Question

I have the following ImageObject class:

public class ImageObject
{
    public static Image CropImage(Image img, Rectangle cropArea)
    {
        Bitmap bmpImage = new Bitmap(img);
        Bitmap target = new Bitmap(cropArea.Width, cropArea.Height);
        using(Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage(target))
        {
            g.DrawImage(bmpImage, new Rectangle(0, 0, target.Width, target.Height), cropArea, GraphicsUnit.Pixel);
            g.Dispose();
        }
        return (Image)target;
    }

    public static Image ResizeImage(Image imgToResize, Size size)
    {
        int sourceWidth = imgToResize.Width;
        int sourceHeight = imgToResize.Height;

        float nPercent = 0;
        float nPercentW = 0;
        float nPercentH = 0;

        nPercentW = ((float)size.Width / (float)sourceWidth);
        nPercentH = ((float)size.Height / (float)sourceHeight);

        if (nPercentH < nPercentW)
            nPercent = nPercentH;
        else
            nPercent = nPercentW;

        int destWidth = (int)(sourceWidth * nPercent);
        int destHeight = (int)(sourceHeight * nPercent);

        Bitmap b = new Bitmap(destWidth, destHeight);
        //Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage((Image)b);
        using(Graphics g = Graphics.FromImage((Image)b))
        {
            g.InterpolationMode = InterpolationMode.HighQualityBicubic;
            g.DrawImage(imgToResize, 0, 0, destWidth, destHeight);
            g.Dispose();    
        }
        return (Image)b;
    }

    public static void SaveJpeg(string path, System.Drawing.Image source, long quality)
    {
        EncoderParameter qualityParam = new EncoderParameter(System.Drawing.Imaging.Encoder.Quality, quality);
        ImageCodecInfo jpegCodec = GetEncoderInfo("image/jpeg");
        if (jpegCodec == null)
            return;
        EncoderParameters encoderParams = new EncoderParameters(1);
        encoderParams.Param[0] = qualityParam;
        source.Save(path, jpegCodec, encoderParams);
    }

    private static ImageCodecInfo GetEncoderInfo(string mimeType)
    {
        // Get image codecs for all image formats
        ImageCodecInfo[] codecs = ImageCodecInfo.GetImageEncoders();

        // Find the correct image codec
        for (int i = 0; i < codecs.Length; i++)
            if (codecs[i].MimeType == mimeType)
                return codecs[i];
        return null;
    }
}

And I reference this code from a function in another class:

public static void CreateAvatar(string filepath, int x, int y, int w, int h)
{
    var big = filepath + "100x100.jpg";
    var medium = filepath + "40x40.jpg";
    var small = filepath + "25x25.jpg";
    var full_path = filepath + "avatar.jpg";
    var temp_path = filepath + "avatar_t.jpg";

    if (File.Exists(big))
    {
        File.Delete(big);
    }
    if (File.Exists(medium))
    {
        File.Delete(medium);
    }
    if (File.Exists(small))
    {
        File.Delete(small);
    }
    if (File.Exists(temp_path))
    {
        File.Delete(temp_path);
    }

    System.Drawing.Image img = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(full_path);
    System.Drawing.Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(x, y, w, h);
    System.Drawing.Size hundred = new Size(100, 100);
    System.Drawing.Size forty = new Size(40, 40);
    System.Drawing.Size twentyfive = new Size(25, 25);

    //we crop, then we resize...
    var cropped = ImageObject.CropImage(img, rect);
    ImageObject.SaveJpeg(temp_path, cropped, 100L);

    //problems usually from here. can't save big, because it can't read temp_path - it's locked...
    var resize_big = ImageObject.ResizeImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(temp_path), hundred);
    ImageObject.SaveJpeg(big, resize_big, 100L);

    var resize_forty = ImageObject.ResizeImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(temp_path), forty);
    ImageObject.SaveJpeg(medium, resize_forty, 100L);

    var resize_twentyfive = ImageObject.ResizeImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(temp_path), twentyfive);
    ImageObject.SaveJpeg(small, resize_twentyfive, 100L);
}

This method is called by a web service. On the first execution of this code (after an IIS restart), all is well, but if used again it hangs. I know it has to do with the two images I have created: avatar.jpg and avatar_t.jpg. I know this because I cannot delete or rename the images in Explorer:

I have ensured I have Dispose‘d the Graphics objects as suggested by many, but I can’t figure out why the locks won’t release? Can anyone see the problem?

Ideally, I’d like to do this at the bottom:

var resize_twentyfive = ImageObject.ResizeImage(System.Drawing.Image.FromFile(temp_path), twentyfive);
            ImageObject.SaveJpeg(small, resize_twentyfive, 100L);

//clean up, delete avatar.jpg and avatar_t.jpg
File.Delete(temp_path);
File.Delete(full_path);

And delete the images I used to read from – they are no longer needed. I don’t mind them staying there, so long as I can then overwrite them at will from the uploader…

Answer 1

System.Drawing.Image.FromFile() does not close the file until you call Dispose on the image.

Bitmap and Image constructor dependencies:

When either a Bitmap object or an Image object is constructed from a
file, the file remains locked for the lifetime of the object. As a
result, you cannot change an image and save it back to the same file
where it originated.

Additionally, if the stream was destroyed during the life of the
Bitmap object, you cannot successfully access an image that was based
on a stream. For example, the Graphics.DrawImage() function may not
succeed after the stream has been destroyed

Image.FromFile() is a very poor API method (in the sense that it sets the developer up for failure!). The problem is caused by:

GDI+, and therefore the System.Drawing namespace, may defer the
decoding of raw image bits until the bits are required by the image.
Additionally, even after the image has been decoded, GDI+ may
determine that it is more efficient to discard the memory for a large
Bitmap and to re-decode later. Therefore, GDI+ must have access to the
source bits for the image for the life of the Bitmap or the Image
object.

To retain access to the source bits, GDI+ locks any source file, and
forces the application to maintain the life of any source stream, for
the life of the Bitmap or the Image object.

Again, quoting from the support article:

To work around this problem, create new Bitmap images by using one of
the following methods (as described later in this section):

• Create a non-indexed image.
• Create an indexed image.

In both cases, calling the Bitmap.Dispose() method on the original
Bitmap removes the lock on the file or removes the requirement that
the stream or memory stay alive.