{
    "mode": "man",
    "parameter": "ppmfade",
    "section": "1",
    "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ppmfade/1/json",
    "generated": "2026-10-05T05:27:34Z",
    "synopsis": "ppmfade   [-f   first.ppm]   [-l  last.ppm]  [-mix|-spread|-shift|  -relief|-oil|-edge|-bent‐\nley|-block] [-base name]",
    "sections": {
        "NAME": {
            "content": "ppmfade - generate a transition between two image files using special effects\n\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "SYNOPSIS": {
            "content": "ppmfade   [-f   first.ppm]   [-l  last.ppm]  [-mix|-spread|-shift|  -relief|-oil|-edge|-bent‐\nley|-block] [-base name]\n\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DESCRIPTION": {
            "content": "This program is part of Netpbm(1).\n\nppmfadegenerates a transition between either two input images or between one input image  and\nblack.   You can use the 30 intermediate images generated to show a smooth transition between\nsegments of a movie.  The input and output images are in the PPM format.  If you specify both\ninput images, they should both be the same size.  If you want to fade from black to an image,\nspecify only the last image.  If you want to fade from an image to black,  specify  only  the\nfirst  image.   ppmfade names the resulting image files base.nnnn.ppm, where nnnn is a number\nvarying between 0001 and 0030 and base is what you specify with via the -base option (default\nfade).\n\nAnother way to convert by steps from one image to another is morphing.  You can use xmorph to\ndo that.\n\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "OPTIONS": {
            "content": "In addition to the options common to all programs based on libnetpbm  (most  notably  -quiet,\nsee  Common Options ), ppmfade recognizes the following command line options:\n\n\n",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "-f _",
                    "content": "This is the image file (PPM format) to be used at the beginning of the transition.  If\nyou don't specify this, the fade will start from black.\n\n",
                    "flag": "-f"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-l _",
                    "content": "This  is  the  image file (PPM format) to be used at the ending of the transition.  If\nyou don't specify this, the fade will end with black.\n\n",
                    "flag": "-l"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-mix",
                    "content": "full to none and the brightness of the final image increasing from none to full.   The\ntransition  is  quadratic  in  brightness  with faster transition in the beginning and\nslower at the end.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-spread",
                    "content": "The pixels in the first image will be moved (spread) further and  further  from  their\noriginal location and then moved into the proper location in the final image.  This is\nthe default transition.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-shift",
                    "content": "their original location and then moved into the proper location in the final image.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-relief",
                    "content": "The first image is faded to a Laplacian relief filtered version of  the  first  image.\nThis  is then faded to a Laplacian relief filtered version of the second image and fi‐\nnally faded to the final image.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-oil",
                    "content": "then  faded  to an \"oil transfer\" version of the second image and finally faded to the\nfinal image.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-edge",
                    "content": "faded to an edge detected version of the second image and finally faded to  the  final\nimage.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-bentley",
                    "content": "The  first  image is faded to a \"Bentley Effect\" version of the first image.  This is\nthen faded to a \"Bentley Effect\" version of the second image and finally faded to  the\nfinal image.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-block",
                    "content": "a  defocused  version  of the last image.  The block version of the last image is then\nfocused to the final image.\n\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "-base _",
                    "content": "This forms part of the output filenames, as described above.\n\n\n\n"
                }
            ]
        },
        "EXAMPLES": {
            "content": "",
            "subsections": [
                {
                    "name": "ppmfade -f teapot.ppm -l pyr.ppm",
                    "content": "Fade from teapot.ppm to pyr.ppm generating fade.0001.ppm to fade.0030.ppm using the  \"spread\"\ntransition.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "ppmfade -l teapot.ppm",
                    "content": "Fade from black to teapot.ppm generating fade.0001.ppm to fade.0030.ppm.\n"
                },
                {
                    "name": "ppmfade -f teapot.ppm -base end",
                    "content": "Fade from teapot.ppm to black generating end.0001.ppm to end.0030.ppm.\n\n"
                }
            ]
        },
        "SEE ALSO": {
            "content": "tontsc manual, sgifade manual, smartvfr manual, xmorph manual, ppm(1)\n\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "AUTHOR": {
            "content": "Bryan Henderson, Olympia WA; April 2000\n\nInspired  by  and  intended  as a replacement for pbmfade (not a Netpbm program) by Wesley C.\nBarris.\n",
            "subsections": []
        },
        "DOCUMENT SOURCE": {
            "content": "This manual page was generated by the Netpbm tool 'makeman' from  HTML  source.   The  master\ndocumentation is at\n\nhttp://netpbm.sourceforge.net/doc/ppmfade.html\n\nnetpbm documentation                        01 April 2000                     Ppmfade User Manual(1)",
            "subsections": []
        }
    },
    "summary": "ppmfade - generate a transition between two image files using special effects",
    "flags": [
        {
            "flag": "-f",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "This is the image file (PPM format) to be used at the beginning of the transition. If you don't specify this, the fade will start from black."
        },
        {
            "flag": "-l",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "This is the image file (PPM format) to be used at the ending of the transition. If you don't specify this, the fade will end with black."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "full to none and the brightness of the final image increasing from none to full. The transition is quadratic in brightness with faster transition in the beginning and slower at the end."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "The pixels in the first image will be moved (spread) further and further from their original location and then moved into the proper location in the final image. This is the default transition."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "their original location and then moved into the proper location in the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "The first image is faded to a Laplacian relief filtered version of the first image. This is then faded to a Laplacian relief filtered version of the second image and fi‐ nally faded to the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "then faded to an \"oil transfer\" version of the second image and finally faded to the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "faded to an edge detected version of the second image and finally faded to the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "The first image is faded to a \"Bentley Effect\" version of the first image. This is then faded to a \"Bentley Effect\" version of the second image and finally faded to the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "a defocused version of the last image. The block version of the last image is then focused to the final image."
        },
        {
            "flag": "",
            "long": null,
            "arg": null,
            "description": "This forms part of the output filenames, as described above."
        }
    ],
    "examples": [
        "Fade from teapot.ppm to pyr.ppm generating fade.0001.ppm to fade.0030.ppm using the  \"spread\"",
        "transition.",
        "Fade from black to teapot.ppm generating fade.0001.ppm to fade.0030.ppm.",
        "Fade from teapot.ppm to black generating end.0001.ppm to end.0030.ppm."
    ],
    "see_also": [
        {
            "name": "ppm",
            "section": "1",
            "url": "https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ppm/1/json"
        }
    ],
    "tldr": {
        "source": "official",
        "description": "Generate a transition between two PPM images.",
        "examples": [
            {
                "description": "Generate a transition between two PPM images ([f]irst and [l]ast) using the specified effect",
                "command": "ppmfade -f {{path/to/image1.ppm}} -l {{path/to/image2.ppm}} -{{mix|spread|shift|relief|oil|...}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Generate a transition starting with the specified image and ending in a solid black image",
                "command": "ppmfade -f {{path/to/image.ppm}} -{{mix|spread|shift|relief|oil|...}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Generate a transition starting with a solid black image and ending with the specified image",
                "command": "ppmfade -l {{path/to/image.ppm}} -{{mix|spread|shift|relief|oil|...}}"
            },
            {
                "description": "Store the resulting images in files named `base.NNNN.ppm` where `NNNN` is an increasing number",
                "command": "ppmfade -f {{path/to/image1.ppm}} -l {{path/to/image2.ppm}} -{{mix|spread|shift|relief|oil|...}} -base {{base}}"
            }
        ]
    }
}