Transparent Background - Why can't I?

**Rik** · 22 October 2011, 11:15 PM

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I would have thought that it wasn't that difficult?

Inside the attached .xar file, there is a white rectangle with black dots.

I would like to save this rectangle with the white background as transparent so that only the black dots are left.

I can do this in another programme but surely this is easy enough in Xara?!

I'm probably having a 'senior moment' and just don't realise it.

Your help would be appreciated.

**zaphodeist** · 22 October 2011, 11:23 PM

Click on the hatched square on the colour bar and save as png etc

**zaphodeist** · 23 October 2011, 01:37 AM

Mehdi Eraser?

**molucca** · 23 October 2011, 03:45 AM

Select your image, open the bitmap gallery and select the image there. Then hit transparent. Next, make a transparent bitmap copy.

Rich

**angelize** · 23 October 2011, 05:08 AM

Give your photo object a stained glass transparency. Now you can save as .png with alpha.

**Rik** · 23 October 2011, 08:36 AM

Thanks for your answers Guys and Gals.

As usual, lots of different ways. In this instance, it was your method, Rich, that I was looking for.

Now, is there a quick way of creating all these random size dots in Xara?

**angelize** · 23 October 2011, 08:56 AM

you could use a neat little utility called Spray that you can get from the Shareware Page at the Xara Xone

Spray can generate some pretty neat stuff. It was written by Dmitry Malkin who was at one time, I believe, a regular here at TG

**Rik** · 23 October 2011, 10:17 AM

That's a great link, Frances.

**molucca** · 23 October 2011, 05:07 PM

Mezzoforce Snow 2. Free plugin

I applied the plugin to a transparent image. Made a bitmap copy and recolored contone light to black. This was to get dark dots with a transparent background. Maybe applying the plugin to a black image and doing a contone inversion and bitmap transparency would be easier to see.

Rich

**handrawn** · 25 October 2011, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by molucca

Select your image, open the bitmap gallery and select the image there. Then hit transparent. Next, make a transparent bitmap copy.

Rich

Hi Rich

thanks for reminding me you can do it that way

used to avoid it as it tends to take out too much intermediate grey from my scans, which the profile curve won't put back without 'white fringe' [and clone stacking doesn't work either]

but now that xara has a photo tool [shows how long it's been since I last tried it

] that can be corrected no problem ..

and no issues with creating alpha bitmap copies, unlike 'stained glass'