display - Pygame Documentation

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pygame.display

pygame module to control the display window and screen

pygame.display.init - initialize the display module | initialize the display module
pygame.display.quit - uninitialize the display module | uninitialize the display module
pygame.display.get_init - true if the display module is initialized | true if the display module is initialized
pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display | initialize a window or screen for display
pygame.display.get_surface - get a reference to the currently set display surface | get a reference to the currently set display surface
pygame.display.flip - update the full display Surface to the screen | update the full display Surface to the screen
pygame.display.update - update portions of the screen for software displays | update portions of the screen for software displays
pygame.display.get_driver - get the name of the pygame display backend | get the name of the pygame display backend
pygame.display.Info - Create a video display information object | Create a video display information object
pygame.display.get_wm_info - Get information about the current windowing system | Get information about the current windowing system
pygame.display.list_modes - get list of available fullscreen modes | get list of available fullscreen modes
pygame.display.mode_ok - pick the best color depth for a display mode | pick the best color depth for a display mode
pygame.display.gl_get_attribute - get the value for an opengl flag for the current display | get the value for an opengl flag for the current display
pygame.display.gl_set_attribute - request an opengl display attribute for the display mode | request an opengl display attribute for the display mode
pygame.display.get_active - true when the display is active on the display | true when the display is active on the display
pygame.display.iconify - iconify the display surface | iconify the display surface
pygame.display.toggle_fullscreen - switch between fullscreen and windowed displays | switch between fullscreen and windowed displays
pygame.display.set_gamma - change the hardware gamma ramps | change the hardware gamma ramps
pygame.display.set_gamma_ramp - set_gamma_ramp(red, green, blue): return bool | set_gamma_ramp(red, green, blue): return bool
pygame.display.set_icon - change the system image for the display window | change the system image for the display window
pygame.display.set_caption - set the current window caption | set the current window caption
pygame.display.get_caption - get the current window caption | get the current window caption
pygame.display.set_palette - set the display color palette for indexed displays | set the display color palette for indexed displays

This module offers control over the pygame display. Pygame has a single display Surface that is either contained in a window or runs full screen. Once you create the display you treat it as a regular Surface. Changes are not immediately visible onscreen, you must choose one of the two flipping functions to update the actual display.

The origin of the display, where x = 0, and y = 0 is the top left of the screen. Both axis increase positively towards the botom right of the screen.

The pygame display can actually be initialized in one of several modes. By default the display is a basic software driven framebuffer. You can request special modules like hardware acceleration and OpenGL support. These are controlled by flags passed to `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display`.

Pygame can only have a single display active at any time. Creating a new one with `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` will close the previous display. If precise control is needed over the pixel format or display resolutions, use the functions `pygame.display.mode_ok - pick the best color depth for a display mode`, `pygame.display.list_modes - get list of available fullscreen modes`, and `pygame.display.Info - Create a video display information object` to query information about the display.

Once the display Surface is created, the functions from this module effect the single existing display. The Surface becomes invalid if the module is uninitialized. If a new display mode is set, the existing Surface will automatically switch to operate on the new display.

Then the display mode is set, several events are placed on the pygame event queue. `pygame.QUIT` is sent when the user has requested the program to shutdown. The window will receive `pygame.ACTIVEEVENT` events as the display gains and loses input focus. If the display is set with the `pygame.RESIZABLE` flag, `pygame.VIDEORESIZE` events will be sent when the user adjusts the window dimensions. Hardware displays that draw direct to the screen will get `pygame.VIDEOEXPOSE` events when portions of the window must be redrawn.

pygame.display.init

initialize the display module
`pygame.display.init(): return None`

Initializes the pygame display module. The display module cannot do anything until it is initialized. This is usually handled for you automatically when you call the higher level `pygame.init - initialize all imported pygame modules`.

Pygame will select from one of several internal display backends when it is initialized. The display mode will be chosen depending on the platform and permissions of current user. Before the display module is initialized the environment variable `SDL_VIDEODRIVER` can be set to control which backend is used. The systems with multiple choices are listed here.

       Windows : windib, directx
       Unix    : x11, dga, fbcon, directfb, ggi, vgl, svgalib, aalib

On some platforms it is possible to embed the pygame display into an already existing window. To do this, the environment variable `SDL_WINDOWID` must be set to a string containing the window id or handle. The environment variable is checked when the pygame display is initialized. Be aware that there can be many strange side effects when running in an embedded display.

It is harmless to call this more than once, repeated calls have no effect.

pygame.display.quit

uninitialize the display module
`pygame.display.quit(): return None`

This will shut down the entire display module. This means any active displays will be closed. This will also be handled automatically when the program exits.

It is harmless to call this more than once, repeated calls have no effect.

pygame.display.get_init

true if the display module is initialized
`pygame.display.get_init(): return bool`

Returns True if the `pygame.display` module is currently initialized.

pygame.display.set_mode

initialize a window or screen for display
`pygame.display.set_mode(resolution=(0,0), flags=0, depth=0): return Surface`

This function will create a display Surface. The arguments passed in are requests for a display type. The actual created display will be the best possible match supported by the system.

