So many Photoshop questions. So little time.
After much pondering, the Graphics Oracle has decided that you may post questions to her here. If the question amuses her, she will answer it. The only sacrifice the Oracle asks in return is that you must anonomously do something good for someone else.
What kinds of questions amuse the Oracle? Easier to say what does not amuse the Oracle. She does not care for Pre-press questions. Four color printing bores her. And Macs? Pfooey! Databases? Hah!
The Oracle does not want you to think that she will not answer these questions because she has no knowledge of these topics. No! No! The Oracle knows all!
If you are curious about the Oracle's answers to deep and meaningful web graphics truths, follow me. Shh! Quietly! Do not disturb the Oracle.
e-mail the Oracle
Yo, Oracle. I have a graphic. I want to put thick type over it and make it transparent to show the graphic underneath but I also want to use the Black Box Inner beveling on the lettering to make the text 3D over the graphic. Whenever I put text on the page it's colored with the current foreground color but I want to just get the outline of the text. Can't seem to add a transparent color to the text. Any ideas? Signed, Beveled-to-Be
Dear Beveled: the easiest way to accomplish this is to change not the color of your text but the way the text layer (and it will need to be on its own layer)interacts with the background behind it. Try selecting white as your color for the text, create the inner bevel, and then try experimenting with the different Layer modes. Try screen or lighten. You may also want to experiment with the Layer Mask to achieve the exact effect you're looking for.
Oh mighty oracle of ethereal wisdom, could you enlighten us on image compression possibilities (JPEG flavour) or the lack thereof in Corel PhotoPaint? Does one take an image saved as JPEG in Paint to another application to compress it? Does resampling with anti-alias option increase the original file-size ? Where does a web devotee find a simple process to take images from CorelDraw into WWW without mUddyfications of colours and fonts and in a reasonable size (under 20k for a 200x300 image)? many thanx and prayers in advance Mehdi from the Temple of Nanoose
Dear Mehdi: each of the versions of Corel PhotoPaint have vastly different capabilities. I know for certain that PhotoPaint 6 will save as jpg. If you don't have that capability and are using PhotoPaint 6, make sure that your image is in 24bit RGB mode. Still no Save As JPG? Then go back and reinstall the program.
If you're using another version of PhotoPaint, it may not support saving as JPG. There are several sharware programs you can use, including PaintShop Pro, to save as a jpg file. Happy Jpging, Your Oracle
Oh omnipotent Oracle,Please, I beseeh thee, do not hold hardware deficits against your humble and loyal Photoshop servant. I swear by all that is anti-aliased if I had the money I would by a Mac and download one of the plethora of filters. Alas, all I have is a lowly PC. How, oh great wise women of Webified graphics, how may I achieve "inner-beveled" text, such as that rendered with Alien Skin's (pricey) Black Box/Inner Bevel filter?
Truly, the Inner Bevel is a wondrous thing! The closest you would be able to achieve would be by using (yick) channels to achieve the effect. There are shareware filters availble for the PC, but nothing quite like the Inner Bevel.
Hark, the NAMMAN has discovered the true identity of the Oracle.
She is not the mortal she portrays to be. Nay, the proof of the pages reveals she that she is actually...the Goddess of Graphics!
All bow down before the deity of design.
Alas oh mighty one. Your humble worshipper must be committing a sin in
resampling.He has read your commandments, but not your Bible.
But woes me that he still finds a ring around the GIF when resampling down. I clean it up, thus destroying the anti-alias commandment, therefore JAGGIES!!! UGH! Your humble servant awaits her divine words.the NAMMAN
Oops oh divine one.
My mortal tools are but only the Corel 6, no Photshop, no Xara, no KPT. --the NAMMAN
Dear Nanman: You're only taking one small step the wrong way: make sure that you have the anti-aliasing option on when you're resampling. If the haloing is happening because you're placing a transparent gif on a background, make the background in the image you're creating the same color as the web page it will appears on. Your Oracle
Oh Great and Mighty Oracle, source of all knowledge! I never thought I'd have any interest in Art. For my entire life I have worked and slaved diligently with the Almighty Text, with the Written Word as my signpost and guide. I have written and programmed and created monsterously gigantic computer systems without ever having to put pen to paper and create even so much as a doodle.
