What is FormatSwap?
FormatSwap is a complete image converter tool, in a few clicks, you can convert and resize images of one object or an entire scene! reducing the blend file size and reducing the render time.
Features:
- Resize Images and textures
- Convert any texture inside blender to another format
- All Converted and resized textures will be in the selected folder
- Batch Converting (Convert into multiple sizes at the same time)
- Auto Replace textures system
- Post Processing
- Simple and Advanced Converting
Convert All Textures in the Scene
Convert Textures in selected objects
Convert Textures in selected nodes
All converted textures will be in the selected folder
The addon will automatically replace all converted images in each texture node in your scene.
Resize Images
In a few clicks, you can resize any texture in your scene, all you have to do is to select the textures, select the size, and it’s done! the addon you resize the textures and put the new textures inside a folder (selected by the user), and automatically will replace these textures.
Convert Images
Easily convert textures into 13 different formats
Including:
- PNG
- JPEG
- BMP
- TIFF
- JPEG2000
- Iris
- Targa
- Targa Raw
- Cineon
- DPX
- OpenEXR
- OpenEXR Multilayer
- HDR
Batch Converting
With this feature, you can convert all textures into one (or more) objects in multiple sizes at once. The addon will create different folders for each texture size.
Auto Replace System
FormatSwap uses the auto-replace system after converting images, meaning that, if you change the location, or format of any texture when converting, the addon will automatically find this texture, and replace it in the texture node of each old texture!
Would you like to use your own converted textures, but blender does not find them because the file extension has changed?
No problem! you can use the auto-replace tool without using the FormatSwap Converter
Just select the new format and the folder with these new textures and it’s done. the addon will replace these textures with your new converted ones.
Post Processing
With FormatSwap, you don’t have to go to another external software to make little changes in a texture, like change Saturation, Contrast, Brightness…
FormatSwap can change these properties of an image in seconds, generating a brand new image file, ready to be used.
Simple and Advanced Converting
FormatSwap is a complete tool for converting image files, the addon was built in to be easy to make a simple conversion. but if necessary, the addon is ready for advanced converting. change a lot of properties at the same time, such as Color Depth, Color Channels of each texture.
With the selective Converting mode, you can use filters to convert only specific textures in a huge scene with 800 textures for example.
Simple Converting:
Advanced Converting:
3D Friendly
Some PBR maps cannot be converted or resized in the same way as other maps, (Please, do not convert your normal maps to JPG) that’s why FormatSwap has a feature that detects critical maps, and you decide how to deal with them.
And if I want my old textures back?
The addon automatically saves the file before the process starts, if you want your textures back right before the converting, just re-open the file, and everything will be there!
But if I want to get back to the old textures after some time working on the file and saving it?
The addon will automatically save a backup file inside a folder in your blend file directory right before the process starts, so any time you want to get back to the old version, the file will be there for you.
But I would like to restore only one material, I don’t want to get back to the old version of my project
No Problem!
With the Material Restore feature, you can easily select the material you want to get back to the original resolution, and press “Restore Selected Material”, and the addon will replace only this material with the old one.
Why i would need to convert textures?
Speed up your rendering process
Sometimes we don’t have time to have a lot different sizes of each texture in our library, and sometimes, an unnecessary 4K Texture will be used in a tiny object in your scene, and this 4K texture will have to be loaded before each frame of your animation.
With FormatSwap, in seconds you can resize all textures of this object.
But think about this, a hundreds of objects in the background of your scene, each one with 4K textures. Just select them, press a button, and it’s done, now you have a more optimized scene.
* most part of the render time of this scene was when blender was loading all the textures of the scene before the render truly starts
FormatSwap Reduces the Render loading time, the process that happens before the rendering process truly starts. If you have a scene with hundreds of 4K textures, all this textures will have to be loaded before the render starts.
By converting or reducing the texture size, this loading time will be significantly slower, resulting in a faster render time.
Why would i need this? Blender already has “Simplify” to resize textures
Right! but simplify will literally make all textures in your scene turn to 1K textures for example, including your HDR file.
Bad things when using Simplify:
- The blend file Size still the same
- All heavy textures still in the blend file data
- Resized textures with simplify will not be accessible
- You have no control of what textures will be resized
- With simplify you cannot convert or change formats of textures
With FormatSwap you can do all of this and more!
With FormatSwap you can select each object you want to have the textures resized to 1K Resolution. (and still have a beautiful HDR image at the background)
Save Storage of your library
With FormatSwap, you won’t need to download different sizes for each texture in your library. Now you will be able to download only a big size texture like 4K,6k,8k, and resize it inside blender only if necessary.
Reducing blend file size
Sometimes you need a lighter blend file for specific situations, and the best way to do this is to reduce and convert the textures inside this file, and FormatSwap is here for it.
When i should not use FormatSwap?
Blender does not support advanced scaling filters like external image converters.
This means that when you downsize an image with FormatSwap, the image may get more pixelated than using an external image resizer.
If you need to use a resized texture (specially textures resized to 1K resolution or bellow) in a close-up render, it still recommended that you use an external image converter/resizer for best quality or keep the original texture size.