Transparent Images

Class notes (b) for April 4, 1996
Professor John M. McCann

I have demonstrated how to use LviewPro to capture and save images in .gif format. When we save a file, we get a dialogue box similar to the following:

Notice that there are two versions or flavors of gif file formats: GIF 87a and GIF89a. The later is a new file format that has been developed to handle transparent gifs ... a gif image in which the background is transparent and thus allows the Netscape background to "show through" the image. Let's look at two versions of the same file:

GIF 87a format	GIF 89a format

The picture on the right has been given a white background and then saved in the gif89a format. Chuck Musciano's transparent gif tutorial shows us the steps for using LviewPro to create a transparent gif image.

The Transparent/Interlaced GIF Resource Page is a good gude to other resources.