Text has been my guide and my saviour; for whatever can be expressed, can be expressed with words; and what can be expressed in words can be transmitted rapidly and efficiently over the Internet, without pain.
And yet alas and alack, the Great Public has Spoken; and the Public wantsPictures and Images, and verily! I know not a thing about them. And yet, if I am to create glorious web sites of Wonder, I must understand the Sacred Picture, I must create a complex combination of Lines and Spheres and other wonderous creations.
I am sorry that I do not have the Time, nor the Patience to wade through four years of Art School, as you have suggested; for the Web waits for no person, and by the time I was finished with my Labours at Art School, it might be passe, and then where would I be?
So is there a glorious Tome you can recommend that explains art concepts to non-artists and relates them to the oft-baffling world of the Sacred Photoshop? I have acquired the Sacred Book of the Oracle from Barnes & Noble; and it provides some excellent recipes; but it does not teach Art, and it is Art I need to learn. Any Ideas?
Dear Any Ideas: Would that there were a single book that could teach Art! I wish I could package the Oracle's own favorite Art teacher, Bill Sanchez. The magic he wrought was mainly encouraging one to go forward, and do the next drawing.
Go forward, and do the next drawing, Your Oracle.
I am using photoshop 3.0 win/95 with alien skin drop shadow. How do I get the text dropshadow image to be completely transparent on the internet. I'm getting stray pixels scattered around. Ist the secrect in the background color you choose? Will transparency work on multi-colored backgrounds? Do I need to edit these files as a psd or can I use just gif? Does it need to set as rbg, indexed or lab color. I use gif89a when saving these files. HEELLLppp!!!!!! ....Thanks oh great oracle!!!
Dear HEELLLppp!!!!! Transparency can be defined as only one color. When you're indexing your image, the background color often becomes dithered, thus creating a pixelated background that is unappealing. Either clean up the background (by using a bucket fill) or download the gif89a filter from http://www.adobe.com, and you'll be able to use Layers to define your transparency. Transparently, Your Oracle
Oh wise one, I am a tired traveler. I have seen much with mine eyes, but alas it mostly has to do with Photoshop magic and I can only wave a Corel6 wand...To ask but a humble pittance of a question from such a learned sage as yourself; how do I create seamless backgrounds in Corel6. Much has been said about the Filters/Offset/Other in Photoshop, but I have not the runes to sing that magic. Can you help me in the ways of the wicked Corel6 and it's mighty Master Win95. Your humble servant willing to fight your cause, Sir Robert
Dear Sir Robert: You have already in your posession not only the magic of the Offset filter (Effects > 2D Effects > Offset) but also the coolest seamless pattern tile maker filter of all: take three magic steps to Effects > Artistic > Terrazzo and all will be revealed! Your image must be in the magical mode of RGB before you can create this magic. Your Oracle.
Oh great Oracle, upon reading your proclamation that the Alchemy and Terrazzo filters came with PhotoPaint 5 Plus, I went back to my CD and was, alas, unable to find them. Perhaps an earlier edition? At any rate, is there another source for these wondrous devices? Yours, Filterless.
Hello, Filterless: The PhotoPaint5 package shipped with the Alchemy and Terrazzo filter. Open a new file, in RGB 24bit mode, and then look under Effects. You should find your filters there. If they aren't there, re-install PhotoPaint5. Your Oracle.
Hi oh great one: It is with great trepidation and deepest humility, not unmixed with a certain fearful regard for my unworthy skin, that I venture to suggest a teeny addendum to your oracular deliberations regarding preparation of CDR files for the web.
Your isolated correspondent could probably find a nice shareware file format conversion program at the following url:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Estark/gutil_sv.html
using such a utility your esteemed and lonely interlocutor could convert her existing CDR files to GIFs in the twinkling of a satyr's eye. Julian
The Oracle thanks you for your insight into CDR files, Julian!
