Tranparency anyone?

[MarioG]

Hi Folks,

I need to create a couple of transparency slides for PTE.

I'm using PaintShopPro XI which is pretty much the equivalent to PhotoShop, but let's not get into that argument please.

I assume PTE supports transparency, yes?

Can anyone elaborate on this?

Mario

[jfa]

I need to create a couple of transparency slides for PTE.

................<snip>.....................................

I assume PTE supports transparency, yes?

Can anyone elaborate on this?

Mario if you mean PNG files the answer is "yes".

[Ed Overstreet]

In my experience, the problem with transparency on an image comes in the image-editing software (in my case, Photoshop CS3), when you save the file. If you save it as a JPG (and I think I've also had this problem with PNG), Photoshop insists on replacing the transparency with a white background, which defeats the whole purpose of the transparency.

In Photoshop, maybe in other software, the solution that worked for me was to save the file as a GIF (which PTE also accepts), using the Save for Web feature instead of Save As, and making sure to tick on the little box in the GIF dialog screen that says Transparency or "preserve transparency" or whatever in your software.

If you do this, when you view the GIF in PTE's light-table, folder display, or on the display at the bottom of the main screen, you still see a white background where you had transparency. But that's because PTE isn't actually displaying the file, it's displaying the thumbnail saved with the file, which is either JPG or some other format that doesn't correctly display transparency. But when you insert the GIF into your show, or for example add it as on object in the O&A window on top of another image, you do in fact get transparecy where it should be, the background object/image shows through as it should where there is transparency in the top file.

Be careful about feathering the selection mask before deleting material to create a transparency; Photoshop's Save for Web feature can give you a very unnatural and annoying checkerboard or other mottled display along the selection boundary where there is partial transparency. I hate this, others must find it useful otherwise why did Adobe do this, but for me the best results when deleting material to transparency after making a selection, is to use a hard-edge (no feathering, 0 pixel radius) for the selection. That way there's no haloing nor other strange display along the selection edge in the final GIF.

Maybe someone else knows of a way to save as a JPG without getting that pointless white background where there should be transparency, but I haven't been able to figure it out in Photoshop. So I use GIF instead, for slides where I want to have transparency. (Normally I use JPG for PTE slides.)

[Peter S]

Mario, Ed

In Photoshop you can save a file with transparency by selecting File/Save As and selecting PNG. You can also use Save for Web and select PNG-24. This has been previously recommended as the best choice in Photoshop. If you save as a JPG the transparency WILL be lost.

I can't say anything about Paint Shop but I would be very surprised if a similar same choice does not apply.

Kind Regards

Peter