# EncodeToTGA(Texture2D)

> Encodes the specified texture in TGA format.

## Definition

* **Type:** Method
* **Namespace:** [UnityEngine](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine.md)
* **Assembly:** UnityEngine.ImageConversionModule

```csharp
public static byte[] EncodeToTGA(this Texture2D tex)
```

### Parameters

**** (\[Texture2D]\(/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/texture2d)): The texture to encode.

### Returns

| Type                                                           | Description |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| [byte\[\]](https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.byte) |             |

### Remarks

This function returns a byte array which is the TGA file data. You can store the encoded data as a file or send it over the network without further processing.

This function does not work on any compressed format. [\_isReadable](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/texture/isreadable.md) must be `true`. The encoded TGA data will be uncompressed 8bit grayscale, RGB or RGBA (depending on the passed in format). For single-channel red textures ( `R8`, `R16`, `RFloat` and `RHalf` ), the encoded TGA data will be in 8-bit grayscale.

Additional Resources: [Texture2D.ReadPixels](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/texture2d/readpixels.md), [WaitForEndOfFrame](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/waitforendofframe.md), [ImageConversion.LoadImage](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/loadimage.md), [ImageConversion.EncodeArrayToTGA](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/encodearraytotga.md), [ImageConversion.EncodeNativeArrayToTGA](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/encodenativearraytotga.md), [ImageConversion.EncodeToPNG](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/encodetopng.md), [ImageConversion.EncodeToJPG](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/encodetojpg.md), [ImageConversion.EncodeToEXR](/engine/6000.7/script-reference/unityengine/imageconversion/encodetoexr.md)

### Examples

```csharp
 // Saves screenshot as TGA file.
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;
using System.IO;

public class TGAScreenSaver : MonoBehaviour
{
    // Take a shot immediately
    IEnumerator Start()
    {
        yield return SaveScreenTGA();
    }

    IEnumerator SaveScreenTGA()
    {
        // Read the screen buffer after rendering is complete
        yield return new WaitForEndOfFrame();

        // Create a texture in RGB24 format the size of the screen
        int width = Screen.width;
        int height = Screen.height;
        Texture2D tex = new Texture2D(width, height, TextureFormat.RGB24, false);

        // Read the screen contents into the texture
        tex.ReadPixels(new Rect(0, 0, width, height), 0, 0);
        tex.Apply();

        // Encode the texture in TGA format
        byte[] bytes = ImageConversion.EncodeToTGA(tex);
        Object.Destroy(tex);

        // Write the returned byte array to a file in the project folder
        File.WriteAllBytes(Application.dataPath + "/../SavedScreen.tga", bytes);
    }
}
```