O wise seer of the graphical arts, I am trying to save my GIF files in 89a format (trying to get the transparent color) using Corel PhotoPaint, and I find that often I can select Image > Convert To > 256 Color, then save as GIF, and it will give me a dialog allowing me to specify the GIF format and a transparent color. However, it doesn't ALWAYS give me the dialog, and lately I haven't been able to get it all. Is there a consistent way of saving GIFs in 89a format through PhotoPaint? Sincerely, Opaque in Orlando
Dear Opaque: The Oracle suggests that you reinstall PhotoPaint. For some reason, the Export and Import filters have a tendancy to go wacky in Corel 6, but that is easily fixed by reinstalling. Also, make sure that you have and are using the latest version of Corel 6. Your Oracle.
Oh Oracle on High--I have climbed the hard and steep path to you. My knees are scrapped, my hands are bloody and along the way I have found no answers now my hope and trust, my very fate for all time lies in your able hands Can you again perform a miracle and fast enough to save me?I must buy a magical scanner and soon! But unfortunately I have but little gold and surely real magic can only be performed by a scanning wonder with a minimum of 30 bits and 600 dpi optical...so which can I buy at the best price with the best magic (not to mention those magical assistants called software packages)?
Your humble servant who pledges many good deed - even if this question is beyond your realm -- your consideration and works are a bounty unto the world. Hess
Dear Hess: If you will be doing only work for the web (vs. work that will be printed) then any solid scanner will work well. Since web work is done at such a low resolution, and most deficiencies by scanners can be compensated for with various filter (Unsharp Mask, Adjust Levels, etc.) then try to find the best combination of software and price. Try looking at some of the mail-order catalogs and local suppliers. Also, to find out more about reliability of products, try using the DejaNews search engine and search by the brand name of scanner you're thinking of getting. Your Oracle.
Could you please go and have a look at this web page ...
http://www.cris.com/~rmi/site/group/AST/
and PLEASE TELL ME how can i get a similar graphic like the one shown on the VERY TOP of the page ?? rotating in an html page ?? i have had a look at the source html code and i cannot figure it out ?? PLEASE tell ME ... i am desperate :-| BooMer
Boomer: there are four ways (that I can think of, right off the top of my head) to make an animation:
The Gif89a animation is the cheapest, easiest way to accomplish this.
I have a question that I hope you can help me with.
I can't seem to figure out how to take an image that I scanned, make
it into a pattern (which to me means multiply many copies of said image
in a orderly fashion - like on shirt or bedspread - either in simple
or brick) then to take that pattern and use it as a fill into an outlined
shape. After those steps, if possible to color it in different colors.
This may be very easy for you, but for me it is extremely advanced. I just
started a new job where I must use Photoshop (which I am quite good
at, but I never needed to do this precise sequence) and trying to gleen the
information out of the manuals is tantamount to decifering the dead sea scrolls
in their original Aramaic - when one can only communicate in BASIC. Signed,
Basic
Dear Basic: Okay: try this, and we'll see if it makes
any sense. Take your scan, and select all (CTRL+A) and select Edit >
Define Pattern. Open a new file, to see how it repeats, and make sure
the new file is quite a bit larger than the pattern source file. Select
Edit > Fill >Pattern.
Now you've seen how the pattern repeats. Might have some ugly edges to clean up. Return to the pattern source (the file will have to be in RGB mode for the next step) and selec Filter > Other > Offset set the pixel amount to half the size of the pattern source. Don't forget to select the Wrap Around radio button.Now you'll be able to see the edges of the pattern. Clean them up in whatever way works best: cut and paste, painting, etc.
The colorizing is a different matter: you might want to try indexing and then changing the color table for your pattern. Best wishes, Oracle
Your Oracleness... I am but lowly jackle bait in your
vast universe of graphic arts. Yet I would face the great Pixelian gargoyle
himself to seek your guidance. Dare I say...gasp...I am not a professional
artist. But I am interested in the graphic arts and wish to learn
and experiment with photo-imaging, creating text with images and the like.
