Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2017	May 01, 2016	Apr. 30, 2017	May 01, 2016
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 108,297	$ 122,923	$ 218,128	$ 252,879
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales	(88,140)	(91,636)	(174,973)	(186,156)
Selling, general and administrative	(10,894)	(11,024)	(21,764)	(23,222)
Research and development	(3,726)	(5,447)	(7,212)	(11,148)
Operating income	5,537	14,816	14,179	32,353
Other income (expense):
Interest and other income (expense), net	(3,073)	(2,025)	(4,596)	27
Interest expense	(549)	(964)	(1,108)	(2,138)
Gain (loss) on sale of investment	0	0	0	8,785
Income before income tax benefit (provision)	1,915	11,827	8,475	39,027
Income tax benefit (provision)	(431)	2,326	(2,481)	(1,374)
Net income	1,484	14,153	5,994	37,653
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	313	(2,299)	(2,250)	(4,797)
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 1,797	$ 11,854	$ 3,744	$ 32,856
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.18	$ 0.05	$ 0.49
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.03	$ 0.16	$ 0.05	$ 0.44
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	68,426	67,372	68,301	67,090
Diluted (in shares)	69,385	77,516	69,277	78,326