New install Photo & Graphics Designer problems with alpha import

**Alan Lacey** · 20 July 2018, 06:12 AM

Hi All,

I've been a Xara user since the 80's and still love it.

I've just installed a new P&G designer 15 on a Win7 Pro box.

I'm working on some big panels for a museum and am trying to import hi-res *.tga files with alpha, prepared in PhotoShop. In my previous versions of Xara the alpha channel worked but for some reason, and there have been many changes to Xara since I had a new copy, these files don't work. - no transparency.

What am I doing wrong?

**handrawn** · 20 July 2018, 06:33 AM

with problems like this the first step is always to right click and run the program as administrator - you should only need to do it once

also go back to your previous version of xara and check the files in question open ok there, because it might be the files that are causing this

**handrawn** · 20 July 2018, 08:19 AM

I just did some checking - I don't think xara has ever supported transparency for TGA files - TGA files do not hsve what you might call 'native' transparency support - you save the alpha channel as/from a mask - I'm pretty certain xara wont read that

**Alan Lacey** · 20 July 2018, 04:59 PM

Thanks for the interest Handrawn.

Yes I've been working with 32bit tgas successfully with Xara for many years - you have to have an inverted alpha but apart from that all's been perfect. I've just checked and files from my Xara Pro 5.1.1 open the tgas and any work done in that opens perfectly (with working alpha) in the new v15. It's only when I try and bring the tgas in directly that I can't access the alpha. Also the new v15 won't import psds or pngs with alpha either. Actually the last time I tried, the import dialogue didn't even include the psds that were in the folder. When I go to the bitmap gallery, select a 32bit bitmap and click 'transparency' I just get a dialogue asking whether I want to use the hi-res file or one scaled down to fit. Is this normal behaviour do you know.

I didn't pay a great deal for this full version of Xara Photo & Graphics Designer (c. £45 I think) is it 'crippled' in some way compared to the full version do you know? I do little web work so don't need all the bell & whistles of a Xara aimed at web developers, but I'd like a Xara at least as good as the previous versions I've been using.

TGAs are, or perhaps were, used extensively in the video industry and the 32bit version RLE does have a single 8bit alpha channel.

I haven't tried running it as administrator yet, I'll give that a go soon.

Once again thanks for your interest, I've logged a support ticket with Magix and failing that I'll call their tech support in the UK soon.

Alan (London)

**handrawn** · 20 July 2018, 05:12 PM

ok

PSD and 32bit PNG should open with transparency

interesting what you say about the TGA opening in designer pro version 5 - I'd try a trail of pro 15 and see if it works...

**gwpriester** · 20 July 2018, 05:25 PM

Welcome to TalkGraphics Alan

You can use the Photo Tool > Select Colors to Enhance to make a color or range of colors transparent. This is a newer feature and it works pretty well. There are sliders for Tolerance and Fade so you can fine tune your color range.

**mwenz** · 20 July 2018, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Alan Lacey

Hi All,

I've been a Xara user since the 80's and still love it.

I've just installed a new P&G designer 15 on a Win7 Pro box.

I'm working on some big panels for a museum and am trying to import hi-res *.tga files with alpha, prepared in PhotoShop. In my previous versions of Xara the alpha channel worked but for some reason, and there have been many changes to Xara since I had a new copy, these files don't work. - no transparency.

What am I doing wrong?

Why TGAs in the first place?

**handrawn** · 20 July 2018, 07:04 PM

like alan said they are a [but not the only] standard file type in video/film/animation - I come across 24bit TGA when dealing with open gl frames and I understand that some programs will not work with anything else... so that is often what you are given

it depends what the project entails I suppose...

**handrawn** · 20 July 2018, 08:40 PM

out of interest and just because I can I installed pro ver 5... then I created a TGA with alpha channel [32bit] in photoshop

it imported into Harmony 15 with alpha correctly
it imported into xara designer pro 12 without alpha [I don't have s ver 15 trial handy and I'm not upgrading]
it imported into xara prio with transparency but it was inverted - what should have been transparent was white, what should have been there was transparent

iso.... nteresting...not sure it's helpful though....