The resolution argument is a pair of numbers representing the width and height. The flags argument is a collection of additional options. The depth argument represents the number of bits to use for color.

The Surface that gets returned can be drawn to like a regular Surface but changes will eventually be seen on the monitor.

If no resolution is passed or is set to (0, 0) and pygame uses `SDL` version `1.2.10` or above, the created Surface will have the same size as the current screen resolution. If only the width or height are set to 0, the Surface will have the same width or height as the screen resolution. Using a `SDL` version prior to `1.2.10` will raise an exception.

It is usually best to not pass the depth argument. It will default to the best and fastest color depth for the system. If your game requires a specific color format you can control the depth with this argument. Pygame will emulate an unavailable color depth which can be slow.

When requesting fullscreen display modes, sometimes an exact match for the requested resolution cannot be made. In these situations pygame will select the closest compatable match. The returned surface will still always match the requested resolution.

The flags argument controls which type of display you want. There are several to choose from, and you can even combine multiple types using the bitwise or operator, (the pipe "|" character). If you pass 0 or no flags argument it will default to a software driven window. Here are the display flags you will want to choose from:

       pygame.FULLSCREEN    create a fullscreen display
       pygame.DOUBLEBUF     recommended for HWSURFACE or OPENGL
       pygame.HWSURFACE     hardware accelerated, only in FULLSCREEN
       pygame.OPENGL        create an opengl renderable display
       pygame.RESIZABLE     display window should be sizeable
       pygame.NOFRAME       display window will have no border or controls

pygame.display.get_surface

get a reference to the currently set display surface
`pygame.display.get_surface(): return Surface`

Return a reference to the currently set display Surface. If no display mode has been set this will return None.

pygame.display.flip

update the full display Surface to the screen
`pygame.display.flip(): return None`

This will update the contents of the entire display. If your display mode is using the flags `pygame.HWSURFACE` and `pygame.DOUBLEBUF`, this will wait for a vertical retrace and swap the surfaces. If you are using a different type of display mode, it will simply update the entire contents of the surface.

When using an `pygame.OPENGL` display mode this will perform a gl buffer swap.

pygame.display.update

update portions of the screen for software displays
`pygame.display.update(rectangle=None): return None`
`pygame.display.update(rectangle_list): return None`

This function is like an optimized version of `pygame.display.flip - update the full display Surface to the screen` for software displays. It allows only a portion of the screen to updated, instead of the entire area. If no argument is passed it updates the entire Surface area like `pygame.display.flip - update the full display Surface to the screen`.

You can pass the function a single rectangle, or a sequence of rectangles. It is more efficient to pass many rectangles at once than to call update multiple times with single or a partial list of rectangles. If passing a sequence of rectangles it is safe to include None values in the list, which will be skipped.

This call cannot be used on `pygame.OPENGL` displays and will generate an exception.

pygame.display.get_driver

get the name of the pygame display backend
`pygame.display.get_driver(): return name`

Pygame chooses one of many available display backends when it is initialized. This returns the internal name used for the display backend. This can be used to provide limited information about what display capabilities might be accelerated. See the `SDL_VIDEODRIVER` flags in `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` to see some of the common options.

pygame.display.Info

Create a video display information object
`pygame.display.Info(): return VideoInfo`

Creates a simple object containing several attributes to describe the current graphics environment. If this is called before `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` some platforms can provide information about the default display mode. This can also be called after setting the display mode to verify specific display options were satisfied. The VidInfo object has several attributes:

      hw:         True if the display is hardware accelerated
      wm:         True if windowed display modes can be used
      video_mem:  The megabytes of video memory on the display. This is 0 if unknown
      bitsize:    Number of bits used to store each pixel
      bytesize:   Number of bytes used to store each pixel
      masks:      Four values used to pack RGBA values into pixels
      shifts:     Four values used to pack RGBA values into pixels
      losses:     Four values used to pack RGBA values into pixels
      blit_hw:    True if hardware Surface blitting is accelerated
      blit_hw_CC: True if hardware Surface colorkey blitting is accelerated
      blit_hw_A:  True if hardware Surface pixel alpha blitting is accelerated
      blit_sw:    True if software Surface blitting is accelerated
      blit_sw_CC: True if software Surface colorkey blitting is accelerated
      blit_sw_A:  True if software Surface pixel alpha blitting is acclerated
      current_h, current_h:  Width and height of the current video mode, or of the
        desktop mode if called before the display.set_mode is called.
        (current_h, current_w are available since SDL 1.2.10, and pygame 1.8.0)
        They are -1 on error, or if an old SDL is being used.

pygame.display.get_wm_info

Get information about the current windowing system
`pygame.display.get_wm_info(): return dict`

Creates a dictionary filled with string keys. The strings and values are arbitrarily created by the system. Some systems may have no information and an empty dictionary will be returned. Most platforms will return a "window" key with the value set to the system id for the current display.

New with pygame `1.7.1`

pygame.display.list_modes

get list of available fullscreen modes
`pygame.display.list_modes(depth=0, flags=pygame.FULLSCREEN): return list`

This function returns a list of possible dimensions for a specified color depth. The return value will be an empty list if no display modes are available with the given arguments. `A` return value of -1 means that any requested resolution should work (this is likely the case for windowed modes). Mode sizes are sorted from biggest to smallest.

