Qt 5 Compatibility APIs: Qt Graphical Effects

The Qt Graphical Effects module is provided for compatibility with applications written for Qt 5.

Note: Since the Qt Graphical Effects module has performance constraints when effects are stacked, it is primarily included for compatibility with Qt 5 applications. We recommend that new code is written with one of the new solutions for effects that were introduced in Qt 6. For typical UI effects, Qt Quick has the MultiEffect, which applies multiple effects in one pass. For advanced use cases which are not covered by this component, the Qt Quick Effect Maker tool can be used to customize and fine-tune exactly the shader effects you need.

Using Qt Graphical Effects

Effects are visual items that can be added to Qt Quick user interface as UI components. To import the Qt Graphical Effects types, include the Qt Graphical Effects module by adding the following statement to the QML file:

 import Qt5Compat.GraphicalEffects

To use the effects, simply add a specific effect declaration to the QML scene and configure the effects properties. The source item type can be any QML type, even video or another effect. Pipelining multiple effects together is a simple way to create even more impressive output.

The following list presents the functional division of types that are part of Qt Graphical Effects.

Blend

Merges two source items by using a blend mode

Color

BrightnessContrast	Adjusts brightness and contrast
ColorOverlay	Alters the colors of the source item by applying an overlay color
Colorize	Sets the color in the HSL color space
Desaturate	Reduces the saturation of the colors
GammaAdjust	Alters the luminance of the source item
HueSaturation	Alters the source item colors in the HSL color space
LevelAdjust	Adjusts color levels in the RGBA color space

Gradient

ConicalGradient	Draws a conical gradient
LinearGradient	Draws a linear gradient
RadialGradient	Draws a radial gradient

Distortion

Displace

Moves the pixels of the source item according to the given displacement map

Drop Shadow

DropShadow	Generates a soft shadow behind the source item
InnerShadow	Generates a colorized and blurred shadow inside the source

Blur

FastBlur	Applies a fast blur effect to one or more source items
GaussianBlur	Applies a higher quality blur effect
MaskedBlur	Applies a blur effect with a varying intesity
RecursiveBlur	Blurs repeatedly, providing a strong blur effect

Motion Blur

DirectionalBlur	Applies blur effect to the specified direction
RadialBlur	Applies directional blur in a circular direction around the items center point
ZoomBlur	Applies directional blur effect towards source items center point

Glow

Glow	Generates a blurred and colorized image of the source and places it behind the original, giving impression that the source is glowing
RectangularGlow	Generates a blurred and colorized rectangle, which gives the impression that the source is glowing

Mask

OpacityMask	Masks the source item with another item
ThresholdMask	Masks the source item with another item and applies a threshold value

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