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--- imagesearch [2018/04/05 13:34] – [Download] thekojukinator
+++ imagesearch [2018/05/10 15:09] (current) – thekojukinator
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-====== Image Search with AutoIt ======
+====== ImageSearch with AutoIt ======
 ===== Overview =====
-For years, I've been using [[https://www.autoitscript.com|AutoIt]] to accomplish all sorts of automation, and it has proven to be a very capable tool. However, one feature it is missing, which I recently found necessary, is //image search//. Essentially, I wanted to be able to look for something on the screen that matched an image, and, if possible, with tolerance for imperfect matches.
+I needed the ability for [[https://www.autoitscript.com|AutoIt]] to find something on the screen matching a reference image. Unfortunately, this is not an available built-in feature. There are functions available for checking individual pixels, but no way to match groups of pixels or images.
-After some time searching around, I ran in to [[https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/148005-imagesearch-usage-explanation/?page=4|this thread]], which pretty much took me 95% of the way to my desired solution. The key is the [[https://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/ImageSearch.htm|AutoHotkey ImageSearch]] function. Someone capable extracted the //ImageSearch// function from the //AutoHotkey// and packed it up in to convenient DLLs, this started the ball rolling. With the contributions of various forum users, a //UDF// ((//User Defined Functions// in AutoIt, usually collected in to a .au3 library.)) library was put together that acts as a wrapper for the //ImageSearch// function, which was then packaged with all the necessary DLLs for convenience.
+I found a solution in [[https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/148005-imagesearch-usage-explanation/?page=4|this thread]]. The key is the [[https://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/ImageSearch.htm|AutoHotkey ImageSearch]] function. Someone extracted the **ImageSearch** code from //AutoHotkey//, packed it up in to convenient DLLs, and put together a **UDF** library that acts as a wrapper.
-Missing from the functions was the ability to search within a specific window. Instead, the choices were to search the entire desktop or a specified area. I modified the code and added an optional parameter for a window handle, which will supply coordinates and dimensions for the search area. I also made the //tolerance// parameter optional, defaulting to exact match if omitted.
+I took the **UDF** library and made the following improvements to it:
-===== Syntax =====
+  * Updated relevant functions to return an array of ''[x,y]'' coordinates on success, and ''False'' on failure. Original search functions returned ''True/False'' success status, while coordinate results were stored in external variables passed in by reference.
+  * Updated relevant functions with an extra parameter for a window handle, making it possible to limit the search area to the boundaries of a specified window.
+  * Added the ability to handle multi-monitor desktops by re-defining desktop boundaries in to new global variables ''desktopLeft'', ''desktopTop'', ''desktopRight'', ''desktopBottom'', ''desktopWidth'', and ''desktopHeight''.
-Coming soon™...
+===== Example =====
-I started working on the syntax section, and decided to build a script with some examples, and then got carried away with improving the library. As it came, the functions returned coordinates by using pre-defined global variables that they took by reference and updated. I thought this was silly, so I adjusted them to properly return two-coordinate arrays on success. Also, while experimenting I realized that //AutoIt// doesn't have built-in macros or constants for the virtual desktop area of multiple monitors, so I figured out how to deal with that.
+<code autoit>
+; Include the ImageSearch library
-I need to polish things up, create the example script, re-upload the package, and then update this page.
+#include ".\ImageSearch\ImageSearch.au3"
+; This will be the target image file to search for
+Local $target = "DemoTarget.png"
+; Declare an init a variable to hold the search result
+Local $result = False
+; Find the image across the entire desktop
+$result = _ImageSearch($target, 1)
+; If found, move the mouse to it
+If IsArray($result) Then MouseMove($result[0], $result[1])
+</code>
 ===== Download =====
-{{:imagesearch.7z|ImageSearch}} is my updated package. It includes the original //ImageSearch// and //MSVC// DLLs, along with the updated //ImageSearch.au3// library.
+I've put it up on [[https://github.com/TheKojukinator/ImageSearch|GitHub]].
 {{tag>computing scripting autoit}}