Specifies the current TRSPathData by a sequence of characters.
Data is a string composed of characters that indicate the type and the coordinates of the points of the primitive shapes for the current TRSPathData. Set Data to define and populate TRSPathData with primitive shapes.
The syntax of path data is concise in order to allow for minimal file size and efficient downloads. Some of the ways that Data can be minimized for the size of path data are as follows:
• All instructions are expressed as one character (e.g., a moveto is expressed as an M).
• Superfluous white space and separators such as commas can be eliminated (e.g., "M 100 100 L 200 200" contains unnecessary spaces and could be expressed more compactly as "M100 100L200 200").
• The command letter can be eliminated on subsequent commands if the same command is used multiple times in a row (e.g., you can drop the second "L" in "M 100 200 L 200 100 L -100 -200" and use "M 100 200 L 200 100 -100 -200" instead).
• Relative versions of all commands are available (uppercase means absolute coordinates, lowercase means relative coordinates).
• Alternate forms of lineto are available to optimize the special cases of horizontal and vertical lines (absolute and relative).
• Alternate forms of curve are available to optimize the special cases where some of the control points on the current segment can be determined automatically from the control points on the previous segment.
The path data syntax is a prefix notation (i.e., commands followed by parameters). The only allowable decimal point is a FULL STOP (".") character and no other delimiter characters are allowed. (For example, the following is an invalid numeric value in a path data stream: "13,000.56". Instead, say: "13000.56".)
For the relative versions of the commands, all coordinate values are relative to the current point at the start of the command.
The following table list the commands.
M (absolute) m (relative)
Start a new sub-path at the given (x,y) coordinate. M (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; m (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. If a moveto is followed by multiple pairs of coordinates, the subsequent pairs are treated as implicit lineto commands. Hence, implicit lineto commands will be relative if the moveto is relative, and absolute if the moveto is absolute. If a relative moveto (m) appears as the first element of the path, then it is treated as a pair of absolute coordinates. In this case, subsequent pairs of coordinates are treated as relative even though the initial moveto is interpreted as an absolute moveto.
Z or z
Close the current subpath by drawing a straight line from the current point to current subpath's initial point. Since the Z and z commands take no parameters, they have an identical effect.
L (absolute) l (relative)
Add a line from the current point to the given (x,y) coordinate which becomes the new current point. L (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; l (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. A number of coordinates pairs may be specified to draw a polyline. At the end of the command, the new current point is set to the final set of coordinates provided.
H (absolute) h (relative)
Adds a horizontal line from the current point (cpx, cpy) to (x, cpy). H (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; h (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple x values can be provided (although usually this doesn't make sense). At the end of the command, the new current point becomes (x, cpy) for the final value of x.
V (absolute) v (relative)
Adds a vertical line from the current point (cpx, cpy) to (cpx, y). V (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; v (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple y values can be provided (although usually this doesn't make sense). At the end of the command, the new current point becomes (cpx, y) for the final value of y.
C (absolute) c (relative)
Adds a cubic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y) using (x1,y1) as the control point at the beginning of the curve and (x2,y2) as the control point at the end of the curve. C (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; c (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier.
S (absolute) s (relative)
Adds a cubic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y). The first control point is assumed to be the reflection of the second control point on the previous command relative to the current point. (If there is no previous command or if the previous command was not an C, c, S or s, assume the first control point is coincident with the current point.) (x2,y2) is the second control point (i.e., the control point at the end of the curve). S (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; s (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier.
Q (absolute) q (relative)
Adds a quadratic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y) using (x1,y1) as the control point. Q (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; q (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. Multiple sets of coordinates may be specified to draw a polybézier. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier.
T (absolute) t (relative)
Creates a quadratic Bézier curve from the current point to (x,y). The control point is assumed to be the reflection of the control point on the previous command relative to the current point. (If there is no previous command or if the previous command was not a Q, q, T or t, assume the control point is coincident with the current point.) T (uppercase) indicates that absolute coordinates will follow; t (lowercase) indicates that relative coordinates will follow. At the end of the command, the new current point becomes the final (x,y) coordinate pair used in the polybézier.
A (absolute) a (relative)
Creates an elliptical arc from the current point to (x, y). The size and orientation of the ellipse are defined by two radii (rx, ry) and an x-axis-rotation, which indicates how the ellipse as a whole is rotated relative to the current coordinate system. The center (cx, cy) of the ellipse is calculated automatically to satisfy the constraints imposed by the other parameters. large-arc-flag and sweep-flag contribute to the automatic calculations and help determine how the arc is drawn.
Namespace: RSGraphics
Delphi |
published |
Property Value
Type: String
The TRSPathData class can parse many more shapes than it will output. When the TRSPathData class parses shapes that are not the intrinsic shapes of the path data; move, line, and curve; it will convert the shape to move, line, and curve. Therefore, the original shape is lost. |
The following example creates a path with 3 lines, a curve, and an arc:
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