godot-docs/tutorials/asset_pipeline/managing_image_files.rst

.. _doc_managing_image_files:

Managing image files
====================

If you have read the previous tutorials on :ref:`doc_resources` and
:ref:`doc_filesystem`, at this point you know that regular image files
(.png, .jpg, etc.) are treated as regular resources in Godot.

Unlike texture resources (.tex files), image files contain no extra
information on tiling (texture repeat), mipmaps or filtering. Editing
this information and saving the texture back will have not any effect,
since such formats can't contain that information.

Image loader
------------

Loading of images is done by the image loader. The behavior of the
loader for all image files can be changed in the Project Settings dialog
(Scene -> Project Settings). There is a section with values that
correspond to the every image file when loaded:

.. image:: /img/imgloader.png

Image loader options
--------------------

Filter
~~~~~~

Filter is used when the image is stretched more than it's original size,
so a texel in the image is bigger than a pixel on the screen. Turning
off the fiter produces a retro-like look:

.. image:: /img/imagefilter.png

Repeat
~~~~~~

Repeat is mainly used for 3D textures, so it's off by default (textures
are imported with the scenes and usually are not in the project as image
files). When using UV coordinates (something not as common in 2D), and
the UV value goes beyond the 0,0,1,1 rect, the texture repeats instead
of clamping to the edge.

Mipmaps
~~~~~~~

When the mipmaps option is enabled, Godot will generate mip-maps.
Mipmaps are versions of the image shrunk by half in both axis,
recursively, until the image is 1 pixel of size. When the 3D hardware
needs to shrink the image, it finds the largest mipmap it can scale
from, and scales from there. This improves performance and image
quality.

.. image:: /img/mipmaps.png

When Mip-Maps are disabled, images start distorting badly when shrunk
excessively:

.. image:: /img/imagemipmap.png

Alpha blending
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The `blending
equation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_compositing>`__ used by
applications like Photoshop is too complex for real-time. There are
better approximations such as `pre-multiplied
alpha <http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnhar/archive/2009/11/06/premultiplied-alpha.aspx?Redirected=true>`__,
but they impose more stress in the asset pipeline. In the end, we are
left with textures that have artifacts in the edges, because apps such
as Photoshop store white pixels in completely transparent areas. Such
white pixels end up showing thanks to the texture filter (when active).

Godot has an option to fix the edges of the image (by painting invisible
pixels the same color as the visible neighbours):

.. image:: /img/fixedborder.png

To do this, open the image from the resources tab, or edit it from the
property editor from another node or resource, then go to the object
options and select "Fix Border Alpha", then save it.

.. image:: /img/imagefixalpha.png

Since fixing this in so many images can be a little annoying, both
Texture Import and Image Export can also perform this operation.

Texture import
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes, it might be desired to change the above settings per image.
Unfortunately, the image loader settings are global. Texture flags also
can't be saved in a regular .png or .jpg file.

For such cases, the image can be imported as a texture (.tex), where the
individual flags can be changed. Godot also keeps track of the original
file and will re-import if it changes.

Importing also allows conversion to other formats (WebP, or RAM
compression) which might be of use in some cases. More information on
the :ref:`doc_importing_textures` page.

Image export
~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is also possible to convert images to other formats (WebP or RAM
compression) on export, as well as instructing the exporter to create an
Atlas for a set of images. It is also possible to ask the exporter to
scale all images (or selected groups).

More information on the :ref:`doc_exporting_images` page.