ImageTexture
Overview
ImageTexture maps a 2D-image file onto a geometric shape. Texture maps have a 2D coordinate system (s, t) horizontal and vertical, with (s, t) texture-coordinate values in range [0.0, 1.0] for opposite corners of the image.
The ImageTexture node belongs to the Texturing component and requires at least level 1, its default container field is texture. It is available since VRML 2.0 and from X3D version 3.0 or higher.
Hierarchy
1
2
3
4
5
6
+ X3DNode
+ X3DAppearanceChildNode
+ X3DTextureNode
+ X3DSingleTextureNode
+ X3DTexture2DNode
+ ImageTexture (X3DUrlObject)*
* Derived from multiple interfaces.
Fields
SFNode [in, out] metadata NULL [X3DMetadataObject]
Information about this node can be contained in a MetadataBoolean, MetadataDouble, MetadataFloat, MetadataInteger, MetadataString or MetadataSet node.
Hint
SFString [in, out] description “”
Author-provided prose that describes intended purpose of the url asset.
Hint
- Many XML tools substitute XML character references for special characters automatically if needed within an attribute value (such as & for & ampersand character, or " for “ quotation-mark character).
SFBool [in, out] load TRUE
load=true means load immediately, load=false means defer loading or else unload a previously loaded scene.
Hints
- Allows author to design when Inline loading occurs via user interaction, event chains or scripting.
- Use a separate LoadSensor node to detect when loading is complete.
MFString [in, out] url [ ] [URI]
Location and filename of image. Multiple locations are more reliable, and including a Web address lets e-mail attachments work.
Hints
- MFString arrays can have multiple values, so separate each individual string by quote marks “https://www.web3d.org” “https://www.web3d.org/about” “etc.”
- Alternative XML encoding for quotation mark “ is " (which is an example of a character entity).
- Can replace embedded blank(s) in url queries with %20 for each blank character.
- X3D Scene Authoring Hints, urls
Warning
- Strictly match directory and filename capitalization for http links! This is important for portability. Some operating systems are forgiving of capitalization mismatches, but http/https url addresses and paths in Unix-based operating systems are all case sensitive and intolerant of uppercase/lowercase mismatches.
SFTime [in, out] autoRefresh 0 [0,∞)
autoRefresh defines interval in seconds before automatic reload of current url asset is performed.
Hints
- If preceding file loading fails or load field is false, no refresh is performed.
- Repeated refresh attempts to reload currently loaded entry of url list. If that fails, the browser retries other entries in the url list.
Warning
- Automatically reloading content has security considerations and needs to be considered carefully.
SFTime [in, out] autoRefreshTimeLimit 3600 [0,∞)
autoRefreshTimeLimit defines maximum duration that automatic refresh activity can occur.
Hint
- Automatic refresh is different than query and response timeouts performed by a networking library while sequentially attempting to retrieve addressed content from a url list.
Warning
- Automatically reloading content has security considerations and needs to be considered carefully.
SFBool [ ] colorSpaceConversion
Field colorSpaceConversion.
SFBool [ ] repeatS TRUE
Whether to repeat texture along S axis horizontally from left to right.
SFBool [ ] repeatT TRUE
Whether to repeat texture along T axis vertically from top to bottom.
SFNode [ ] textureProperties NULL [TextureProperties]
Single contained TextureProperties node that can specify additional visual attributes applied to corresponding texture images.
Supported File Formats
Any image file format supported by the web browser, but at least:
| Encoding | File Extension | MIME Type | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNG | .png | image/png | lossless |
| AVIF | .avif | image/avif | lossless/lossy |
| WebP | .webp | image/webp | lossless/lossy |
| JPEG | .jpeg, .jpg | image/jpeg | lossy |
| GIF | .gif | image/gif | lossy |
| SVG | .svg | image/svg | |
| KTX2 | .ktx2, .ktx2.gz | image/ktx2 | TEXTURE_2D, WebGL 2 |
Advice
Hints
- Can contain a single TextureProperties node.
- Insert Shape and Appearance nodes before adding texture.
- Authors can provide multiple image formats for the same image, with each source address listed separately in the url field.
- Player support is required for .png and .jpg formats, support is suggested for .gif format. Other image formats are optionally supported.
- X3D Scene Authoring Hints, Images
- If a texture is opaque, omitting values in the alpha channel can help avoid rendering artifacts related to transparency and reduce file size by 25%.
- Texture coordinates are reapplied (or else recomputed if textureTransform field initially NULL) whenever the corresponding vertex-based geometry changes.
- Texture mapping
- X3D Architecture 17.2.2 Lighting model
- When parent node is LoadSensor, apply
containerField='children'(X3Dv4) orcontainerField='watchList'(X3Dv3).
Warnings
- Bright Material emissiveColor values can wash out some textures.
- See ComposedCubeMapTexture and TextureBackground for special containerField values.