader->render();

It means that you specify two formats: 4x6 inches (1200x1800 pixels if to print with resolution equal to 300 DPI) and 6x8 inches (1800x2400 pixels for 300 DPI). This way the quality meter will have two elements. The table below demonstrates the quality meter values for images of different size. Let us assume that the default values for the quality meter colors are used (allowed formats are green, acceptable - yellow, non-recommended ones are gray).

Image dimensionsQuality meter colorsComment
2000x3000
  • 4x6 inches - Green
  • 6x8 inches - Green
Image dimensions exceed both format restrictions, so we can freely print it in both formats.
1500x2000
  • 4x6 inches - Green
  • 6x8 inches - Yellow

The dimensions are larger than 4x6 inches, but smaller than 6x8 inches. Now we should estimate if it can be printed with the acceptable quality in 6x8 format. To do it, calculate the ratio between the format dimensions and the actual image dimensions (we take a width for brevity):

1800/1500 = 1.2

Now we compare this value with the acceptable ratio (AR) specified as the fourth parameter. If this value is larger than AR, an image cannot be printed with this format, if otherwise - it is acceptable.

The AR specified for 6x8 inches is 1.3, thus it is acceptable and we mark a color meter with yellow.

1200x1800
  • 4x6 inches - Green
  • 6x8 inches - Gray

The dimensions conform 4x6 inches, but are smaller than 6x8 inches. This time if we calculate the ratio between the format dimensions and the actual image dimensions, we will get:

1800/1200 = 1.5

It is larger than the AR (which is equal to 1.3) and that is why if we print this image in the 6x8 inches format, we will get quite poor quality. So we mark this color meter item to gray (i.e. as "not recommended").

1024x1536
  • 4x6 inches - Yellow
  • 6x8 inches - Gray

The dimensions of this image are smaller than both formats. Obviously, it is too small for the 6x8 inches format, but let us check it for the 4x6 format:

1200/1024 = 1.171875

The AR for the 4x6 inches format is 1.2, i.e. this image acceptable for it, and the appropriate quality meter element is yellow.

96x96
  • 4x6 inches - Gray
  • 6x8 inches - Gray
It is obvious that this image is too small to be printed even on a matchbox, so both elements of the quality meter are gray.

See Also

Reference