Tagged Image .TIF Export Options Dialog

Surfer can import and export .TIF and .TIFF files.

Example TIF export

Specify TIF export options in the Export Options dialog.

Compression

  • No compression results in a very large output file size.
  • Packbits compression involves finding repeated data values; as a result, it is a good choice for images without large color ranges.
  • Deflate is a dictionary encoding method that produces significant reduction in file size for most images without losing any image information.

Output Format

Choose from a variety of strip and tile output formats. The option In one strip containing the entire image is the least efficient option but has the highest degree of compatibly with other software.

Transparency

For image TIFF files (TIFF Tagged Image), use the Export Options dialog to specify the Size and Color options and the transparency options. This option is not available when saving a TIFF image as a grid (TIFF Image as Grid). To export the .TIF image with all background areas transparent, click on the TIFF Options tab in the Export Options dialog. Check the Application background (if available) option. The .TIF file will have transparent background areas. In order for the TIF to be transparent, the Color depth must be set to 4-bit, 8-bit, or 32-bit on the Size and Color tab.

Transparent TIFF images in 4-bit and 8-bit modes use TIFF tag number 42113 (a.k.a. GDAL_NODATA) which is not yet widely supported by other applications. In applications that don't support this tag, the images appear with an opaque background (no transparency). If the application shows an opaque background where a transparent background should appear, re-export the file with 32-bit color depth. Most programs support transparent TIF files with 32-bit colors.

Size and Color Page

See Size and Color

Spatial References Page

See Spatial References

See Also

Bitmap Export Automation Options

Export Options Dialog - Size and Color Page

Export Options String

Tagged Image File Format .TIF File Description