CanvasFlow

Welcome to the CanvasFlow documentation, a JavaScript library that allows you to create and move objects on an HTML canvas with ease.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Initialization
• Canvas Properties
• Methods
• Events
• Object Types
• Important Tips

Installation

You can install CanvasFlow using either npm or by including it directly from a CDN.

npm Installation

To install CanvasFlow using npm, run the following command:

npm install canvasflow@latest

CDN Installation

You can include CanvasFlow in your HTML file using the following CDN link:

<script src="https://unpkg.com/canvasflow@2.3.3/lib.js"></script>

Initialization

To get started with CanvasFlow, follow these steps:

1. Import the CanvasFlow class:

import CanvasFlow from "canvasflow";

2. Create a canvas element in your HTML:

<canvas class="MyCanvas"></canvas>

3. Initialize CanvasFlow:

const myCanvas = document.querySelector("canvas.MyCanvas");
const canvas = new CanvasFlow(myCanvas);

canvas.ctx // Access the 2D rendering context of the canvas

With these steps, you're ready to begin drawing on the canvas using CanvasFlow.

Canvas Properties

When initializing the canvas, you can provide optional properties to customize its behavior. Here are the available properties:

const canvas = new CanvasFlow(myCanvas, {
  defaultValues: {
    fill: "green",
    // Other default property values...
  },
});

The following table lists the available canvas properties and their descriptions:

Property	Type	Default Value	Description
x	Number	0	Default x position of objects on the canvas
y	Number	0	Default y position of objects on the canvas
width	Number	0	Default width of objects on the canvas
height	Number	0	Default height of objects on the canvas
fill	String	"black"	Default background color of objects on the canvas
stroke	Object	{ fill: "black", width: 0 }	Default stroke properties of objects on the canvas
font	Object	{ family: "sans-serif", size: 10 }	Default font properties of text objects on the canvas
borderRadius	Number	0	Default border radius of objects on the canvas
rotation	Number	0	Default rotation of objects on the canvas
opacity	Number	1	Default opacity of objects on the canvas
blurness	String	"0px"	Default blurness of objects on the canvas
brightness	Number	1	Default brightness of objects on the canvas
contrast	Number	1	Default contrast of objects on the canvas
grayscale	Number	0	Default grayscale of objects on the canvas
hueRotate	Number	0	Default hue-rotate of objects on the canvas
invert	Number	0	Default invert of objects on the canvas
saturate	Number	1	Default saturate of objects on the canvas
sepia	Number	0	Default sepia of objects on the canvas
dropShadow	Object	{}	Default drop-shadow of objects on the canvas
zIndex	Number	0	Default z-index of objects on the canvas
translate	Object	{ x: 0, y: 0 }	Default translate position of objects on the canvas
scale	Number	1	Default scale of objects on the canvas
from	Object	{ x: 5, y: 5 }	Default starting position of line objects on the canvas
to	Object	{ x: 50, y: 50 }	Default ending position of line objects on the canvas
points	Array	[]	Default points of polygon objects on the canvas
isChunk	Boolean	false	Default value if the object acts as an eraser (true) or is drawn normally (false) on the canvas

Methods

CanvasFlow provides various methods to interact with and manipulate objects on the canvas.

setObject

Use the setObject method to create an object on the canvas:

canvas.setObject(object);

Example:

const rectangle = {
    id: 1,
    type: "rectangle",
    x: 15,
    y: 15,
    width: 50,
    height: 50,
    fill: "black",
    classes: "class1 class2" // you can get the object by its classes.
};

canvas.setObject(rectangle);

setObjects

The setObjects method allows you to create multiple objects on the canvas:

canvas.setObjects([object, object, ...]);

Example:

const objects = [
    {
        id: 1,
        type: "rectangle",
        x: 15,
        y: 15,
        width: 50,
        height: 50,
        fill: "black"
    },
    {
        id: 2,
        type: "circle",
        x: 100,
        y: 100,
        width: 50,
        height: 50,
        fill: "#ff0",
    }
];

canvas.setObjects(objects);

updateObject

You can update an object's properties using the updateObject method:

canvas.updateObject(objectId, newProps);

