  The propagation of a shock wave into a medium is expected to heat the
material beyond the shock, producing noticeable effects in intensity line
ratios such as [O III]/Halpha. To investigate the occurrence of shocks in
planetary nebulae (PNe), we have used all narrowband [O III] and Halpha images
of PNe available in the HST archive to build their [O III]/Halpha ratio maps
and to search for regions where this ratio is enhanced. Regions with enhanced
[O III]/Halpha emission ratio can be ascribed to two different types of
morphological structures: bow-shock structures produced by fast collimated
outflows and thin skins enveloping expanding nebular shells. Both collimated
outflows and expanding shells are therefore confirmed to generate shocks in
PNe. We also find regions with depressed values of the [O III]/Halpha ratio
which are found mostly around density bounded PNe, where the local contribution
of [N II] emission into the F656N Halpha filter cannot be neglected.
