AspNetCore.Docs/aspnetcore/blazor/images.md

9.0 KiB

title author description monikerRange ms.author ms.custom no-loc ms.date uid
Work with images in ASP.NET Core Blazor apps TanayParikh Learn how to work with images in ASP.NET Core Blazor apps. >= aspnetcore-6.0 taparik mvc
Home
Privacy
Kestrel
appsettings.json
ASP.NET Core Identity
cookie
Cookie
Blazor
Blazor Server
Blazor WebAssembly
Identity
Let's Encrypt
Razor
SignalR
11/09/2021 blazor/images

Work with images in ASP.NET Core Blazor apps

This article describes common scenarios for working with images in Blazor apps.

Dynamically set an image source

The following example demonstrates how to dynamically set an image's source with a C# field.

For the example in this section:

  • Obtain three small PNG images from any source.
  • Name the images image1.png, image2.png, and image3.png.
  • Place the images in a new folder (images) in the app's static assets folder (wwwroot).

The following directory tree shows the images in the wwwroot/images folder:

  • wwwroot
    • ...
    • images
      • image1.png
      • image2.png
      • image3.png

In the following ShowImage component:

  • The image's source (src) is dynamically set to the value of imageSource in C#.
  • The ShowImage method updates the imageSource field based on an image id argument passed to the method.
  • Rendered buttons call the ShowImage method with an image ID argument for each of the three available images in the images folder.

Pages/ShowImage.razor:

@page "/show-image"

@if (imageSource is not null)
{
    <div>
        <img src="@imageSource" />
    </div>
}

@for (var i = 1; i <= 3; i++)
{
    var imageId = i;
    <button @onclick="() => ShowImage(imageId)">
        Image @imageId
    </button>
}

@code {
    private string? imageSource;

    private void ShowImage(int id)
    {
        imageSource = $"images/image{id}.png";
    }
}

The preceding example uses a C# field to hold the image's source data, but you can also use a C# property to hold the data.

[!NOTE] Do not use a loop variable directly in a lambda expression, such as i in the preceding for loop example. Otherwise, the same variable is used by all lambda expressions, which results in use of the same value in all lambdas. Always capture the variable's value in a local variable and then use the local variable. In the preceding example:

  • The loop variable i is assigned to imageId.
  • imageId is used in the lambda expression.

Streaming examples

The examples in this section stream image source data using JS interop. The following JavaScript setImageUsingStreaming function accepts the <img> tag id and data stream for the image. The function performs the following steps:

  • Reads the provided stream into an ArrayBuffer.
  • Creates a Blob to wrap the ArrayBuffer.
  • Creates an object URL to serve as the address for the image to be shown.
  • Updates the <img> element with the specified imageElementId with the object URL just created.
async function setImageUsingStreaming(imageElementId, imageStream) {
  const arrayBuffer = await imageStream.arrayBuffer();
  const blob = new Blob([arrayBuffer]);
  const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  document.getElementById(imageElementId).src = url;
}

To prevent memory leaks, call URL.revokeObjectURL() to dispose of the object URL (url in the preceding example) when the component is finished working with an image. In a form, the object URL is typically revoked after the user submits the form for processing, as the object URL is no longer required at that point.

URL.revokeObjectURL(url);

Stream image data to a client

Sometimes, it's necessary to send an image directly to the client instead of hosting the image in a public directory. The following guidance explains how how to accomplish this goal using Blazor's streaming interop features.

Add @inject directives for the following services to a Razor component (.razor):

[!NOTE] Blazor Server apps use a dedicated HttpClient service to make requests. If you haven't already added an HttpClient to the app's service collection, do so now by adding builder.Services.AddHttpClient(); in the Program.cs file before builder.Build(). For more information, see xref:fundamentals/http-requests.

Add an <img> tag to display the image. Also, add a button to trigger .NET to send the image to the client with a click event handler that calls a SetImageUsingStreamingAsync method:

<img id="image1" />

<button @onclick="SetImageUsingStreamingAsync">
    Set Image Using Image Stream
</button>

Add a C# method that retrieves a xref:System.IO.Stream for the image. At this point, you may dynamically generate an image based on the specific user or retrieve an image from storage. The following example retrieves the dotnet avatar from GitHub:

@code {
    private async Task<Stream> GetImageStreamAsync()
    {
        return await HttpClient.GetStreamAsync(
            "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/9141961");
    }
}

Add the following SetImageUsingStreamingAsync method, which is triggered on the button's selection by the user. SetImageUsingStreamingAsync performs the following steps:

@code {
    private async Task SetImageUsingStreamingAsync()
    {
        var imageStream = await GetImageStreamAsync();
        var dotnetImageStream = new DotNetStreamReference(imageStream);
        await JSRuntime.InvokeVoidAsync("setImageUsingStreaming", 
            "image1", dotnetImageStream);
    }
}

Preview an image provided by the InputFile component

Use the xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Forms.InputFile component to read browser file data into .NET code. In some apps, you may wish to show a preview of a selected image.

Add an <img> tag for displaying the image preview in a Razor component (.razor):

<img id="showImageHere" />

Add the following xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Forms.InputFile tag to the component:

<InputFile OnChange="ResizeAndDisplayImageUsingStreaming" />

When a file is selected, the ResizeAndDisplayImageUsingStreaming method is called with xref:Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Forms.InputFileChangeEventArgs. Examine the following ResizeAndDisplayImageUsingStreaming method example:

@code {
    private async Task ResizeAndDisplayImageUsingStreaming(InputFileChangeEventArgs e)
    {
        var imageFile = e.File;
        var resizedImage = 
            await imageFile.RequestImageFileAsync("image/jpg", 250, 250);
        var jsImageStream = resizedImage.OpenReadStream();
        var dotnetImageStream = new DotNetStreamReference(jsImageStream);
        await JSRuntime.InvokeVoidAsync("setImageUsingStreaming", 
            "showImageHere", dotnetImageStream);
    }
}

The preceding ResizeAndDisplayImageUsingStreaming method performs the following steps:

[!NOTE] The image preview technique described in this section involves round-tripping the image data from the client to the server and back. In a future release, this aspect might be optimized to better facilitate image previews. In the meantime, you may elect to create an event listener for the InputFile component that captures the FileList and displays a preview using JavaScript.

Additional resources