.NET Framework Class Library
BufferedGraphics Class

Provides a graphics buffer for double buffering.

Namespace:  System.Drawing
Assembly:  System.Drawing (in System.Drawing.dll)
Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)
Public NotInheritable Class BufferedGraphics _
    Implements IDisposable
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As BufferedGraphics
C#
public sealed class BufferedGraphics : IDisposable
Visual C++
public ref class BufferedGraphics sealed : IDisposable
JScript
public final class BufferedGraphics implements IDisposable
Remarks

The BufferedGraphics class allows you to implement custom double buffering for your graphics. It provides a wrapper for a graphics buffer, along with methods that you can use to write to the buffer and render its contents to an output device.

Graphics that use double buffering can reduce or eliminate flicker that is caused by redrawing a display surface. When you use double buffering, updated graphics are first drawn to a buffer in memory, and the contents of this buffer are then quickly written to some or all of the displayed surface. This relatively brief overwrite of the displayed graphics typically reduces or eliminates the flicker that sometimes occurs when graphics are updated.

NoteNote:

The simplest way to use double buffering is to set the OptimizedDoubleBuffer control style flag on a control using the SetStyle method. Setting the OptimizedDoubleBuffer flag for a control redirects all painting for the control through a default graphics buffer, without requiring any additional code. This flag is set to true by default.

The BufferedGraphics class has no public constructor and must be created by the BufferedGraphicsContext for an application domain using its Allocate method. You can retrieve the BufferedGraphicsContext for the current application domain from the static BufferedGraphicsManager..::.Current property.

The Graphics property can be used for drawing to the graphics buffer. This property provides access to the Graphics object that draws to the graphics buffer allocated for this BufferedGraphics object.

The Render method with no arguments draws the contents of the graphics buffer to the surface specified when the buffer was allocated. Other overloads of the Render method allow you to specify a Graphics object or an IntPtr object that points to a device context to which to draw the contents of the graphics buffer.

For more information about drawing double-buffered graphics, see Double Buffered Graphics.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates using a BufferedGraphics object to draw graphics using several types of buffering implementations. Clicking the form alternately starts and stops a timer that causes draw updates. The draw updates allow you to observe the effect of double buffering. Right-clicking the form cycles through the following drawing modes:

In each mode, text is drawn that identifies the current mode and describes the behavior that occurs when each mouse button is pressed.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.ComponentModel
Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms

Public Class BufferingExample
    Inherits Form
    Private context As BufferedGraphicsContext
    Private grafx As BufferedGraphics

    Private bufferingMode As Byte
    Private bufferingModeStrings As String() = _
        {"Draw to Form without OptimizedDoubleBufferring control style", _
         "Draw to Form using OptimizedDoubleBuffering control style", _
         "Draw to HDC for form"}

    Private timer1 As System.Windows.Forms.Timer
    Private count As Byte    

    Public Sub New()
        ' Configure the Form for this example.
        Me.Text = "User double buffering"
        AddHandler Me.MouseDown, AddressOf Me.MouseDownHandler
        AddHandler Me.Resize, AddressOf Me.ResizeHandler
        Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint Or ControlStyles.UserPaint, True)

        ' Configure a timer to draw graphics updates.
        timer1 = New System.Windows.Forms.Timer()
        timer1.Interval = 200
        AddHandler timer1.Tick, AddressOf Me.OnTimer

        bufferingMode = 2
        count = 0

        ' Retrieves the BufferedGraphicsContext for the 
        ' current application domain.
        context = BufferedGraphicsManager.Current

        ' Sets the maximum size for the primary graphics buffer
        ' of the buffered graphics context for the application
        ' domain.  Any allocation requests for a buffer larger 
        ' than this will create a temporary buffered graphics 
        ' context to host the graphics buffer.
        context.MaximumBuffer = New Size(Me.Width + 1, Me.Height + 1)

        ' Allocates a graphics buffer the size of this form
        ' using the pixel format of the Graphics created by 
        ' the Form.CreateGraphics() method, which returns a 
        ' Graphics object that matches the pixel format of the form.
        grafx = context.Allocate(Me.CreateGraphics(), _
            New Rectangle(0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height))

        ' Draw the first frame to the buffer.
        DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics)
    End Sub    

    Private Sub MouseDownHandler(sender As Object, e As MouseEventArgs)
        If e.Button = MouseButtons.Right Then
            ' Cycle the buffering mode.
            bufferingMode = bufferingMode+1
            If bufferingMode > 2 Then
                bufferingMode = 0
            End If 
            ' If the previous buffering mode used 
            ' the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
            ' disable the control style.
            If bufferingMode = 1 Then
                Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, True)
            End If 
            ' If the current buffering mode uses
            ' the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
            ' enabke the control style.
            If bufferingMode = 2 Then
                Me.SetStyle(ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, False)
            End If 
            ' Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
            count = 6
            DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics)
            Me.Refresh()
        Else
            ' Toggle whether the redraw timer is active.
            If timer1.Enabled Then
                timer1.Stop()
            Else
                timer1.Start()
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub OnTimer(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        ' Draw randomly positioned ellipses to the buffer.
        DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics)

