### Author:  [@canslp](https://discourse.processing.org/u/canslp)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/1 "2021-04-09T02:37:23Z")
i know how to save a PImage as a png but i have to overwrite an existing file. can i manually create a new png file in my data folder and then write a PImage to it?
if i just try to do PImage.save(filename) it tells me i need an “absolute path” which i’m interpreting as a pre-existing file to write over. i know there’s a way to save a screenshot of the entire canvas, how can i do this with just a PImage file?
---
### Author:  [@CodeMasterX](https://discourse.processing.org/u/CodeMasterX)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/2 "2021-04-09T06:08:54Z")
You can save the screen with saveFrame(String+".dataType");
```auto
//Examples
saveFrame("image.png"); //saves the screen as image.png
saveFrame("imageNumber"+counter+".jpg"); //saves the screen as a imageNumber.jpg
saveFrame("frames/frame#####.jpeg");
//saves frame in the newly created frames folder, with the current frameCount
//replacing the ##### ; so frame 123 would look like this: frames folder > frame00123.jpeg
```
This means that you can actually customize the string (or use the default function of processing to replace the ### with frameCount.
---
### Author:  [@glv](https://discourse.processing.org/u/glv)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/3 "2021-04-09T07:26:14Z")
Hello,
> [@canslp](#):
>
> can i manually create a new png file in my data folder and then write a PImage to it?
My efforts:
```auto
PImage photo1, photo2;
void setup()
{
size(100, 100);
photo2 = createImage(50, 50, RGB);
photo2.save("\\data\\PImage2.png");
photo1 = loadImage("PImage1.png");
photo1.resize(50, 50);
photo1.save("\\data\\PImage2.png");
photo2 = loadImage("PImage2.png");
}
void draw()
{
image(photo2, 0, 0);
}
```
References:
- [PImage / Reference / Processing.org](https://processing.org/reference/PImage.html)
- [createImage() / Reference / Processing.org](https://processing.org/reference/createImage_.html)
PImage.png used was from references:
`:)`
---
### Author:  [@CodeMasterX](https://discourse.processing.org/u/CodeMasterX)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 8:13am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/4 "2021-04-09T08:13:15Z")
> [@glv](#):
>
> `"\\data\\`
what does this do? Is it just the normal “data/…”?
---
### Author:  [@glv](https://discourse.processing.org/u/glv)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 9:49am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/5 "2021-04-09T09:49:39Z")
> [@glv](#):
>
> `photo2.save("\\data\\PImage2.png");`
There is a comment about _escape sequence_ and the` \\` here:
_[String / Reference / Processing.org](https://processing.org/reference/String.html)_
This saves it to the _data folder_ otherwise it just saved it to _sketch folder_.
This works also:
```auto
PImage photo1, photo2;
void setup()
{
size(100, 100);
photo2 = createImage(50, 50, RGB);
photo2.save("/data/PImage2.png");
photo1 = loadImage("PImage1.png");
photo1.resize(50, 50);
photo1.save("/data/PImage2.png");
photo2 = loadImage("PImage2.png");
}
void draw()
{
image(photo2, 0, 0);
}
```
`:)`
---
### Author:  [@canslp](https://discourse.processing.org/u/canslp)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 12:20pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/6 "2021-04-09T12:20:23Z")
i know how to save a screenshot, how do i save a PImage without drawing it onto the screen first
---
### Author:  [@canslp](https://discourse.processing.org/u/canslp)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/7 "2021-04-09T12:21:30Z")
i’ve been trying to use PImage.save(), don’t you need to already have a file that’s called that? i want to make new image files and i can’t do that with save because it needs an ‘absolute path’
essentially i’m doing image processing to change the colors of images- but i don’t want to have to do that every time because it’s slow so i wan’t to save each new color version of the image file. but i can’t do out.save(“data/”+name); because name isn’t an ‘absolute path’- it’s a variable
---
### Author:  [@glv](https://discourse.processing.org/u/glv)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/8 "2021-04-09T13:47:59Z")
> [@canslp](#):
>
> because it needs an ‘absolute path’
Try these added to your PImage file name:
```auto
println (dataPath(""));
println (sketchPath(""));
```
`:)`
---
### Author:  [@canslp](https://discourse.processing.org/u/canslp)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/how-do-i-make-a-new-image-file/29235/9 "2021-04-09T16:39:07Z")
oh wow that totally worked, thanks!