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

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