Use the IMQuery transformation to apply artistic transformations to images quickly and dynamically without having to create multiple policies, or having to update a policy for every change. You can add or remove transformations by appending the query string to the image URL.

This means other members of your organization do not need access to Image & Video Manager to transform images. They can do all the image manipulation they need to do on a per image basis through the image URL. It is up to you and any other administrators with access to Image & Video Manager to decide which transformations are possible.

For a usage example, see Use query string parameters to apply transformations.

How to:

In Akamai Control Center, go to ☰ > CDN > Image & Video Manager.
Select the correct contract, policy set, and policy.
Click "View/Edit on staging" to open the Image Policy Editor.

📘
You can also view and edit policies on production by selecting View/Edit policy on production, but it is usually best to test your changes on staging first.
Expand the list of available transformations by clicking +.
Select IMQuery.
Configure the settings as follows:
- Query Parameter Variable. Select the default variable im or select Add Variable to select your own variable.
- Allowed Transformations. Select the transformations that can be applied using the query string parameter. For example, if you want to allow only various crops, you might select only Crop, Face Crop, Feature Crop, and Region Of Interest Crop. Developers can then use a query string to apply only the transformations selected.

Syntax and Examples

Once you have added the IMQuery transformation to your image policy, you can apply the allowed transformations to URLs using an IMQuery string.

How to:

Open a browser and go to the URL of the image you wish to modify using one of the transformations in the table in IMQuery string examples.
Append the IMQuery string to your image URL.

You can include multiple transformations in one IMQuery string.
For example:
```
https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Resize=(400,400);BackgroundColor=abab50
```
If you include multiple transformations, make sure that:
- semi-colons are used to separate transformations
- transformations occur in order in which they should be applied
- URLs still comply with length restrictions imposed by browsers
Also keep in mind that the length and complexity of an IMQuery string impacts the request processing time.

IMQuery string examples

The following table contains an IMQuery string example for each transformation type.

Transformation	IMQuery string
Append	Syntax: ?im=Append,image=(url=<url_to_appended_image>) Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Append,image=(url=https://www.example.com/image2.jpg)`
Aspect Crop	Syntax: ?im=AspectCrop,(width,height),xPosition=<horizontal_position>,yPosition=<vertical_position> Examples: To center the cropped area while changing the image to achieve the requested aspect ratio: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=AspectCrop=(1,3),xPosition=.5,yPosition=.5` To expand the image canvas to achieve the requested aspect ratio and position the fully transparent pixels at the above the image: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=BackgroundColor,color=00ff00`
Background Color	Syntax: ?im=BackgroundColor,color=<hex_color_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=BackgroundColor,color=00ff00`
Blur	Syntax: ?im=Blur Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Blur` To specify the blur strength: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Blur=2`
Composite (Watermark)	Syntax: ?im=Composite,image=(url=<url_to_the_image_text_or_shape>) Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Composite,image=(url=https://www.example.com/image2.jpg)`
Contrast	Syntax: ?im=Contrast,contrast=<contrast_level> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Contrast,contrast=0.5`
Crop	Syntax: ?im=Crop,width=<width_to_crop>,height=<height_to_crop> Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Crop,width=150,height=100` To apply the Crop transformation using the size shortcut: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Crop,size=(150,100)` To apply the Crop transformation using the rect shortcut for xPosition, yPosition, width, and height. We've also included the gravity parameter to specify the placement or region of the crop within the image: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg??im=Crop,rect=(0,0,100,100),gravity=Center`
Face Crop	Syntax: ?im=FaceCrop Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FaceCrop` To apply the deep neural network algorithm: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FaceCrop,algorithm=dnn`
Feature Crop	Syntax: ?im=FeatureCrop,width=<width_to_crop>,height=<height_to_crop> Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FeatureCrop,width=500,height=200` To apply Feature Crop using a shortcut: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FeatureCrop,size=(500,200)`
Fit and Fill	Syntax: ?im=FitAndFill,width=<resized_width>,height<resized_height> Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FitAndFill,width=400,height=500` To apply Fit and Fill using a shortcut: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=FitAndFill=(400,500)`
Goop	Syntax: ?im=Goop Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Goop`
Grayscale	Syntax: ?im=Grayscale Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Grayscale`
Hue/Saturation/Lightness	Syntax: ?im=HSL,hue=<hue_value>,saturation=<saturation_value>,lightness=<lightness_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=HSL,hue=1,saturation=1.5,lightness=1.5`
Hue/Saturation/Value	Syntax: ?im=HSV,hue=<hue_value>,saturation=<saturation_value>,value<lightness_or_darkness_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=HSV,hue=0.5,saturation=2,value=1`
Max Colors	Syntax: ?im=Maxcolors,colors=<number_of_colors> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=MaxColors,colors=35`
Mirror	Syntax: ?im=Mirror,horizontal Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Mirror,horizontal`
Opacity	Syntax: ?im=Opacity=<opacity_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Opacity=0.5`
Region of Interest Crop	Syntax: ?im=RegionOfInterestCrop,width=<roi_width_value>,height=<roi_height_value>,regionOfInterest=width=<width_value>,height=<height_value> Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=RegionOfInterestCrop,width=400,height=300,regionOfInterest=(150,200)` To apply RegionOfInterestCrop using a shortcut: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=RegionOfInterestCrop=(400,300),regionOfInterest=(150,200)`
Relative Crop	Syntax: ?im=RelativeCrop,north=<north_value>,south=<south_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=RelativeCrop,north=10,south=10`
Resize	Syntax: ?im=Resize,width=<resized_width>,height=<resized_height> Examples: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Resize,width=250,height=125` To apply the Resize transformation using a shortcut: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Resize=(250,125)`
Rotate	Syntax: ?im=Rotate,degrees=<rotate_degrees> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Rotate,degrees=13`
Scale	Syntax: ?im=Scale,width=<width_value>,height=<height_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Scale,width=0.5,height=0.5`
Shear	Syntax: ?im=Shear,xShear=<xShear_value>,yShear=<yShear_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Shear,xShear=0.1,yShear=0.1`
Trim	Syntax: ?im=Trim,fuzz=<fuzz_value>,padding=<padding_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=Trim,fuzz=0.5,padding=20`
Unsharp Mask	Syntax: ?im=UnsharpMask,gain=<mask_value>,threshold=<threshold_value> Example: `https://www.example.com/image.jpg?im=UnsharpMask,gain=2.0,threshold=0.08`