Assuming that I have the requisite hardware, would CorelDraw 6 be a suitable
program to purchase for the fledgling artiste ? Or must I seek the wisdom
of Obe Wan Adobe and use his products ? Where is one such as I to begin
this epic adventure ? Penguin
Dear Penguin: If you'll be doing work for print, I would
suggest Corel6 as the appropriate product to buy. If you'll be creating graphics
for Web work, I would suggest getting Adobe-Wan's Photoshop (NOT the Pagemill
product, though, for those who will heed my warnings: It received the Oracle's
very own Worst HTML Editor award) Photoshop, however, rocks, for web work.
Oh see-all soothesayer of most divine inspiration, I
am but a simple lass from the fields. After a long long day of smashing grapes
with her feet, a suffering fool such as I loves to relieve her desperate
tedium by rendering away her abject sorrow on her lowly 8 megs of ram and
photoshop 3.o.4. Do I really need a full 16 to fill my heart with joyful
laughter and escape from the dreariness of not enough physical memory messages
from the dark beyond? Sign me with all heartfelt sorrow, Purpletoes.
Dear Purpletoes: There is good news and bad news for
you. The bad news is that you do, indeed, need a full 16 MB of RAM to enjoy
Photoshop to its fullest. The good news is that RAM prices have dropped
enormously in the past few months. Where enlightenment would have once set
you back a good $350 dollars, it can now be yours for around $200. A small
price to pay for Photoshop serenity. Yours in empathy, the Oracle
Oh WIse Woman are you from Delphi? Ok this may be the
two stupid questions of the week. #1 I have a background, the client loves
it. I created it with couds filter.To display the page for www I will need
to run a three page scroll. I need the magic formula for creating a seamless
background over which to lay the text and graphics for view on Netscape.
#2 Is there any way that we can use a lithos type face, and have the end
user view it as such, or do we just wait for technology to catch up to the
grahic artists.Your Humble Master, Ghost Wolf
Ghost Wolf: There are no such things as stupid graphics
questions!
#1 To create a seamless background tile, open thy file in Photoshop, and apply Filters/Other/Offset. Set the radio button to Wrap Around, then set the pixel value to half the amount for your image. That should put the ugly seam smack dab in the middle of the image. Now you can clean it up using the airbrush, smudge tool, or other likely prospect.
#2 The only way to specify a particular typeface with HTML is to make it part of a graphic. Lithos is a great headline typeface, and would work well for a page header. Artistically yours, the Oracle
O' Wise one, won't you assist a poor hapless Internaut
attain gentle flowing neon text, extruded to 3-D. Forgive me for being so
untextured, but I seem to be new at this game. Indebtedness owed! Steve
Dear Indebtedness: Here's the rapid way of attaining
glowing text. Start with a black background, and add your type (almost any
color will do). Deselect the type, and apply a Gaussian Blur. Add the type
again. You can use a slightly lighter color for the second layer of text.
Oh Mighty Oracle:
I found the Corel Tips.. Thank you so very much. I would be so grateful if you keep the tips coming to us lowly servants of yours. Love Larry
Dear Larry: The Oracle vows to find time to add more
tips. And, of course, you are most cordially invited to the Web Diner on
America Online for more web tips and graphics help (keyword: Web Diner)
Greetings, O Oracle! All glories unto you! Aware of the
price I must pay, I have come to request you to kindly lift me out of the
blind well of confusion I am presently in. Let it be known to you and the
world that I can't get my gradients to flow (sob...). I always end up with
the Venetian Blind model of stacked squares. Lamentation! 'Tis even worse
when I save them in grayscale! Once only did this unfortunate wanderer get
a 96 ppi, 10x400 pixel light gray to black gradient in a .JPG file to create
a nice gradient background in his Nutscape browser. But alas, alas, the art
seems to have been lost to him. In the prospect of enlightenment do I pledge
unto thee to fulfil my good deed, and more than once shall I do so. Your
humble servant,Storm
Dear Storm: The Oracle will aid your search for a perfect
gradient.
