Raphaël Reference

Main Function

Raphael

Creates a canvas object on which to draw. You must do this first, as all future calls to drawing methods from this instance will be bound to this canvas.

Parameters

container HTMLElement or string
width number
height number

x number
y number
width number
height number

all array (first 3 or 4 elements in the array are equal to [containerID, width, height] or [x, y, width, height]. The rest are element descriptions in format {type: type, <attributes>})

Usage

// Each of the following examples create a canvas that is 320px wide by 200px high
// Canvas is created at the viewport's 10,50 coordinate
var paper = Raphael(10, 50, 320, 200);
// Canvas is created at the top left corner of the #notepad element (or its top right corner in dir="rtl" elements)
var paper = Raphael(document.getElementById("notepad"), 320, 200);
// Same as above
var paper = Raphael("notepad", 320, 200);
// Image dump
var set = Raphael(["notepad", 320, 200, {type: "rect", x: 10, y: 10, width: 25, height: 25, stroke: "#f00"}, {type: "text", x: 30, y: 40, text: "Dump"}]);

Element’s generic methods

Each object created on the canvas shares these same generic methods:

node

Gives you a reference to the DOM object, so you can assign event handlers or just mess around.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10); // draw a circle at coordinate 10,10 with radius of 10
c.node.onclick = function () { c.attr("fill", "red"); };

paper

Internal reference to “paper” where object drawn. Mainly for use in plugins and element extensions.

Usage

Raphael.el.cross = function () {
    this.attr({fill: "red"});
    this.paper.path("M10,10L50,50M50,10L10,50").attr({stroke: "red"});
}

remove

Removes element from the DOM. You can’t use it after this method call.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.remove();

hide

Makes element invisible.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.hide();

show

Makes element visible.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.show();

rotate

Rotates the element by the given degree from its center point.

Parameters

degree number Degree of rotation (0 – 360°)
isAbsolute boolean [optional] Specifies is degree is relative to previous position (false) or is it absolute angle (true)

degree number Degree of rotation (0 – 360°)
cx number [optional] X coordinate of the origin of rotation
cY number [optional] Y coordinate of the origin of rotation

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.rotate(45);        // rotation is relative
c.rotate(45, true);  // rotation is absolute

translate

Moves the element around the canvas by the given distances.

Parameters

dx number Pixels of translation by X axis
dy number Pixels of translation by Y axis

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.translate(10, 10); // moves the circle down the canvas, in a diagonal line

scale

Resizes the element by the given multiplier.

Parameters

Xtimes number Amount to scale horizontally
Ytimes number Amount to scale vertically
centerX number [optional] X of the center of scaling, default is the center of the element
centerY number [optional] Y of the center of scaling, default is the center of the element

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.scale(1.5, 1.5); // makes the circle 1.5 times larger
c.scale(.5, .75);  // makes the circle half as wide, and 75% as high

attr

Sets the attributes of elements directly.

Parameters

attributeName string
value string

params object

attributeName string in this case method returns current value for given attribute name

attributeNames array in this case method returns array of current values for given attribute names

no parameters, in this case object containing all attributes will be returned

Possible parameters

Please refer to the SVG specification for an explanation of these parameters.

clip-rect string comma or space separated values: x, y, width and height
cx number
cy number
fill colour or gradient
- linear gradient: “‹angle›-‹colour›[-‹colour›[:‹offset›]]*-‹colour›”, example: "90-#fff-#000" – 90° gradient from white to black or "0-#fff-#f00:20-#000" – 0° gradient from white via red (at 20%) to black
- radial gradient: “r[(‹fx›, ‹fy›)]‹colour›[-‹colour›[:‹offset›]]*-‹colour›”, example: “r#fff-#000” – gradient from white to black or “r(0.25, 0.75)#fff-#000” – gradient from white to black with focus point at 0.25, 0.75
- Focus point coordinates are in 0..1 range
- Radial gradients can only be applied to circles and ellipses
fill-opacity number
font string
font-family string
font-size number
font-weight string
height number
opacity number
path pathString SVG path string format
r number
rotation number
rx number
ry number
scale string comma or space separated values: xtimes, ytimes, cx, cy. See: scale
src string (URL)
stroke colour
stroke-dasharray string [“”, “-”, “.”, “-.”, “-..”, “. ”, “- ”, “--”, “- .”, “--.”, “--..”]
stroke-linecap string [“butt”, “square”, “round”]
stroke-linejoin string [“butt”, “square”, “round”, “miter”]
stroke-miterlimit number
stroke-opacity number
stroke-width number
translation string comma or space separated values: x and y
width number
x number
y number

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.attr("fill", "black");                              // using strings
c.attr({fill: "#000", stroke: "#f00", opacity: 0.5}); // using params object
c.attr({fill: "90-#fff-#000", "stroke-dasharray": "-..", "clip-rect": "10, 10, 100, 100"});

animate

Changes an attribute from its current value to its specified value in the given amount of milliseconds.