        ' If in bufferingMode 2, draw to the form's HDC.
        If bufferingMode = 2 Then
            ' Render the graphics buffer to the form's HDC.
            grafx.Render(Graphics.FromHwnd(Me.Handle))
        ' If in bufferingMode 0 or 1, draw in the paint method.
        Else
            Me.Refresh()
        End If
    End Sub

    Private Sub ResizeHandler(sender As Object, e As EventArgs)
        ' Re-create the graphics buffer for a new window size.
        context.MaximumBuffer = New Size(Me.Width + 1, Me.Height + 1)
        If (grafx IsNot Nothing) Then
            grafx.Dispose()
            grafx = Nothing
        End If
        grafx = context.Allocate(Me.CreateGraphics(), New Rectangle(0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height))

        ' Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
        count = 6
        DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics)
        Me.Refresh()
    End Sub    

    Private Sub DrawToBuffer(g As Graphics)
        ' Clear the graphics buffer every five updates.
        count = count+1
        If count > 5 Then
            count = 0
            grafx.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.Black, 0, 0, Me.Width, Me.Height)
        End If

        ' Draw randomly positioned and colored ellipses.
        Dim rnd As New Random()
        Dim i As Integer
        For i = 0 To 21
            Dim px As Integer = rnd.Next(20, Me.Width - 40)
            Dim py As Integer = rnd.Next(20, Me.Height - 40)
            g.DrawEllipse(New Pen(Color.FromArgb(rnd.Next(0, 255), rnd.Next(0, 255), _
                rnd.Next(0, 255)), 1), px, py, px + rnd.Next(0, Me.Width - px - 20), _
                py + rnd.Next(0, Me.Height - py - 20))
        Next i

        ' Draw information strings.
        g.DrawString("Buffering Mode: " + bufferingModeStrings(bufferingMode), _
            New Font("Arial", 8), Brushes.White, 10, 10)
        g.DrawString("Right-click to cycle buffering mode", New Font("Arial", 8), _
            Brushes.White, 10, 22)
        g.DrawString("Left-click to toggle timed display refresh", _
            New Font("Arial", 8), Brushes.White, 10, 34)
    End Sub    

    Protected Overrides Sub OnPaint(e As PaintEventArgs)
        grafx.Render(e.Graphics)
    End Sub   

    <STAThread()>  _
    Public Shared Sub Main(args() As String)
        Application.Run(New BufferingExample())
    End Sub

End Class
C#
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace BufferingExample 
{
    public class BufferingExample : Form
    {
        private BufferedGraphicsContext context;
        private BufferedGraphics grafx;

    private byte bufferingMode;
    private string[] bufferingModeStrings = 
        { "Draw to Form without OptimizedDoubleBufferring control style",
          "Draw to Form using OptimizedDoubleBuffering control style",
          "Draw to HDC for form" };

    private System.Windows.Forms.Timer timer1;
    private byte count;

        public BufferingExample() : base()
        {
            // Configure the Form for this example.
            this.Text = "User double buffering";
            this.MouseDown += new MouseEventHandler(this.MouseDownHandler);
            this.Resize += new EventHandler(this.OnResize);
            this.SetStyle( ControlStyles.AllPaintingInWmPaint | ControlStyles.UserPaint, true );

            // Configure a timer to draw graphics updates.
        timer1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Timer();
        timer1.Interval = 200;
        timer1.Tick += new EventHandler(this.OnTimer);

        bufferingMode = 2;
        count = 0;

            // Retrieves the BufferedGraphicsContext for the 
            // current application domain.
            context = BufferedGraphicsManager.Current;

            // Sets the maximum size for the primary graphics buffer
            // of the buffered graphics context for the application
            // domain.  Any allocation requests for a buffer larger 
            // than this will create a temporary buffered graphics 
            // context to host the graphics buffer.
            context.MaximumBuffer = new Size(this.Width+1, this.Height+1);

            // Allocates a graphics buffer the size of this form
            // using the pixel format of the Graphics created by 
            // the Form.CreateGraphics() method, which returns a 
            // Graphics object that matches the pixel format of the form.
            grafx = context.Allocate(this.CreateGraphics(), 
                 new Rectangle( 0, 0, this.Width, this.Height ));

        // Draw the first frame to the buffer.
        DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics);
        }

    private void MouseDownHandler(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
        {
        if( e.Button == MouseButtons.Right )
        {
                 // Cycle the buffering mode.
             if( ++bufferingMode > 2 )
                     bufferingMode = 0;