Perhaps a mischievious infant has changed thy video driver from 16 bit color to 256 colors in order to play a childish game on thy computer? Thou shouldst check thy video driver (Control Panel/Display) and make sure that the highest color possible is being used. If thou only haveth a 256 color video card, then thou shouldst upgrade. The Oracle is confident that thy gradients are presently supremely smooth, thou just can't see them at 256 colors.
Go forth and do good deeds, the Oracle
Thank you, oh mighty Corel guru. You have given me the
gift of inner peace (and smoother artwork). May your camel give sweet milk
forever.
Truly, the gift of anti-aliasing is never-ending.
Dear Oracle: what is the best image-size for a GIF image
to redraw reasonably fast in a viewers page ? Love: Raul
Dearest Raul, You will want to create a GIF that is no
wider than 500 pixels, considering that many people still view the web at
640x480 resolution. How large the file size should be is calculated by attaining
the inverse of the number of complaints from visitors to your website. Love:
the Oracle
Hello Oracle, I read your article in the February issue
of Technique. I am a Corel Draw user and would like to know how to color
B/W and with scanned Clip Art. Do I have to save it in a special format?
Will I have to use that very confusing Corel Paint? Help! The X-man
Dear X-man: Here's how to colorize your scanned clipart
in CorelDraw. Scan your line art, and Trace (using CorelTrace). Save as an
eps file. Open CorelDraw, select Import/EPS, and open your trace in Draw.
You should be able to select the separate areas of your scan as separate
objects. You can then select color from the color palette to apply it to
each object.
Hi there, Can you tell me if there is a way to add a
very small border (5pixels) or so, around an image. It seems if I use the
Select>Modify>Border command that I get a very hazy type border.
I'm looking for a thin line that outlines the complete image. Any
suggestions??? thanks in advance.
Dear Thanks in Advance: Select Edit/Select All (or Ctrl+A),
then Select Edit/Stroke 5 Pixels/Inside. Voila!
OH MIGHTY ORACLE,
1. WHAT RES SHOULD I SCAN IN GRAPHICS FOR USE ONLY ON WEB PAGES AND NOT CONCERN PRIMARILY WITH HARD COPY OUTPUT?
2. SAME AS ABOVE FOR VIDEO PROJECTION OF GRAPHICS OUTPUT AS QUICKTIME MOVIES AT 640 X 480 RES?
SPARKY
Sparky: Shhhhh! No need to shout. The Oracle hears all!
The Oracle has not found it necessary to scan at a resolution of more than
150dpi for web use, or working at screen resolution.
O wise one,
Have you knowledge of a way to add transparency to JPEG files?
curious
Dear Curious: Presently, only those on the Mac can learn
the Secret of Transparent JPEGS. You can satisfy your curiosity by going
to http://www.aris.com/boxtop.
Dear Oracle,
I live in an isolated community where it is hard to find any books or info
on Corel.
Can you help me with what is probably an easy question and most corel users already know? I have Corel 4 and most of my work is in .cdr files. I want to use some of the file content in my web site but I can't figure out how to convert the cdr files to the html editor. Is it even possible? Also how would I convert clipart from corel to html. You are my last hope before I begin typing everything over to HTML. Corel User
Dear Corel User: If you have access to the Internet,
you do not live in an isolated community. Trust the Oracle on this one.
The Oracle has found that the best Corel answers for Corel Users can be found at http://www.corelnet.com. You can find an announcement of Corel's new vector based web file format at http://www.corel.com. If you have text files that need to be converted from Corel 4 to HTML, the Oracle is very sad. Right now there is no way other than cutting and pasting, to easily export the information from CDR format to HTML.
Okay....this will probably be in a FAQ or even a real basic question. I know
I am not worthy but...Using Photoshop 3.04 and KPT 3.0 Texture Explorer,
how do I create SEAMLESS pattern backgrounds like those seen in web page
backgrounds? I could do it in version 2.0 just fine, but the Seamless Welder
is missing from version 3.0.