Parameters

newAttrs object A parameters object of the animation results. (Not all attributes can be animated.)
ms number The duration of the animation, given in milliseconds.
callback function [optional]

newAttrs object A parameters object of the animation results. (Not all attributes can be animated.)
ms number The duration of the animation, given in milliseconds.
easing string [“>”, “<”, “<>”, “backIn”, “backOut”, “bounce”, “elastic”] or function [optional]
callback function [optional]

Attributes that can be animated

The newAttrs parameter accepts an object whose properties are the attributes to animate. However, not all attributes listed in the attr method reference can be animated. The following is a list of those properties that can be animated:

clip-rect string
cx number
cy number
fill colour
fill-opacity number
font-size number
height number
opacity number
path pathString
r number
rotation string
rx number
ry number
scale string
stroke colour
stroke-opacity number
stroke-width number
translation string
width number
x number
y number

Easing

For easing use built in functions or add your own by adding new functions to Raphael.easing_formulas object. Look at the example of easing usage.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.animate({cx: 20, r: 20}, 2000);
c.animate({cx: 20, r: 20}, 2000, "bounce");

getBBox

Returns the dimensions of an element.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
var width = c.getBBox().width;

toFront

Moves the element so it is the closest to the viewer’s eyes, on top of other elements.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.toFront();

toBack

Moves the element so it is the furthest from the viewer’s eyes, behind other elements.

Usage

var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.toBack();

insertBefore

Inserts current object before the given one.

Usage

var r = paper.rect(10, 10, 10, 10);
var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
c.insertBefore(r);

insertAfter

Inserts current object after the given one.

Usage

var r = paper.rect(10, 10, 10, 10);
var c = paper.circle(10, 10, 10);
r.insertAfter(c);

clone

Returns a clone of the current element.

Usage

var r = paper.rect(10, 10, 10, 10);
var c = r.clone();

Graphic Primitives

Methods of “paper” object, created with Raphael function call.

raphael

Internal reference to Raphael object. In case it is not available.

Usage

Raphael.el.red = function () {
    var hsb = this.paper.raphael.rgb2hsb(this.attr("fill"));
    hsb.h = 1;
    this.attr({fill: this.paper.raphael.hsb2rgb(hsb).hex});
}

setSize

If you need to change dimensions of the canvas call this method

Parameters

width number new width of the canvas
height number new height of the canvas

setWindow

Should be called before main Raphael method. Sets which window should be used for drawing. Default is the current one. You need to use it if you want to draw inside iframe

Parameters

window object

getRGB

Parses passes string and returns an color object. Especially usefull for plug-in developers.

Parameters

color string Color in form acceptable by library

Usage

var stroke = Raphael.getRGB(circle.attr("stroke")).hex

getColor

Returns a colour object for the next colour in spectrum

Parameters

value number brightness [optional]

Usage

var c = paper.path("M10,10L100,100").attr({stroke: Raphael.getColor()});

getColor.reset

Resets getColor function, so it will start from the beginning

registerFont

Adds given font to the registered set of fonts for Raphaël. Should be used as an internal call from within Cufón’s font file. More about Cufón and how to convert your font form TTF, OTF, etc to JavaScript file. Returns original parameter, so it could be used with chaining.

Parameters

font object the font to register

Usage

Cufon.registerFont(Raphael.registerFont({…}))

getFont

Finds font object in the registered fonts by given parameters. You could specify only one word from the font name, like “Myriad” for “Myriad Pro”.

Parameters

family string font family name or any word from it
weight string weight of the font [optional]
style string style of the font [optional]
stretch string stretch of the font [optional]

Usage

paper.print(100, 100, "Test string", paper.getFont("Times", 800), 30);

print

Creates set of shapes to represent given font at given position with given size. Result of the method is set object (see set) which contains each letter as separate path object.

Parameters

x number x position of the text
y number y position of the text
text string text to print
font object font object (see getFont)
font_size number size of the font

Usage

var txt = r.print(10, 50, "print", r.getFont("Museo"), 30).attr({fill: "#fff"});
// following line will paint first letter in red
txt[0].attr({fill: "#f00"});

circle

Draws a circle.

Parameters

x number X coordinate of the centre
y number Y coordinate of the centre
r number radius

Usage

var c = paper.circle(50, 50, 40);

rect

Draws a rectangle.

Parameters

x number X coordinate of top left corner
y number Y coordinate of top left corner
width number
height number
r number [optional] radius for rounded corners, default is 0

Usage

// regular rectangle
var c = paper.rect(10, 10, 50, 50);
// rectangle with rounded corners
var c = paper.rect(40, 40, 50, 50, 10);

ellipse

Draws an ellipse.