                 // If the previous buffering mode used 
                 // the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
                 // disable the control style.
                 if( bufferingMode == 1 )
                     this.SetStyle( ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, true );

                 // If the current buffering mode uses
                 // the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
                 // enabke the control style.
                 if( bufferingMode == 2 )
                     this.SetStyle( ControlStyles.OptimizedDoubleBuffer, false );

                 // Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
                 count = 6;
                 DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics);                 
         this.Refresh();
        }
        else
        {
                // Toggle whether the redraw timer is active.
        if( timer1.Enabled )
            timer1.Stop();
        else
            timer1.Start(); 
        }
        }

    private void OnTimer(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
            // Draw randomly positioned ellipses to the buffer.
        DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics);

            // If in bufferingMode 2, draw to the form's HDC.
        if( bufferingMode == 2 )            
                    // Render the graphics buffer to the form's HDC.
            grafx.Render(Graphics.FromHwnd(this.Handle));            
            // If in bufferingMode 0 or 1, draw in the paint method.
        else
              this.Refresh();
    }

        private void OnResize(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
           // Re-create the graphics buffer for a new window size.
           context.MaximumBuffer = new Size(this.Width+1, this.Height+1);
           if( grafx != null )
           {
           grafx.Dispose();
               grafx = null;               
           }
           grafx = context.Allocate(this.CreateGraphics(), 
               new Rectangle( 0, 0, this.Width, this.Height ));

           // Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
           count = 6;
           DrawToBuffer(grafx.Graphics);                 
       this.Refresh();
        }    

    private void DrawToBuffer(Graphics g)
    {
            // Clear the graphics buffer every five updates.
        if( ++count > 5 )
            {
                count = 0;                
                grafx.Graphics.FillRectangle(Brushes.Black, 0, 0, this.Width, this.Height);
            }

            // Draw randomly positioned and colored ellipses.
        Random rnd = new Random();
        for( int i=0; i<20; i++ )
        {
        int px = rnd.Next(20,this.Width-40);
        int py = rnd.Next(20,this.Height-40);
        g.DrawEllipse(new Pen(Color.FromArgb(rnd.Next(0, 255), rnd.Next(0,255), rnd.Next(0,255)), 1), 
            px, py, px+rnd.Next(0, this.Width-px-20), py+rnd.Next(0, this.Height-py-20));                     
        }

            // Draw information strings.
        g.DrawString("Buffering Mode: "+bufferingModeStrings[bufferingMode], new Font("Arial", 8), Brushes.White, 10, 10);
            g.DrawString("Right-click to cycle buffering mode", new Font("Arial", 8), Brushes.White, 10, 22);
            g.DrawString("Left-click to toggle timed display refresh", new Font("Arial", 8), Brushes.White, 10, 34);
    }

    protected override void OnPaint(PaintEventArgs e)
        {            
        grafx.Render(e.Graphics);
    }

        [STAThread]
        public static void Main(string[] args)
        {
        Application.Run(new BufferingExample());
        }
    }
}
Visual C++
#using <System.Windows.Forms.dll>
#using <System.Drawing.dll>
#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::ComponentModel;
using namespace System::Drawing;
using namespace System::Windows::Forms;

namespace BufferingExample
{
   public ref class BufferingExample: public Form
   {
   private:
      BufferedGraphicsContext^ context;
      BufferedGraphics^ grafx;
      Byte bufferingMode;
      array<String^>^bufferingModeStrings;
      System::Windows::Forms::Timer^ timer1;
      Byte count;

   public:
      BufferingExample()
         : Form()
      {
         array<String^>^tempStrings = {"Draw to Form without OptimizedDoubleBufferring control style","Draw to Form using OptimizedDoubleBuffering control style","Draw to HDC for form"};
         bufferingModeStrings = tempStrings;

         // Configure the Form for this example.
         this->Text = "User double buffering";
         this->MouseDown += gcnew MouseEventHandler( this, &BufferingExample::MouseDownHandler );
         this->Resize += gcnew EventHandler( this, &BufferingExample::OnResize );
         this->SetStyle( static_cast<ControlStyles>(ControlStyles::AllPaintingInWmPaint | ControlStyles::UserPaint), true );

         // Configure a timer to draw graphics updates.
         timer1 = gcnew System::Windows::Forms::Timer;
         timer1->Interval = 200;
         timer1->Tick += gcnew EventHandler( this, &BufferingExample::OnTimer );
         bufferingMode = 2;
         count = 0;

         // Retrieves the BufferedGraphicsContext for the 
         // current application domain.
         context = BufferedGraphicsManager::Current;

