Comp25: Notes on Transparent GIF images

Transparent GIF images:

A transparent gif image is an image whose background takes on the pixel color of the background.  Only the .GIF file format consistently supports image transparency today, others like JPG.  If you find that you need to make the background of a JPG image image transparent, you will need to edit it in a proper image editor application, like Paint or PhotoShop and save it as a .GIF image.  Not all gif images are transparent automatically, however.  This is not noticeable when the image is on a white background, but when the background is color or an image, the palette is revealed. 

Realize when you create an image, it is comprised of the image itself AND the palette on which it was created. This is not noticeable when the image is on a white background, but when the background is color or an image, the palette is revealed.

Creating Transparent GIF images

It is easier to create a transparent image from the start rather then try and go back and revise an image's properties to make it transparent.  Many programs allow you to set the transparencies as you save the image, such as AdobePhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro.  If you do not have these programs installed, you can use either PowerPoint or web-based tools to create your logo or you can download Paint.Net to set the image properties to transparent.

PowerPoint

1. Create your image using the AutoShapes and WordArt functions in PowerPoint and then RIGHT-MOUSE on the image and Save, As a gif image.  In PowerPoint 2007, the images are automatically saved as transparent.
2. For earlier versions of PowerPoint, you need to first save the image and then set the image to transparent using the transparency tool on the Image Tool Bar.

Paint.Net

1. Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It is a small, useful program has been compared to other digital photo editing such as Adobe^® Photoshop^®, Corel^®, Paint Shop Pro^®, Microsoft Photo Editor.
2. Download Paint.Net
1. Open up your image. Be sure it's saved as a gif file
2. In the Tool section, use the "Magic Wand" feature.
3. Set it's tolerance to '0%'
4. Drag it over the section you want to make transparent and click once with your left mouse button. The magic wand catches an entire region of adjacent, same-color-range, pixels
5. Once the region is selected, then hit the delete key. Resave the image
   
   

FlamingText - www.flamingtext.com

1. Some of the FlamingText images can be set to transparent in the format or customize dialog box. Not all images in FlamingText support the transparency format.  Look for the following setup options:
   
   
2. If you choose an image that is NOT transparent, you can use a program such as Paint.Net to set it to transparent. (See below)

CoolText - www.cooltext.com

1. If you create your logo in CoolText, be sure you save the file format as: ".gif w/ transparency" to insure that the image palette is transparent. (More notes on transparencies to follow.)