Distance Map to Image (Distance Maps › Distance Map to Image) saves the selected distance map as a grayscale image: a depth map you can use in documentation, image tools or engraving software. Its drop-down item Distance Map to Image Advanced does the same with one extra setting, Threshold, described below.
Export a distance map as an image
- Select one Distance Map object in the Scene tree.
- Click Distance Map to Image. There is no panel: a Save window opens at once.
- Choose the file name, folder and format, and click Save.
The available formats are PNG, JPEG, TIFF and BMP.
How depth becomes gray
The image has one pixel per map pixel: a 1,216 × 239 map gives a 1,216 × 239 image.
- The smallest value of the map is white. In a map made with Mesh to Distance Map, that is the point nearest to the camera.
- Larger values (deeper points) get darker gray, linearly; the largest value gets the darkest gray level, set by Threshold (with the basic button it is almost black).
- Pixels without data, such as through-holes or the background, are black.
The image keeps only gray levels. It does not store the pixel size or the real depth values, so when you load it back with Image to Distance Map, set Pixel Size and Max Height yourself.
Distance Map to Image Advanced
Use Distance Map to Image Advanced when the deepest areas of the part must stay visibly different from the black "no data" pixels.
- Select one Distance Map object.
- Open the drop-down arrow next to Distance Map to Image and choose Distance Map to Image Advanced. A panel opens.
- Set Threshold and click Export. The same Save window opens.
| Parameter | What it does | Default / tip |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | Gray level of the largest map value (the deepest point), in percent of white (0–100%). Valid pixels are spread between this level and white. Pixels without data stay black at any value. | 0.39% (1 of 255 gray levels), the same as the basic button |
Threshold is not a cut-off: no depth values are removed. A higher value only compresses all depths into a lighter range, so the image has fewer gray levels for the same depth range. In the example below, the top image was saved with the basic button and the bottom one with Threshold 50%: the lowest area of the part (top right) changes from almost black to mid-gray, while the holes stay black in both.
