Convert Texture to image back

[optimaforever]

Hello all,
Sometimes it's useful to be able to keep a bitmap visible when working inside groups/components. Like when you need to trace a path or a shape along a bitmap.

This is possible with images (which is the expected behaviour) but sometimes I need to explode the image to be able to sample it (eyedropper) and paint it as projected texture.

But once you explode the image, you need to take the textured mesh inside the group/component to be able to see it, as otherwise the texture will be rendered as shaded (uniform color).

As a workaround, I usually duplicate the image and explode the first one to keep the image intact.

But what I'd like is to be able to keep the textures visible even within groups/components.
Here in the Model Info by instance:

Or, a script that converts the texture back to an image?

[Dave R]

@optimaforever what is the reason for exploding the image in the first place?

[optimaforever]

@Dave-R
It's to be able to sample the texture to paint some geometry.

Typically urbanism. I get landscape bitmap drawings that I need to scale to match the DWG.
Then I need to explode the image to paint the mesh that I start to build with quadfacetool, vertextools and subD ( I use vertextools ability to keep the texture UV while editing the vertex).
Sometimes I use Google Earth images too, and trace the roads first, then start building quads.

Once I start moving the vertex, and break the planeity, the texture gets exploded and I use the source image to sample the texture scale and orientation ( by using the projected mode) and repaint the messed up geometry.

When creating complex terrains, I group the parts to keep the subdiviions fast. And once a group is created, I can't see the source texture anymore so I can't trace upon it.

When using DWG style vectorised drawings, there's no problem as the source remains visible when you're in a group (and the source drawing outside the group), but with bitmaps, you need it inside the group to be visible unless it's an image.

So I'd like to be able to keep the visibility of a bitmap in all circumstances, wether inside or outside a group..

Or, being able to sample an image and use it as a texture without having to explode it first.