Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 29, 2017	Oct. 30, 2016		Nov. 01, 2015
Consolidated Statements of Income [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 450,678	$ 483,456	[1],[2]	$ 524,206
Cost of goods sold	(359,363)	(364,750)		(381,070)
Gross profit	91,315	118,706	[1],[2]	143,136
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative	(43,585)	(44,577)		(48,983)
Research and development	(15,862)	(21,654)		(21,920)
Total operating expenses	(59,447)	(66,231)		(70,903)
Operating income	31,868	52,475		72,233
Other income (expense):
Interest income and other income (expense)	(3,068)	2,424		2,797
Interest expense	(2,235)	(3,365)		(4,990)
Gain on sale of investment	0	8,940		0
Income before income tax provision	26,565	60,474		70,040
Income tax provision	(5,276)	(4,798)		(13,181)
Net income	21,289	55,676	[1],[2]	56,859
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(8,159)	(9,476)		(12,234)
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 13,130	$ 46,200	[1],[2]	$ 44,625
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.19	$ 0.68	[1],[2]	$ 0.67
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.19	$ 0.64	[1],[2]	$ 0.63
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	68,436	67,539		66,331
Diluted (in shares)	69,288	76,354		78,383

[1] Includes $8.8 million gain on sale of investment in a foreign entity.

[2] Includes tax benefits in Taiwan of $4.8 million primarily related to the recognition of prior period tax benefits and other tax positions no longer deemed necessary.