QUARTERLY RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2018	Jul. 29, 2018	Apr. 29, 2018		Jan. 28, 2018	Oct. 29, 2017	Jul. 30, 2017	Apr. 30, 2017	[1]	Jan. 29, 2017	Oct. 31, 2018		Oct. 29, 2017	[1]	Oct. 30, 2016
Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 144,660	$ 136,391	$ 130,779	[1]	$ 123,446	$ 120,971	$ 111,579	$ 108,297		$ 109,831	$ 535,276	[1]	$ 450,678		$ 483,456
Gross profit	35,425	35,597	32,819	[1]	27,662	26,442	21,717	20,157		22,999	131,503	[1]	91,315		118,706
Net income	16,769	19,797	15,189	[1]	9,481	10,496	4,799	1,484		4,510	61,236	[1]	21,289		55,676
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 12,487	$ 13,005	$ 10,665	[1]	$ 5,898	$ 5,386	$ 4,001	$ 1,797		$ 1,946	$ 42,055	[1]	$ 13,130		$ 46,200
Earnings per share [Abstract]
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.18	$ 0.19	$ 0.15	[1]	$ 0.09	$ 0.08	$ 0.06	$ 0.03		$ 0.03	$ 0.61	[1]	$ 0.19		$ 0.68
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.18	$ 0.18	$ 0.15	[1]	$ 0.09	$ 0.08	$ 0.06	$ 0.03		$ 0.03	$ 0.59	[1]	$ 0.19		$ 0.64
Gain on sale of assets			$ 600								$ 600

[1] Includes $0.6 million gain on sale of assets.