TIFFSETDIRECTORY(3tiff) LibTIFF TIFFSETDIRECTORY(3tiff)

NAME


TIFFSetDirectory - set the current directory for an open TIFF file

SYNOPSIS



#include <tiffio.h>

int TIFFSetDirectory(TIFF *tif, tdir_t dirnum)

int TIFFSetSubDirectory(TIFF *tif, uint64_t diroff)

DESCRIPTION


TIFFSetDirectory() changes the current directory and reads its
contents with TIFFReadDirectory(). The parameter dirnum specifies
the subfile/directory as an integer number, with the first directory
numbered zero. TIFFSetDirectory() only works with main-IFD chains
because always starts with the first main-IFD and thus is able to
reset the SubIFD reading chain to the main-IFD chain.

TIFFSetSubDirectory() acts like TIFFSetDirectory(), except the
directory is specified as a file offset instead of an index; this is
required for accessing subdirectories linked through a SubIFD tag.
(see MultiPage SubIFD)

Directory query functions TIFFCurrentDirectory(),
TIFFCurrentDirOffset(), TIFFLastDirectory() and
TIFFNumberOfDirectories() retrieve information about directories in
an open TIFF file. Be aware that until a directory is not written to
file AND read back, the query functions won't retrieve the correct
information!

RETURN VALUES


On successful return 1 is returned. Otherwise, 0 is returned if
dirnum or diroff specifies a non-existent directory, or if an error
was encountered while reading the directory's contents.

DIAGNOSTICS


All error messages are directed to the TIFFErrorExtR() routine.

"%s: Error fetching directory count":
An error was encountered while reading the "directory count"
field.

"%s: Error fetching directory link":
An error was encountered while reading the "link value" that
points to the next directory in a file.

SEE ALSO


TIFFquery (3tiff), TIFFOpen (3tiff), TIFFCreateDirectory (3tiff),
TIFFCustomDirectory (3tiff), TIFFWriteDirectory (3tiff),
TIFFReadDirectory (3tiff), Multi Page / Multi Image TIFF, libtiff
(3tiff)

AUTHOR


LibTIFF contributors

COPYRIGHT


1988-2025, LibTIFF contributors

4.7 March 7, 2026 TIFFSETDIRECTORY(3tiff)