If depth is 0, `SDL` will choose the current/best color depth for the display. The flags defaults to `pygame.FULLSCREEN`, but you may need to add additional flags for specific fullscreen modes.

pygame.display.mode_ok

pick the best color depth for a display mode
`pygame.display.mode_ok(size, flags=0, depth=0): return depth`

This function uses the same arguments as `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display`. It is used to depermine if a requested display mode is available. It will return 0 if the display mode cannot be set. Otherwise it will return a pixel depth that best matches the display asked for.

Usually the depth argument is not passed, but some platforms can support multiple display depths. If passed it will hint to which depth is a better match.

The most useful flags to pass will be `pygame.HWSURFACE`, `pygame.DOUBLEBUF`, and maybe `pygame.FULLSCREEN`. The function will return 0 if these display flags cannot be set.

pygame.display.gl_get_attribute

get the value for an opengl flag for the current display
`pygame.display.gl_get_attribute(flag): return value`

After calling `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` with the `pygame.OPENGL` flag, it is a good idea to check the value of any requested OpenGL attributes. See `pygame.display.gl_set_attribute - request an opengl display attribute for the display mode` for a list of valid flags.

pygame.display.gl_set_attribute

request an opengl display attribute for the display mode
`pygame.display.gl_set_attribute(flag, value): return None`

When calling `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` with the `pygame.OPENGL` flag, Pygame automatically handles setting the OpenGL attributes like color and doublebuffering. OpenGL offers several other attributes you may want control over. Pass one of these attributes as the flag, and its appropriate value. This must be called before `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display`

The `OPENGL` flags are;

      GL_ALPHA_SIZE, GL_DEPTH_SIZE, GL_STENCIL_SIZE, GL_ACCUM_RED_SIZE,
      GL_ACCUM_GREEN_SIZE,  GL_ACCUM_BLUE_SIZE, GL_ACCUM_ALPHA_SIZE,
      GL_MULTISAMPLEBUFFERS, GL_MULTISAMPLESAMPLES, GL_STEREO

pygame.display.get_active

true when the display is active on the display
`pygame.display.get_active(): return bool`

After `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` is called the display Surface will be visible on the screen. Most windowed displays can be hidden by the user. If the display Surface is hidden or iconified this will return False.

pygame.display.iconify

iconify the display surface
`pygame.display.iconify(): return bool`

Request the window for the display surface be iconified or hidden. Not all systems and displays support an iconified display. The function will return True if successfull.

When the display is iconified `pygame.display.get_active - true when the display is active on the display` will return False. The event queue should receive a `ACTIVEEVENT` event when the window has been iconified.

pygame.display.toggle_fullscreen

switch between fullscreen and windowed displays
`pygame.display.toggle_fullscreen(): return bool`

Switches the display window between windowed and fullscreen modes. This function only works under the unix x11 video driver. For most situations it is better to call `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` with new display flags.

pygame.display.set_gamma

change the hardware gamma ramps
`pygame.display.set_gamma(red, green=None, blue=None): return bool`

Set the red, green, and blue gamma values on the display hardware. If the green and blue arguments are not passed, they will both be the same as red. Not all systems and hardware support gamma ramps, if the function succeeds it will return True.

`A` gamma value of `1.0` creates a linear color table. Lower values will darken the display and higher values will brighten.

pygame.display.set_gamma_ramp

set_gamma_ramp(red, green, blue): return bool
`change the hardware gamma ramps with a custom lookup`
`pygame.display.set_gamma_ramp(red, green, blue): return bool`

Set the red, green, and blue gamma ramps with an explicit lookup table. Each argument should be sequence of 256 integers. The integers should range between 0 and 0xffff. Not all systems and hardware support gamma ramps, if the function succeeds it will return True.

pygame.display.set_icon

change the system image for the display window
`pygame.display.set_icon(Surface): return None`

Sets the runtime icon the system will use to represent the display window. All windows default to a simple pygame logo for the window icon.

You can pass any surface, but most systems want a smaller image around 32x32. The image can have colorkey transparency which will be passed to the system.

Some systems do not allow the window icon to change after it has been shown. This function can be called before `pygame.display.set_mode - initialize a window or screen for display` to create the icon before the display mode is set.

pygame.display.set_caption

set the current window caption
`pygame.display.set_caption(title, icontitle=None): return None`

If the display has a window title, this function will change the name on the window. Some systems support an alternate shorter title to be used for minimized displays.

pygame.display.get_caption

get the current window caption
`pygame.display.get_caption(): return (title, icontitle)`

Returns the title and icontitle for the display Surface. These will often be the same value.

pygame.display.set_palette

set the display color palette for indexed displays
`pygame.display.set_palette(palette=None): return None`

This will change the video display color palette for 8bit displays. This does not change the palette for the actual display Surface, only the palette that is used to display the Surface. If no palette argument is passed, the system default palette will be restored. The palette is a sequence of `RGB` triplets.