Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 29, 2017	Jan. 31, 2016
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 109,831	$ 129,956
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales	(86,832)	(94,520)
Selling, general and administrative	(10,871)	(12,198)
Research and development	(3,485)	(5,700)
Operating income	8,643	17,538
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(559)	(1,174)
Interest and other income (expense), net	(1,524)	2,052
Gain on sale of investment	0	8,785
Income before income tax provision	6,560	27,201
Income tax provision	(2,050)	(3,700)
Net income	4,510	23,501
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2,564)	(2,499)
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 1,946	$ 21,002
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.31
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.28
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	68,176	66,807
Diluted (in shares)	69,169	79,136