Transparent background

[maestro]

I'm a new user and want to make the background of a .jpeg image transparent for html use. I erased all data from the background and am left with the image on a white background. Can I easily do
this? What are my otions?

[maestro]

I'm a new user and want to make the background of a .jpeg image transparent for html use. I erased all data from the background and am left with the image on a white background. Can I easily do
this? What are my otions?

[Cheryl]

Hi, hope this gives you the info you need. You cannot save a transparent background with a jpeg. You need to save it as a gif. You will get a option to make the background transparent. The only thing is that if you have the color in the image you will lose it there also. Make your background a color not in the image.If this is not possible then you might get good results by putting the image onto a swatch of your webpage background and then saving this.

Save your orginal work in photo-paint format so you can can always go back to the original image quality if necessary.

Hope this helps, I'm still learning myself.

Cheryl

[RAMWolff44]

In order to save an image with a transparent background, yes it must be a GIF format.

First you should attempt to create a 'no background' from the start of the project, it's not that important, but it makes it easier in the export part, at least for me. Make sure if you know the colors that you are going to use in the composition that you choose a background color that IS NOT in the composition itself.

What happens is that when you save the image, the dialog will come for making it transparent and you will need to take the eye dropper tool and choose the background color. An example problem is if you have allot of white in you composition AND the background....guess what happens??? Every thing with white is made transparent and you loose detail, subtle or not.

So once you have that decided. Then create your image. Then save it as a native PhotoPaint format (.cpt)(this is an important step, don't know why, but you have to save it as the native format first before it will allow you to save it with a transparent background). Then you will choose the 'EXPORT' dialog under the 'File' menu. Another dialog (Convert to Paletted) will come up telling you that you need to make the object 'Paletted (8-Bit)'. I always use the following settings (at least for now):

Smoothing: 100%
Palette: Optimized
Dithering: Floyd Steinberg
Dithering Intensity: 100%
Colors: 256
Color Sensitivity: Unchecked.

I usually leave the other tabs alone on their default settings. Then hit the OK button. Another Dialog will appear and this will be your GIF Export dialog box. You will see two image windows. "Original:" and "Result:".

You want to grab/click on the 'eyedropper tool' that you will see directly under the "Result:" image box. Drag that over to the "Original:" window and click on the background color, then down on the left bottom you will see the 'preview' button, click on that and you will see the "Result:" window change to a background with checkers, the background is now transparent. If you want to move the "Original:" around to look at it in the "Result:" window you will have to de-select the 'eyedropper tool' and the hand will re-appear, go over to the "Original:" window and move the image and watch the "Result:" window catch up to where you are moving the "Original:". Once you are satisfied click the 'OK' button and you will export the image to where ever you want it to be placed on the hard drive.

Hope this helps

PS: I'm still learning too, but I am working in both XaraX (vector program) and PhotoPaint and needed to export an image or 10 [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] as transparent GIF's so I could import them into XaraX to work on further. So this stuff I know, not completely but enough to get the results that I needed at the time.

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[This message was edited by RAMWolff on March 05, 2002 at 11:51.]

[Cheryl]

Hi RAMWolff,
Thanks for posting such a nice detailed reply. I hope Maestro returns.

Cheryl

[RAMWolff44]

any information that I can offer.

RAMWolff [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]