         // Sets the maximum size for the primary graphics buffer
         // of the buffered graphics context for the application
         // domain.  Any allocation requests for a buffer larger 
         // than this will create a temporary buffered graphics 
         // context to host the graphics buffer.
         context->MaximumBuffer = System::Drawing::Size( this->Width + 1, this->Height + 1 );

         // Allocates a graphics buffer the size of this form
         // using the pixel format of the Graphics created by 
         // the Form.CreateGraphics() method, which returns a 
         // Graphics object that matches the pixel format of the form.
         grafx = context->Allocate( this->CreateGraphics(), Rectangle(0,0,this->Width,this->Height) );

         // Draw the first frame to the buffer.
         DrawToBuffer( grafx->Graphics );
      }

   private:
      void MouseDownHandler( Object^ /*sender*/, MouseEventArgs^ e )
      {
         if ( e->Button == ::MouseButtons::Right )
         {
            // Cycle the buffering mode.
            if ( ++bufferingMode > 2 )
                        bufferingMode = 0;

            // If the previous buffering mode used 
            // the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
            // disable the control style.
            if ( bufferingMode == 1 )
                        this->SetStyle( ControlStyles::OptimizedDoubleBuffer, true );

            // If the current buffering mode uses
            // the OptimizedDoubleBuffering ControlStyle,
            // enabke the control style.
            if ( bufferingMode == 2 )
                        this->SetStyle( ControlStyles::OptimizedDoubleBuffer, false );

            // Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
            count = 6;
            DrawToBuffer( grafx->Graphics );
            this->Refresh();
         }
         else
         {

            // Toggle whether the redraw timer is active.
            if ( timer1->Enabled )
                        timer1->Stop();
            else
                        timer1->Start();
         }
      }

   private:
      void OnTimer( Object^ /*sender*/, EventArgs^ /*e*/ )
      {
         // Draw randomly positioned ellipses to the buffer.
         DrawToBuffer( grafx->Graphics );

         // If in bufferingMode 2, draw to the form's HDC.
         if ( bufferingMode == 2 )

         // Render the graphics buffer to the form's HDC.
         grafx->Render( Graphics::FromHwnd( this->Handle ) );
         // If in bufferingMode 0 or 1, draw in the paint method.
         else

         // If in bufferingMode 0 or 1, draw in the paint method.
         this->Refresh();
      }

      void OnResize( Object^ /*sender*/, EventArgs^ /*e*/ )
      {
         // Re-create the graphics buffer for a new window size.
         context->MaximumBuffer = System::Drawing::Size( this->Width + 1, this->Height + 1 );
         if ( grafx != nullptr )
         {
            delete grafx;
            grafx = nullptr;
         }

         grafx = context->Allocate( this->CreateGraphics(), Rectangle(0,0,this->Width,this->Height) );

         // Cause the background to be cleared and redraw.
         count = 6;
         DrawToBuffer( grafx->Graphics );
         this->Refresh();
      }

      void DrawToBuffer( Graphics^ g )
      {
         // Clear the graphics buffer every five updates.
         if ( ++count > 5 )
         {
            count = 0;
            grafx->Graphics->FillRectangle( Brushes::Black, 0, 0, this->Width, this->Height );
         }

         // Draw randomly positioned and colored ellipses.
         Random^ rnd = gcnew Random;
         for ( int i = 0; i < 20; i++ )
         {
            int px = rnd->Next( 20, this->Width - 40 );
            int py = rnd->Next( 20, this->Height - 40 );
            g->DrawEllipse( gcnew Pen( Color::FromArgb( rnd->Next( 0, 255 ), rnd->Next( 0, 255 ), rnd->Next( 0, 255 ) ), 1.0f ), px, py, px + rnd->Next( 0, this->Width - px - 20 ), py + rnd->Next( 0, this->Height - py - 20 ) );
         }

         // Draw information strings.
         g->DrawString( String::Format( "Buffering Mode: {0}", bufferingModeStrings[ bufferingMode ] ), gcnew System::Drawing::Font( "Arial",8 ), Brushes::White, 10, 10 );
         g->DrawString( "Right-click to cycle buffering mode", gcnew System::Drawing::Font( "Arial",8 ), Brushes::White, 10, 22 );
         g->DrawString( "Left-click to toggle timed display refresh", gcnew System::Drawing::Font( "Arial",8 ), Brushes::White, 10, 34 );
      }

   protected:
      virtual void OnPaint( PaintEventArgs^ e ) override
      {
         grafx->Render( e->Graphics );
      }
   };
}

[STAThread]
int main()
{
   Application::Run( gcnew BufferingExample::BufferingExample );
}
Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
  System.Drawing..::.BufferedGraphics
Thread Safety

The BufferedGraphics class is not thread safe. When accessing a graphics buffer from separate threads, it is important to use a thread-access control mechanism to prevent conflicts.

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0
See Also

Reference

Other Resources

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