HTML canvas globalCompositeOperation Property
Example
Draw rectangles using two different globalCompositeOperation values. Red rectangles are destination images. Blue rectangles are source images:
source-over
destination-over
JavaScript:
var c = document.getElementById("myCanvas");
var ctx = c.getContext("2d");
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.fillRect(20, 20, 75, 50);
ctx.globalCompositeOperation = "source-over";
ctx.fillStyle = "blue";
ctx.fillRect(50, 50, 75, 50);
ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.fillRect(150, 20, 75, 50);
ctx.globalCompositeOperation = "destination-over";
ctx.fillStyle = "blue";
ctx.fillRect(180, 50, 75, 50);
Try it Yourself »
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.
| Property | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| globalCompositeOperation | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 10.1 |
Definition and Usage
The globalCompositeOperation property sets or returns how a source (new) image are drawn onto a destination (existing) image.
source image = drawings you are about to place onto the canvas.
destination image = drawings that are already placed onto the canvas.
| Default value: | source-over |
|---|---|
| JavaScript syntax: | context.globalCompositeOperation = "source-in"; |
Property Values
| Value | Description | Play it |
|---|---|---|
| source-over | Default. Displays the source image over the destination image | Play it » |
| source-atop | Displays the source image on top of the destination image. The part of the source image that is outside the destination image is not shown | Play it » |
| source-in | Displays the source image in to the destination image. Only the part of the source image that is INSIDE the destination image is shown, and the destination image is transparent | Play it » |
| source-out | Displays the source image out of the destination image. Only the part of the source image that is OUTSIDE the destination image is shown, and the destination image is transparent | Play it » |
| destination-over | Displays the destination image over the source image | Play it » |
| destination-atop | Displays the destination image on top of the source image. The part of the destination image that is outside the source image is not shown | Play it » |
| destination-in | Displays the destination image in to the source image. Only the part of the destination image that is INSIDE the source image is shown, and the source image is transparent | Play it » |
| destination-out | Displays the destination image out of the source image. Only the part of the destination image that is OUTSIDE the source image is shown, and the source image is transparent | Play it » |
| lighter | Displays the source image + the destination image | Play it » |
| copy | Displays the source image. The destination image is ignored | Play it » |
| xor | The source image is combined by using an exclusive OR with the destination image | Play it » |
❮ Canvas Object
