PIL versions > 1.1.6 have a bug with transparent images:

'NoneType' object has no attribute 'bands'

This version is the latest without this bug.

The Python Imaging Library $Id: README 2939 2006-12-03 13:43:51Z fredrik $

Release 1.1.6 (December 3, 2006)

• Introduction
• Support Options
  • Commercial support
  • Free support
• Software License
• Build instructions (all platforms)
  • Additional notes for Mac OS X
  • Additional notes for Windows

The Python Imaging Library (PIL) adds image processing capabilities to your Python environment. This library provides extensive file format support, an efficient internal representation, and powerful image processing capabilities.

This source kit has been built and tested on Windows NT/2000/XP, Mac OS X, and most major Unix platforms (including Alpha, Solaris, and Intel systems). We believe that it should work on most modern platforms (people are using it on Crays, after all ;-)

The main distribution site for this software is:

    http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/

That site also contains information about free and commercial support options, PIL add-ons, answers to frequently asked questions, and more.

Development versions (alphas, betas) are available here:

    http://effbot.org/downloads/

The PIL handbook is not included in this distribution; to get the latest version, check:

    http://www.pythonware.com/library/
    http://effbot.org/books/imagingbook/ (drafts)

For installation and licensing details, see below.

• Commercial Support

Secret Labs (PythonWare) offers support contracts for companies using the Python Imaging Library in commercial applications, and in mission- critical environments. The support contract includes technical support, bug fixes, extensions to the PIL library, sample applications, and more.

For the full story, check:

    http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/support.htm

• Free Support

For support and general questions on the Python Imaging Library, send e-mail to the Image SIG mailing list:

    image-sig@python.org

You can join the Image SIG by sending a mail to:

    image-sig-request@python.org

Put "subscribe" in the message body to automatically subscribe to the list, or "help" to get additional information. Alternatively, you can send your questions to the Python mailing list, python-list@python.org, or post them to the newsgroup comp.lang.python. DO NOT SEND SUPPORT QUESTIONS TO PYTHONWARE ADDRESSES.

The Python Imaging Library is

Copyright (c) 1997-2006 by Secret Labs AB Copyright (c) 1995-2006 by Fredrik Lundh

By obtaining, using, and/or copying this software and/or its associated documentation, you agree that you have read, understood, and will comply with the following terms and conditions:

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its associated documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies, and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Secret Labs AB or the author not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission.

SECRET LABS AB AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL SECRET LABS AB OR THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

For a list of changes in this release, see the CHANGES document.

0. If you're in a hurry, try this:

    $ gunzip Imaging-1.1.6.tar.gz
    $ tar xvf Imaging-1.1.6.tar
    $ cd Imaging-1.1.6
    $ python setup.py install
   

   If you prefer to know what you're doing, read on.

1. Prerequisites.

   If you need any of the features described below, make sure you have the necessary libraries before building PIL.

   feature library

   JPEG support libjpeg (6a or 6b)

                    http://www.ijg.org
                    http://www.ijg.org/files/jpegsrc.v6b.tar.gz
                    ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/
   

   PNG support zlib (1.2.3 or later is recommended)

                    http://www.gzip.org/zlib/
   

   OpenType/TrueType freetype2 (2.1.3 or later is recommended) support
   http://www.freetype.org http://freetype.sourceforge.net

   If you have a recent Linux version, the libraries provided with the operating system usually work just fine. If some library is missing, installing a prebuilt version (jpeg-devel, zlib-devel, etc) is usually easier than building from source.

   If you're using Mac OS X, you can use the 'fink' tool to install missing libraries (also see the Mac OS X section below).

   Similar tools are available for many other platforms (such as 'apt-get' for Debian).

2. To build under Python 1.5.2, you need to install the stand-alone version of the distutils library:

   http://www.python.org/sigs/distutils-sig/download.html
   

   For newer releases, the distutils library is included in the Python standard library.

3. If you didn't build Python from sources, make sure you have Python's build support files on your machine. If you've down- loaded a prebuilt package (e.g. a Linux RPM), you probably need additional developer packages. Look for packages named "python-devel", "py-dev", or similar.

4. When you have everything you need, unpack the PIL distribution (the file Imaging-1.1.6.tar.gz) in your Python extensions directory (if you have one, that is. If not, feel free to unpack it in any other suitable directory).

    $ cd Python-2.4/Extensions # example
    $ gunzip Imaging-1.1.6.tar.gz
    $ tar xvf Imaging-1.1.6.tar
   

5. Build the library. We recommend that you do an in-place build, and run the self test before installing.

    $ cd Imaging-1.1.6
    $ python setup.py build_ext -i
    $ python selftest.py
   

   When the build finishes, a summary report is shown. Make sure that the optional components you need are included.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    PIL 1.1.6 BUILD SUMMARY
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    *** TKINTER support not available (Tcl/Tk 8.3 libraries needed)
    --- JPEG support ok
    --- ZLIB (PNG/ZIP) support ok
    --- FREETYPE support ok
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
   

   If the build script won't find a given component, you can edit the setup.py file and set the appropriate ROOT variable. For details, see instructions in the file.

6. If the setup.py and selftest.py commands finish without any errors, you're ready to install the library:

    $ python setup.py install
   

   (depending on how Python has been installed on your machine, you might have to log in as a superuser to run the 'install' command.)

On Mac OS X you will usually install additional software such as libjpeg or freetype with the "fink" tool, and then it ends up in "/sw". If you have installed the libraries elsewhere, you may have to tweak the "setup.py" file before building.

On Windows, you need to tweak the ROOT settings in the "setup.py" file, to make it find the external libraries. See comments in the file for details.

Make sure to build PIL and the external libraries with the same runtime linking options as was used for the Python interpreter (usually /MD, under Visual Studio).

Note that most Python distributions include libraries compiled for Microsoft Visual Studio. To build extensions using other tool chains, see the "Using non-Microsoft compilers on Windows" section in the distutils handbook:

    http://www.python.org/doc/current/inst/non-ms-compilers.html

For additional information on how to build extensions using the popular MinGW compiler, see:

    http://mingw.org (compiler)
    http://sebsauvage.net/python/mingw.html (build instructions)
    http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnuwin32 (prebuilt libraries)