Tkinter error: Couldn't recognize data in image file

Question

I'm trying to put a jpg image to a tkinter canvas. tkinter gives me this error:

couldn't recognize data in image file

I use the code from the documentation:

canv = Canvas(root, width=80, height=80, bg='white')
canv.grid(row=2, column=3)

img = PhotoImage(file="bll.jpg")
canv.create_image(20,20, anchor=NW, image=img)

Same thing with png images. Even tried to put an image into a label widget, but got the same error. What's wrong?

I am using Python 3 on Mac. Python file and image are in the same folder.

Answer 1

Your code seems right, this is running for me on Windows 7 (Python 3.6):

from tkinter import *
root = Tk()

canv = Canvas(root, width=80, height=80, bg='white')
canv.grid(row=2, column=3)

img = PhotoImage(file="bll.jpg")
canv.create_image(20,20, anchor=NW, image=img)

mainloop()

resulting in this tkinter GUI:

with this image as bll.jpg:

(imgur converted it to bll.png but this is working for me as well.)

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More options:

• This answer mentions, tkinter is working only with gif images. Try using a .gif image.
• If this is not working, use PIL as stated in this answer.

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Update: Solution with PIL:

from tkinter import *
from PIL import ImageTk, Image
root = Tk()

canv = Canvas(root, width=80, height=80, bg='white')
canv.grid(row=2, column=3)

img = ImageTk.PhotoImage(Image.open("bll.jpg"))  # PIL solution
canv.create_image(20, 20, anchor=NW, image=img)

mainloop()