Save a Transparent GIF File

You may have noticed home page icons that are not rectangular. By nature, bitmaps are rectangular, but GIF files allow you to make the background color transparent. As a result, the background drops out and the remaining edge is irregular around the foreground information.

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When you save a GIF from Picture Publisher, you have the options to set a transparent color, make it an interlaced or delayed rendered image, and to prompt you for the options when you save the file.

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Note: Clean up the background.

If you do not have a single color for the background, then use the Retouch tool to paint a color into the background, or mask the background and fill it with a solid color.


To set a transparent color, check the Use Transparent Color option next to the color area. Then double-click the Transparent Color swatch. From the Palette Picker that displays, select the color that will be dropped out. This should be a color that is not used in the main image itself, as Picture Publisher will drop all instances of that color.

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After you have selected the desired color, click OK. Now when you save the file and load it into a Web browser, the transparent color is dropped out and the home page color shows through.


Introduction  |  << Reduce Image Color to Save Space  |  Save an Interlaced GIF File >>


"Prepare Graphics for the Internet," online version. © 1996 by Micrografx, Inc.