Example:

canvas.updateObject(1, {
    width: 150,
    height: 150,
    fill: "red",
    classes: "red"
});

getObject

Retrieve an object's properties and position using the getObject method:

const myObject = canvas.getObject(objectId);

isObjectExists

To check if the object is exists, use the isObjectExists method:

const allRedObjects = canvas.isObjectExists(objectId);

getObjects

To get all objects on the canvas, use the getObjects method:

const allObjects = canvas.getObjects();

getObjectsByClassName

To get all objects with a specific class on the canvas, use the getObjectsByClassName method:

const allRedObjects = canvas.getObjectsByClassName("red");

deleteObject

The deleteObject method removes an object from the canvas:

canvas.deleteObject(objectId);

Example:

canvas.deleteObject(1);

moveObject

Move an object using the moveObject method:

canvas.moveObject(objectId, newX, newY, mode);

Example:

canvas.moveObject(2, 70, 20, "relative");

Modes:

• Absolute (Default): Move object to new x and y positions.
• Relative: Move object from current position to new x and y positions.

clearCanvas

The clearCanvas method clears the canvas and removes all objects:

canvas.clearCanvas();

Events

CanvasFlow supports event handling using the on method:

const stopEvent = canvas.on(eventName, callback);

Example:

const stopClickEvent = canvas.on("click", (e) => {
    console.log(e);
    stopClickEvent();
});

Object Types

CanvasFlow supports various object types:

Rectangle Object

const rectangle = {
    type: "rectangle",
    fill: "black",
    width: 50,
    height: 50
};

canvas.setObject(rectangle);

Triangle Object

const triangle = {
    type: "triangle",
    fill: "blue",
    width: 70,
    height: 70
};

canvas.setObject(triangle);

Polygon Object

const polygon = {
    type: "polygon",
    fill: "purple",
    points: [
        { x: 0, y: 0 },
        { x: 75, y: 25 },
        { x: 75, y: 75 },
        { x: 0, y: 75 },
    ],
};

canvas.setObject(polygon);

Circle Object

const circle = {
    type: "circle",
    fill: "#333",
    x: 60,
    y: 60,
    width: 70,
    height: 70
};

canvas.setObject(circle);

Text Object

const text = {
    type: "text",
    x: 50,
    text: "Hello World!",
    font: {
        family: "Arial",
        size: 24
    },
    fill: "black"
};

canvas.setObject(text);

Image Object

const image = {
    type: "image",
    url: "./MyImage.png",
    width: 200,
    height: 200
};

canvas.setObject(image);

Line Object

const line = {
    type: "line",
    from: { x: 30, y: 30 },
    to: { x: 120, y: 120 },
    stroke: { fill: "black", width: 1 }
};

canvas.setObject(line);

Path Object

const path = {
    type: "path",
    path: "M150 0 L75 200 L225 200 Z",
    fill: "black"
};

canvas.setObject(path);

Custom Object

const custom = {
    type: "custom",
    draw: function(ctx, canvas, props) { /* drawing a custom object */ },
    fill: "black"
};

canvas.setObject(custom);

Important Tips

Here are some tips to keep in mind while using CanvasFlow:

• When using the setObject method to create or update an object, any properties provided will override the default values. This allows you to easily customize individual objects on the canvas.

• When using the setObjects method to create multiple objects, ensure that each object's id property is unique. Objects with the same id may overlap or cause unexpected behavior.

• The updateObject method only replaces the exact properties provided with the new properties. If you use the setObject method to update an object, any properties not specified will be deleted from the object.

• The objects property within the event object (e) contains an array of objects that the cursor is over when an event is fired. This is useful for event handling and interaction with specific objects on the canvas.

• Event handling with CanvasFlow is done using the on method. Remember to call the returned function (e.g., stopClickEvent()) to stop listening to the event when it's no longer needed.

• The objects property within the event object is sorted by z-index in ascending order. This means that the first object in the array has the lowest z-index value, and subsequent objects have higher z-index values.

• Some of the filters properties are just appliable to images.

Keep these tips in mind to make the most of CanvasFlow's capabilities and enhance your canvas-based applications.