Input file
DDS
- Full Name: DirectDraw Surface Format
- Developer: Microsoft
Output file
TGA
- Full Name: Truevision TarGA Bitmap Image
- Developer: Avid Technology
What is DDS file?
The DDS (DirectDraw Surface) .DDS file extension is a raster graphics file format created by Microsoft for storing data textures used by DirectX applications such as games, as well as non-graphical textures for things like sound and texture of fonts. The format supports lossless compression and can store images up to 4 GB in size, supporting 8, 16 and 32-bits per pixel of RGB or RGBA color. The format also stores audio data, which can be compressed using DirectSound compression. [ ⏩ ] DDS file extension
What is TGA file?
The TGA (Targa Graphic) file extension is used to denote raster graphic files. It was originally developed by Truevision Inc. as a cross-platform image file format, and is now owned by Ahead Software. The format is commonly used for computer graphics on both PC and Mac platforms, and can be used as an output from various paint programs. TGA files are capable of storing a single image or multiple images in a sequence, which can be used as animation frames in various multimedia projects. [ ⏩ ] TGA file extension
How to convert the file from DDS to TGA?
To successfully convert the DDS file to TGA, you should install one of the applications from the list. After installing the software, open the program and select the file you want to convert (file-name.DDS). The next step is to select the target format from the list, in this case TGA (usually converters allow you to convert to several different formats, so check out their features - maybe one of the available formats will suit you more than TGA).
What is a file conversion?
A data conversion is normally an automated process to some extent. The effect of the operation of one program is automatically the input product of another application. If that does not happen we need to help the process a little bit and convert the file on our own, e.g. DDS to TGA. To obtain a matched structure of the data, it is necessary to use an appropriate converter.
Program for converting DDS files to TGA files is a kind of a "binary code translator" compensating for the differences in the code or translating it in such a way so that another application could use it. For us, as users, the visible change will be only another file extension. (After converting the file, it will be the extension TGA, while before this step we had the DDS file). For the programs, the difference is on a much higher level – either the application will be able to open a new TGA file, or not.