The Oracle is sad. In KPT 2.0 you could also set the
size for the Texture to tile to (say 96x96 pixels) and if you filled a 96x96
pixel square with a texture from the Texture Explorer, it would be a seamless
tile. In KPT 3.0, you can still use the Seamless Welder. Fill your image
with a texture, use the marquee tool to select an area a little ways in from
the edges of your image, and apply the Seamless Welder. Select Edit/Crop
from the Photoshop menu bar, and you can test the seamless-ness of the tile
by selecting Filter/Others/Offset, and setting the radio button to Wrap Around.
O, Oracle. Another oracle more occult than thou bade
me scan halftone images at 300 dpi, then re-size them to 72 dpi for the
Web. Hah. My cup runneth over with that 7 MB scan file, and the reduced
image doesn't look so hot, anyway. Did I take a wrong turn somewhere, or
is the other oracle's answer simply blowing in the wind? I scan in Mac Ofoto,
convert to JPEG in Mac graphics converter, and edit in Corel 6 Photo Paint
for Win95.
Worried in Washington.
Dear Worried: The Oracle routinely scans at about 100
- 150 dpi for the web, and reduces the resultant scan down, making liberal
usage of the UnSharp Mask filter, knowing full well that any filter with
a name that esoteric must indeed be a Very Magical Tool.
In the Oracle's vast and varied experience, scanning at more than 200 dpi seldom results in any improvement in image quality.
Hi,
Is paint shop pro software that I can download?
Terrie
Yes, Terrie: Paint Shop Pro is shareware for the PC that
can be downloaded
from the JASC website at http://www.jasc.com.
Oh great Oracle:
I stand in awe of your electrotechnographic prowess! If thou wilst, please
help me to understand how to get my type as clean as yours is. I have wanderd
for too long building great images in Photoshop @ 144dpi and resizing them
to 72dpi for the web. Alas, the type continues to be fuzzy.
Oh great Oracle I pray you take pitty on this lowly creature and lift the veil from my eyes! Fuzzy:
Dear Fuzzy:
The veil has been lifted. The type should be created at 72dpi with antialiasing,
otherwise the magical Resampling process will antialias the type twice, leaving
it sadly deteriorated and without cripsness.
Create your type at screen resolution and it will remain crisp, even in milk! The Oracle
Dear Oracle: I studied your Photoshop lesson on the
mysteries of anti-alias and I
learned much. Thou art truly wise ! .... alas, I have only lesser
magic,..the LviewPro, PaintShopPro, and Corel-3 wands ... I went to the
place of Adobe Photoshop mercahnts and learned there that there are two
versions...an expensive one and a much less dear one, the LE version ...
will this version do the anti-alias magic well, or must I obtain the
great and powerful Full Version...I cannot afford this, I have not a
scanner, I have but this one largish,round,attractive gif that must be
conjured smaller but no less pretty ... wouldst thou deign to smite this
gif, for I and my village ? The peasants here believe greatly in divine
miracles.
Signed, :-)
btw. I PROMISE to honour the Oracle's wish, doing good for others
anonymously, wherever possible.
Dear :-)
The Oracle is mightily impressed with thou---with thy--oh, heck, here's the
deal:
Export that puppy from Corel in 16 kabillion colors or so, in a size greater
than thoust think thoust wanteth to end upeth with. Use a file format like
bmp or tif. Open that puppy up in Paint Shop Pro, and resample the image
to the size you want with anti-aliasing enabled.
Go forth and continue to do good deeds, the Oracle
Dear Oracle:
Filters for the Mac seem to be quite plentiful in comparison to
those for the PC. Can Mac filters be converted, or do you know
of an inexpensive way of adding filters? thanks, Joel
Dear Joel:
The Oracle is also quite fond of filters. The Oracle is sorry to report that
there is no way to use a mac filter on a PC.
There are a few Windows commercial filters that are available, from Alien Skin Software (alienskin@aol.com), who has just updated their Black Box series of filters for Win95. The Black Box now includes Carve, Cut Out, Drop Shadow, Glow, and seven other filters.