Parameters

x number X coordinate of the centre
y number X coordinate of the centre
rx number Horisontal radius
ry number Vertical radius

Usage

var c = paper.ellipse(50, 50, 40, 20);

image

Embeds an image into the SVG/VML canvas.

Parameters

src string URI of the source image
x number X coordinate position
y number Y coordinate position
width number Width of the image
height number Height of the image

Usage

var c = paper.image("apple.png", 10, 10, 80, 80);

set

Creates array-like object to keep and operate couple of elements at once. Warning: it doesn’t create any elements for itself in the page.

Usage

var st = paper.set();
st.push(paper.circle(10, 10, 5), paper.circle(30, 10, 5));
st.attr({fill: "red"});

text

Draws a text string. If you need line breaks, put “\n” in the string.

Parameters

x number X coordinate position.
y number Y coordinate position.
text string The text string to draw.

Usage

var t = paper.text(50, 50, "Raphaël\nkicks\nbutt!");

path

Initialises path drawing. You can specify a path by supplying the path data as a second argument.

Parameters

pathString string [optional] Path data in SVG path string format.

Usage

var c = paper.path("M10 10L90 90");
// draw a diagonal line: move to 10,10, line to 90,90

Adding your own methods to canvas

You can add your own method to the canvas. For example if you want to draw pie chart, you can create your own pie chart function and ship it as a Raphaël plugin. To do this you need to extend Raphael.fn object. Please note that you can create your own namespaces inside fn object. Methods will be run in context of canvas anyway. You should alter fn object before Raphaël instance was created, otherwise it will take no effect.

Usage

Raphael.fn.arrow = function (x1, y1, x2, y2, size) {
    return this.path(// some code here);
};
// or create namespace
Raphael.fn.mystuff = {
    arrow: function () {…},
    star: function () {…},
    // etc…
};
var paper = Raphael(10, 10, 630, 480);
// then use it
paper.arrow(10, 10, 30, 30, 5).attr({fill: "#f00"});
paper.mystuff.arrow();
paper.mystuff.star();

Adding your own methods to elements

You can add your own method to elements. This is usefull when you want to hack default functionality or want to wrap some common transformation or attributes in one method. In difference to canvas mathods, you can redefine element method at any time.

Usage

Raphael.el.red = function () {
    this.attr({fill: "#f00"});
};
// then use it
paper.circle(100, 100, 20).red();

Supported colour formats

You could specify colour in this formats:

Colour name (“red”, “green”, “cornflowerblue”, etc)
#••• — shortened HTML colour: (“#000”, “#fc0”, etc)
#•••••• — full length HTML colour: (“#000000”, “#bd2300”)
rgb(•••, •••, •••) — red, green and blue channels’ values: (“rgb(200, 100, 0)”)
rgb(•••%, •••%, •••%) — same as above, but in %: (“rgb(100%, 175%, 0%)”)
hsb(•••, •••, •••) — hue, saturation and brightness values: (“hsb(0.5, 0.25, 1)”)
hsb(•••%, •••%, •••%) — same as above, but in %
hsl(•••, •••, •••) — same as hsb
hsl(•••%, •••%, •••%) — same as hsb

Usage

paper.circle(100, 100, 20).attr({fill: "hsb(1, 255, 200)", stroke: "red"});

safari

There is an inconvenient rendering bug is Safari (WebKit): sometimes the rendering should be forced. This method should help with dealing with this bug.

Usage

paper.safari();

“Ninja Mode”

If you want to leave no trace of Raphaël (Well, Raphaël creates only one global variable Raphael, but anyway.) You can use ninja method. Beware, that in this case plugins could stop working, because they are depending on global variable existance.

Usage

(function (local_raphael) {
    var paper = local_raphael(10, 10, 320, 200);
    …
})(Raphael.ninja());

Raphaël—JavaScript Library

Main Function

Raphael

Parameters

Usage

Element’s generic methods

node

Usage

paper

Usage

remove

Usage

hide

Usage

show

Usage

rotate

Parameters

Usage

translate

Parameters

Usage

scale

Parameters

Usage

attr

Parameters

Possible parameters

Usage

animate

Parameters

Attributes that can be animated

Easing

Usage

getBBox

Usage

toFront

Usage

toBack

Usage

insertBefore

Usage

insertAfter

Usage

clone

Usage

Graphic Primitives

raphael

Usage

setSize

Parameters

setWindow

Parameters

getRGB

Parameters

Usage

getColor

Parameters

Usage

getColor.reset

registerFont

Parameters

Usage

getFont

Parameters

Usage

print

Parameters

Usage

circle

Parameters

Usage

rect

Parameters

Usage

ellipse

Parameters

Usage

image

Parameters