Selection cropping in the EJ2 TypeScript Image Editor control

20 Sep 202424 minutes to read

The cropping feature in the Image Editor allows you to select and crop specific regions of an image. It offers different selection options, including custom shapes, squares, circles, and various aspect ratios such as 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 5:7, 7:5, 9:16, and 16:9.

To perform a selection, you can use the select method, which allows you to define the desired selection area within the image. Once the selection is made, you can then use the crop method to crop the image based on the selected region. This enables you to extract and focus on specific parts of the image while discarding the rest.

Insert custom / square / circle region

The select method allows to perform selection based on the type of selection. Here, the select method is used to perform the selection as custom, circle, or square. The selection region can also be customized using the select method based on the parameters below.

type - Specify the type of selection

startX - Specify the x-coordinate of the selection region’s starting point

startY - Specify the y-coordinate of the selection region’s starting point

width - Specify the width of the selection region

height - Specify the height of the selection region

Here is an example of square selection using the select method.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    toolbar: [],
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    }
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

(document.getElementById('customSelection') as HTMLElement).onclick = function () {
    imageEditorObj.select("Square");
};
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
            <div>
                <button id="customSelection" class="e-btn e-primary">Custom Selection</button>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Insert selection based on aspect ratio

The select method is used to perform the selection with the various aspect ratios such as 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 5:7, 7:5, 9:16, and 16:9. The selection region can also be customized using the SelectAsync method based on the parameters below.

type - Specify the type of selection
startX - Specify the x-coordinate of the selection region’s starting point
startY - Specify the y-coordinate of the selection region’s starting point

Here is an example of ratio selection using the select method.

In the following example, the select method is used in the button click to the ratio selection.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    toolbar: [],
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    }
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

(document.getElementById('aspectRatio') as HTMLElement).onclick = function () {
    imageEditorObj.select("16:9");
};
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
            <div>
                <button id="aspectRatio" class="e-btn e-primary">Aspect Ratio</button>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Resize selections

The selection region can be changed programmatically by using selectionChanging event. This event is activated during resizing the selection using mouse, and it allows for alterations to the selection region by adjusting the specified properties.

The SelectionChangeEventArgs is used in this event to customize the selection and it has the following parameters.

SelectionChangeEventArgs.action - The type of action such as inserting or resizing

SelectionChangeEventArgs.cancel - Specifies to cancel the selection.

SelectionChangeEventArgs.currentSelectionPoint - Represents all the details of the selection including its type, position, width, and height after the current action as CropSelectionSettings.

SelectionChangeEventArgs.previousSelectionPoint - Represents all the details of the selection including its type, position, width, and height before this current action as CropSelectionSettings

Here is an example of changing the selection region using the SelectionChangeEventArgs event.

Crop an image

The crop method allows cropping based on the selected region. Here is an example of cropping the selection region using the crop method.

Here is an example of circle cropping using the select and crop method.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    toolbar: [],
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    }
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

(document.getElementById('customCrop') as HTMLElement).onclick = function () {
    imageEditorObj.select("Circle");
    imageEditorObj.crop();
};
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
            <div>
                <button id="customCrop" class="e-btn e-primary">Custom Crop</button>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Cropping event

The cropping event is triggered when performing cropping on the image. This event is passed an object that contains information about the cropping event, such as the start and end point of the selection region. And this event uses CropEventArgs to handle the cropping action in the image.

The parameter available in the cropping event is,

CropEventArgs.startPoint – The x and y coordinates of a start point as Point of the selection region.
CropEventArgs.endPoint - The x and y coordinates of an end point as Point of the selection region.
CropEventArgs.cancel - To cancel the cropping action.

Maintaining Original Image Size During Cropping

In the image editor, when an image is cropped, it is usually enlarged or scaled to improve visibility within the user interface. If you want to prevent this scaling and maintain the original cropping size, you can bind to the ‘cropping’ event and set the preventScaling value to true. This not only keeps the image size consistent during cropping but also ensures that the saved image retains its original cropping size without being enlarged.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    },
    cropping: cropping
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

function cropping(args: any) {
    args.preventScaling = true;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Locking Selection Area During Cropping

When selecting an area for cropping, users can typically resize the selection from all corners and edges. If you want to prevent the resizing of the selection area, you can bind to the selectionChanging event. Check if the action is resize, and if it is, set previousSelectionSettings value to currentSelectionSettings value. This will lock the selection area, preventing any adjustments to its size.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    },
    selectionChanging: selectionChanging
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

function selectionChanging(args: any) {
    if (args.action === "resize") {
        args.currentSelectionSettings = args.previousSelectionSettings;
    }
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Cropping with Custom Ratio Selection

Users can perform cropping either through the toolbar or by using our public methods. While predefined ratio selections are available in the toolbar, users can also crop with custom ratios using our public method, select. Regardless of the ratio type used, the selection will adhere to the specified ratio, even when resizing the selection area.

index.ts
index.html
import { ImageEditor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-image-editor';
import { Browser } from '@syncfusion/ej2-base';

//Image Editor items definition

let imageEditorObj: ImageEditor = new ImageEditor({
    width: '550px',
    height: '330px',
    created: () => {
        if (Browser.isDevice) {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        } else {
            imageEditorObj.open('bee-eater.png');
        }
    },
    selectionChanging: selectionChanging
});
imageEditorObj.appendTo('#imageeditor');

function selectionChanging(args: any) {
    if (args.action === "insert" && args.currentSelectionSettings.type === "Custom") {
        args.currentSelectionSettings.height = 200;
        args.currentSelectionSettings.width = 200;
    }
}
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-image-editor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--style reference from app-->
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />

    <!--system js reference and configuration-->
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container'>
        <div class="control-section">
            <div id="imageeditor" class="row">
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>