Support: PNG to DDS Converter

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Common questions

Are my images uploaded?

No. The textures are compressed by your browser on your own device. The images are never sent to us or to anyone else, and nothing is stored.

Which DDS format should I choose?

BC7 for games from about 2012 on (DirectX 11 and later), because it looks closest to the original and keeps transparency. BC3, also called DXT5, for older games or engines that do not read BC7 and need transparency. BC1, also called DXT1, for textures with no transparency where size matters. BC5 for normal maps. Uncompressed when the game asks for it or every pixel must stay exact. If a mod's instructions name a format, use that one.

Do I need mipmaps?

Almost always. Mipmaps are the smaller copies a game draws when the texture is far away, and without them distant surfaces shimmer. Leave them off only for interface images, fonts or anything the game always draws at full size.

Why does the size need to be a power of two?

Many older engines, and some newer ones, only load textures whose sides are 256, 512, 1024, 2048 and so on. Tick Resize to a power of two to fit the nearest such size. Every DDS format also works best when both sides are a multiple of 4; the tool warns you when they are not.

What happens to transparency in BC1?

BC1 keeps only on-or-off transparency: a pixel less than half see-through stays, and one more than half see-through is cut out. Soft edges and shadows need BC7 or BC3.

How do I make a normal map texture?

Choose BC5. It keeps the red and green channels, which hold the normal's X and Y, at much better quality than BC3; the game rebuilds Z. If your engine expects DXT5 normal maps with X in alpha instead, check its documentation.

Can I turn a DDS back into a PNG?

Yes, with DDS to PNG on the Image Converter, which reads BC1 to BC5, BC7 and uncompressed textures.

Is it free?

Yes, completely free, with no sign-up and no limit.

Nothing happens when I pick a file

The tool runs entirely in your browser, so a very old browser can fail silently. Try the current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. Your files are never uploaded anywhere.