Routines (alphabetical) > Routines: D > DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE

# DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE

The DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE function is a graphical user interface allowing you to save an IDL array variable as an image file, selecting a location and image file type. The interface is created as a modal dialog with an optional parent widget.

## Syntax

Result =DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE ( Image [, R, G, B] [, DIALOG_PARENT=widget_id] [, FILENAME=string] [, /FIX_TYPE] [, /NOWRITE] [, OPTIONS=variable] [, PATH=string] [ ,TITLE=string] [, TYPE=variable] [, /WARN_EXIST] )

## Return Value

This routine returns 1 if the “Save” button was clicked, and 0 if the “Cancel” button was clicked.

## Arguments

### Image

The array to be written to the image file.

### R, G, B

These are optional arguments defining the Red, Green, and Blue color tables to be associated with the image array.

## Keywords

### DIALOG_PARENT

The widget ID of a widget that calls DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE. When this ID is specified, a death of the caller results in the death of the DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE dialog. If DIALOG_PARENT is not specified, then the interface is created as a modal, top-level widget.

### FILENAME

Set this keyword to a scalar string that contains the name of the initial file selection. This keyword is useful for specifying a default filename.

### FIX_TYPE

When this keyword is set, only files that satisfy the type can be selected. The user has no ability to modify the type.

### NOWRITE

Set this keyword to prevent the dialog from writing the file when “Save” is clicked. No data conversions will take place when the save type is chosen.

### OPTIONS

Set this keyword to a named variable to contain a structure of the chosen options by the user, including the filename and image type chosen.

### PATH

Set this keyword to a string that contains the initial path from which to select files. If this keyword is not set, the current working directory is used.

### TITLE

Set this keyword to a scalar string to be used for the dialog title. If it is not specified, the default title is “Save Image File”.

Note: You can use language catalogs to internationalize this value with strings in particular languages.

### TYPE

Set this keyword to a scalar string containing the format type the “Save as type” field should begin with. The default is “TIFF”. The user can modify the type unless the FIX_TYPE keyword is set. Valid values are obtained from the list of supported image types returned from QUERY_IMAGE. The “Save as type” field will reflect the type of the selected file (if one is selected).

### WARN_EXIST

Set this keyword to produce a question dialog if the user selects a file that already exists. The default is to quietly overwrite the file.

## Examples

The following statements create and write a simple image to a .`tif` file name `myimage.tif`:

myimage = DIST(100)
result = DIALOG_WRITE_IMAGE(myimage, FILENAME='myimage.tif')

### Using the Save Image File Dialog

When you issue the previous statements, the Save Image File dialog opens.

Use the following fields to configure how the image is saved.

Field | Description
--- | ---
Drive | Select the directory in which to save the image file
File name | Enter the file name
Save as | Select the image file format
Save | Save the image file
Cancel | Cancels the save function
Options | Brings up a dialog box of image format save options, which varies depending on image format

## Version History

5.3 | Introduced

## See Also

DIALOG_READ_IMAGE