# Preview a 3D texture

> View an imported 3D texture as a cube, slices, or a signed distance field (SDF).

To preview a 3D texture, do one of the following:

* Use the Inspector window.
* Draw the 3D texture in the Scene view.

## Use the Inspector window

To preview a 3D texture, select the texture in the **Project** window. In the Editor window, Unity displays the preview of the texture at the bottom of the **Texture Import Settings** window.

There are three different 3D texture preview modes available:

* **Volume** mode displays the 3D texture as a translucent cube. Click and drag the cube to rotate the preview.
* **Slice** mode 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.
* **SDF** mode displays the 3D texture as a signed distance field (SDF) in 3D space.

Refer to [3D texture preview reference](/engine/6000.7/manual/materials-and-shaders/textures/textures-reference/class-texture3d-reference.md) for more information.

## Draw the 3D texture in the Scene view

Use the [`Handles`](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityeditor/handles.md) API to draw the 3D texture in the Scene view. The `Handles` API lets you use custom gradients and configure how you draw the texture.

Refer to the following for more information:

* [`Handles.DrawTexture3DVolume`](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityeditor/handles/drawtexture3dvolume.md)
* [`Handles.DrawTexture3DSlice`](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityeditor/handles/drawtexture3dslice.md)
* [`Handles.DrawTexture3DSDF`](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityeditor/handles/drawtexture3dsdf.md)