You can get the Xaos Paint Alchemy and Terrazzo filters, too. They are built into Corel's PhotoPaint 5 Plus package (worth it for the filters alone, it sells for under $80) and also PhotoPaint 6. The Paint Alchemy filters are based on a brush stroke metaphor. Great stuff. The Terrazzo filter is simply the best tool on the PC for creating an endless array of gorgeous seamless pattern tiles.
KPT's filters are the best known, and they are currently working on an upgrade to version 2 for Windows.
If that's not enough (and of course it isn't!) then you should investigate the Filter Factory that was included on the CD that came with Photoshop 3.0. There are instructions for using it on the CD. If you really love filters, and aren't easily intimidated, this could be a lot of fun.
Your Oracle
Dear Oracle:
Your link to "Boxtop" for PhotoGif does not exist. Do you know
where else I can it. I would be forever in your debt, O Great
One, if you would reply.
Dear Gif-fer:
Boxtop software recently moved their site. They are busy working on the Windows
version of their PhotoGif plug-in.
PhotoGif (currently only available for the mac) is available from the following site:
http://aris.com/boxtop
BoxTop Software
PO Box 2347
Starkville, MS 39760-2347
(601) 324-7352
email: boxtop@aris.com
Dear Oracle:
I have been trying to create a transparent gif in Photoshop for three days.
I've tried everything. I'm working on the mac, so I must be missing something
simple. Please help!
Signed, Opaque
Dear Opaque:
You can't save transparent gifs in Photoshop...UNLESS...you get a recently
written plugin called PhotoGif it's available form the following site:
Oracle Flash! Adobe has just released their own plug in called gif89a!
There are also a couple of shareware packages written for the mac that will accomplish the same, including:
...... and available from the usual mac ftp sites, such as:
ftp.mac.archive.umich.edu
ftp.wwwhost.ots.utexas.edu/pub/mac/graphics/
or packages such as:
Imagery
Gif Convertor
Graphic Converter
The Oracle also sees...in the future...the near future...Adobe will develop their own transparent gif plug-in for the mac and pc. I am concentrating..I see the plug-in appearing at the end of September...The vision is disappearing..it's gone.
The Oracle also knows that PC users need a utility to create transparent
gifs.
PC Users should search for the following packages:
LView Pro version 1.9
Gif Construction Set
Paint Shop Pro version 3.1
All of the above utilities are available on CompuServe and America Online,
or via ftp from:
ftp.www.acs.oakland.edu/oak/SimTel/win3/graphics/
For further assistance in creating transparent gifs, try the comp.infosystems.www.authoring.images faq.
Dear Oracle:
Many things puzzle me in life. Perhaps the most puzzling question of all
is why none of the Windows icon editors will import any form of bitmap. Oracle,
what is the secret of transforming a bmp file into an ico file? - Puzzled
Dear Puzzled:
The secret to creating an ico file from a bmp or other bitmap format is to
copy your bitmap to the Windows clipboard. Using Photoshop, this sequence
would be Ctrl+A (select all), Ctrl+C (copy). Then, open your icon editor,
and Ctrl+V (paste). If you're doing many conversions, you'll want to have
both Photoshop and your icon editor open at the same time so that you can
switch between the two applications.
Dear Oracle:
How can I create a graphic that works like your juke box? I am very interested
in creating a graphic with links to pages. Unlinked
Dear Unlinked:
We use a shareware utility called MapEdit that runs under Windows.(Tim does
all the mapping at the site).
Happy image mapping, Your Oracle
Dear Oracle: Your link to "Boxtop" for PhotoGif does
not exist. Do you know
where else I can get it. I would be forever in your debt, O Great
One, if you would reply.
Dear Gif-fer: Boxtop software recently moved their site.
They are busy working on the Windows version of their PhotoGif plug-in.
PhotoGif (currently only available for the mac) is available from the
following site:
http://aris.com/boxtop
BoxTop Software
PO Box 2347
Starkville, MS 39760-2347
(601) 324-7352
email: boxtop@aris.com
Your Oracle
Go to the Sketchbook