Paint Shop Pro support - Transparent .gif question

Author

Transparent .gif question

Shawn@Thrillofthechase.biz

2006-03-14, 10:17 pm

Hi all.

I'm new to this group and, indeed, relatively new to web design.
I put up a website for my boss's limousine service.
We sent a stock pic of a limo to a photo finishing company and had them
superimpose a bride and groom's hands on the side.
Cool little gimic.
I took the jpeg they gave us and put it up on the site.
I now understand that I need to make the background transparent to get
rid of the white box background.
I am testing out Corel PSP 10. I have a few problems that I need
answers to, if you would be so kind.
The url to the pic is here:
http://www.yourweddinglimo.com/limo...opic4google.htm

1. Can I make the white background transparent if the car is white as
well or do I need to make it a different color?
2. When I open the jpeg in psp the program sees the photo and the
background as the entire background. Does this mean that I have to cut
the image out from the white background of the jpeg?
3. If so, what's the best tool to use?

I think that these are the only questions I have so far.

I thank you much, in advance, for your help.

Shawn

Fred Hiltz

2006-03-14, 10:17 pm

Shawn@Thrillofthechase.biz wrote:
>... I need to make the background
> transparent to get rid of the white box background.
> I am testing out Corel PSP 10. I have a few problems that
> I need answers to, if you would be so kind.
> The url to the pic is here:
> http://www.yourweddinglimo.com/limo...opic4google.htm
>
> 1. Can I make the white background transparent if the car
> is white as well or do I need to make it a different color?
> 2. When I open the jpeg in psp the program sees the photo
> and the background as the entire background. Does this
> mean that I have to cut the image out from the white
> background of the jpeg?
> 3. If so, what's the best tool to use?

Yes, you need to select the background and make it transparent, then
use the GIF Optimizer to write the GIF transparency from "Existing
image or layer transparency." On its Colors tab, try 256 colors,
100% dither, and Optimized Octree color reduction.

Layers > Promote Background Layer. This permits PSP transparency.

There are many ways to select the background. The quickest for this
case is probably the Magic Wand. Set it to Mode = Replace, Match
mode = RGB Value, Tolerance: = 10, Contiguous, Feather = 0,
Anti-alias Outside. Click in the white space above the car. Hold
Shift while clicking the three white spaces underneath the car to
add them to the selection. Press Delete.

Because GIF allows only complete transparency, the edges of the
image will show some pixel boundaries. They are unavoidable, but a
good choice of background on the web page can make them less
visible. If the web page has a plain background, one can do better
with the JPG format after replacing the white background with the
page's background color. Please write back if that appeals.
--
Fred Hiltz, fhiltz at yahoo dot com

Shawn@Thrillofthechase.biz

2006-03-14, 10:17 pm

Oh, it appeals!!
You're my hero!!
Worked like a charm!
Got me on the right track.
Now I can do some more experimenting.

Thank you very much!!
Shawn