# 3D texture preview reference

> Reference for the preview of a 3D texture.

There are three different 3D texture preview modes available:

* [**Volume**](#volume)
* [**Slice**](#slice)
* [**SDF**](#sdf)

Refer to [Texture Import Settings window reference](/engine/6000.0/manual/materials-and-shaders/textures/textures-reference/class-texture-importer.md) for information about other settings in the **Texture Import Settings** window.

## Volume

In **Volume** preview mode, Unity displays the 3D texture as a translucent cube. Select and drag the cube to rotate the preview.


** :**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.0/media/images/3DTexture-volumetric.png)

| **Control** | **Description**                                                                                                                                                              |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ramp**    | Enable and disable color ramp so that Unity displays grayscale as color. If the image contains a lot of subtle details, enable **Ramp** to make the details easier to check. |
| **Quality** | Set the sample per texture pixel count. Higher values result in a higher quality render.                                                                                     |
| **Alpha**   | Set the opacity of the preview. A value of 1 is fully opaque and a value of 0 is fully transparent. Adjust to view the inner pixels.                                         |

## Slice

In **Slice** preview mode, Unity displays a 2D slice of each of the three axes of the 3D texture. Use the **X**, **Y** and **Z** sliders to select the slices to preview.


** :**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.0/media/images/3DTexture-slice.png)

| **Control** | **Description**                                                                                                                                                              |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Ramp**    | Enable and disable color ramp so that Unity displays grayscale as color. If the image contains a lot of subtle details, enable **Ramp** to make the details easier to check. |
| **X**       | Set the slice to view from the x-axis, in texture pixels.                                                                                                                    |
| **Y**       | Set the slice to view from the y-axis, in texture pixels.                                                                                                                    |
| **Z**       | Set the slice to view from the z-axis, in texture pixels.                                                                                                                    |

## SDF

In **SDF** preview mode, Unity displays the 3D texture as a signed distance field (SDF) in 3D space. This preview mode supports only non-directional signed distance fields.


** :**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.0/media/images/3DTexture-SDF.png)

| **Control** | **Description**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Scale**   | Set the value by which to multiply the ray step size. The ray step size is the distance between 2 neighboring pixels. Increase this value if Unity cuts off distant parts of the preview. Decrease this value if the 3D texture isn't visible. |
| **Offset**  | The intensity that Unity uses to render the surface pixels. When this value is positive, Unity expands the rendered surface. When this value is negative, Unity renders empty space as a surface, and a surface as empty space.                |