How to convert to DDS format correctly

Very often there is an error of DDS format conversion.

Why does it happen? Let us try to study out.

If you need to get a file, most likely you will need to set up mipmap option and in this case it is better to prepare an original picture beforehand – you will need a square image with the sides calculated by the formula: 2^N — which means that you can use only pictures of the following sizes: 128, 512, 1024 and so on. This is the main reason why the image cannot be converted; likewise, if you already have a prepared image you can use “resize” option, just set up an image size and clear checkbox at “save proportions”. After this, conversion is likely to be fulfilled without any errors.

And a bit of theory about the format:

DDS is a graphical format, the abbreviation stands for «Microsoft® DirectDraw Surface».

It is a standard format for usage of graphic data in Microsoft® DirectX.Microsoft® DirectDraw Surface (DDS) is used as a data warehouse for surfaces and textures. If textures have sides’ size calculated as 2 raised to the power of N, minmap levels can be saved (a resulting file will contain a complete set of the original image size - up to the size specified).

DDS Format can store data either archived or not. If you need to store archived information, use DXTn type. This DDS online image converter can store pictures of the following formats:

  • R8G8B8: (24 bits per pixel, R:8, G:8, B:8)
  • R5G6B5: (16 bits per pixel, R:5, G:6, B:5)
  • A8R8G8B8: (32 bits per pixel, A:8, R:8, G:8, B:8)
  • A8B8G8R8: (32 bits per pixel, A:8, B:8, G:8, R:8)
  • X8R8G8B8: (32 bits per pixel, A:x, R:8, G:8, B:8)
  • X8B8G8R8: (32 bits per pixel, A:x, B:8, G:8, R:8)
  • A1R5G5B5: (16 bits per pixel, A:1, R:5, G:5, B:5)
  • X1R5G5B5: (16 bits per pixel, A:x, R:5, G:5, B:5)
  • L8: (8 bits per pixel, luminance:8)
  • A8L8: (16 bits per pixel, A:8, L:8)
  • DXT1: (compressed, 1-bit alpha)
  • DXT2: (compressed, 4-bit premultiplied alpha)
  • DXT3: (compressed, 4-bit nonpremultiplied alpha)
  • DXT4: (compressed, interpolated premultiplied alpha)
  • DXT5: (compressed, interpolated nonpremultiplied alpha)

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