Item Frame

The Item Frame is an item similar to a display case. It displays the item or block that is inside it. Players can place items in the frame by right-clicking while holding the item. The displayed item can be rotated by right-clicking the frame (4 times, then it is at the normal position again). Maps encompass the entirety of the block, and compasses and clocks work as normal. When broken, the frame drops the item it contains. If hit when empty, it will drop as an item. Because item frames are technically entities like paintings, they can be broken in Adventure Mode.

Uses
Item frames have many uses, and can be placed on cactus blocks, pressure plates, fences, Trees, slabs and cobblestone walls, along with all solid blocks. The player can place items into item frames by right-clicking with the held item in hand.

Since the 14w04a snapshot items and blocks displayed in the item frame can now turn 45° diagonally, with a total of 8 possibilities (9 in the code, with possibility zero being "empty"), and the frame outputs a redstone signal depending on the rotation phase which can be interpreted by eg. a comparator. Also, as long as the frame remains placed, it remembers the orientation of the last item it held, and uses it for the next item it holds.

The player can use item frames to hold items for convenient retrieval or reference, instead of having to open a chest or dispenser to retrieve specific items. This means item frames can be used to label chests, dispensers, etc. This also allows working clocks and compasses, as well as maps, to be displayed against a wall. Maps displayed in frames fill the block they are placed on, allowing seamless tiling of adjacent maps on a wall. A map put into an item frame will show markers at any other item frames with maps in them. This is a good way to mark certain areas.

Item Frames also have the ability, as well as paintings and signs, to be placed on objects such as chests or doors by holding down the sneak button.

A Book and Quill can be placed inside an item frame and will store all writing inside the book. This feature makes the item frame useful as it saves chest space and creates a nice image.

Item frames can be used to display crafting and brewing recipes, and can also be used to hold fire, allowing for safer fireplaces, however, it is not possible to obtain a fire block without using cheats or mods.

Since items in the frame can be rotated, this allows for directional pointing using items that are shaped like pointers or wedges - such as arrows, tripwire hooks, flower pots, redstone, etc.

Since levers, torches, and buttons can be placed before the item frame is placed, this allows for color-coded levers (using colored wool on the frame), decorative torch holders (using slabs, anvils, or trapdoors), and decorative gold trims for buttons (using an item frame inside the item frame). Item frames can be used similarly as signs, allowing for decorative armrests for chairs.

Item frames can be placed against piston heads to make better-looking frames.

In Creative mode, items can be cloned by placing multiple copies of the same item in different frames. This is a handy way to clone enchanted weaponry or tools although items can only be retrieved in Survival mode or simply by destroying the block the frame is hanging on in Creative mode. It is also possible in Creative mode to place multiple item frames on the same block after restarting the save. This allows the player to stack items in the "same" frame by placing an item in the frame, saving/quitting to the main menu, and restarting the save. After restarting, it is possible to place another item frame on the same block as the existing one, and the player can then place another item in the new item frame (the first item cannot be rotated after restarting the save). This can be repeated multiple times unless the entity limit is reached. Recently in the new Xbox 360 update, it has allowed to craft an item frame.

Trivia

 * The item frame is based upon a suggestion on reddit, like the Ender chest and flower pot.
 * Item frames can occupy the same block as water without popping off.
 * Items also protrude from an item frame, although this is only one pixel, rather than the eight a normal block would do.
 * Placing or removing an item frame does not cause a block update. This is because it is an entity, not a block.
 * When you place a block inside the frame, It is displayed in miniature half in, half out of the block. This can be most notably seen on stairs or half slabs.
 * Light-producing blocks such as Glowstone, Lava and Fire provide no illumination when placed into an Item Frame.
 * The item frame's icon seems to depict an Iron Sword.
 * Since you can't use commands to enchant in the Xbox edition of Minecraft, Item Frames are an alternate way to copy enchanted items for custom maps.