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HTML canvas globalCompositeOperation Property

❮ HTML Canvas Reference

Example

Draw rectangles using two different globalCompositeOperation values. Red rectangles are destination images. Blue rectangles are source images:

source-over
destination-over
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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

Internet Explorer Firefox Opera Google Chrome Safari

Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari support the globalCompositeOperation property.

Note: Internet Explorer 8 and earlier versions, do not support the <canvas> element.


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 »

Example

All the globalCompositeOperation property values:

Try it Yourself »

❮ HTML Canvas Reference