Transparent Bitmap

Need some help badly

from Stardock Forums
I play a online game where players can upload a small bmp file. I've seen other players w/ transparent areas in their logos, so i decided to make one of my own. I've been trying to accomplish this for some time. From what I've read online, a transparent bmp is only possible using a 32bit bmp w/ a alpha channel. I've read some tutorials and guides that say how to make transparent Bmps but they don't work for me.

here is a link to the png version which i can make transparent.
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/1973/render2gm7.png
if you notice it is a white hand, w/ a transparent background, I need help making this image a BMP while preserving the transparency.

Thanks,
Sam
wincustomize
4,678 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
are you sure they're not uploading gif or png?
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Was not able to get the link to work, maybe a mod could help? Thanks
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

are you sure they're not uploading gif or png?


yes the game only accepts BMP, i tried uploading a PNG and GIF but it made my game crash.


Was not able to get the link to work, maybe a mod could help? Thanks


it works just i realise now that the hand is white and the background is transparent so in the browser it just like all white like its not there haha. Just highlight the top left of the window (small file 32x32) and save. Open it in photoshop b/c it has checkered back ground for transparency, then you can see the hand.

edit: made the url a link, so just right click and use "save as"
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Just learning corel, tried exporting as a bmp, but didn't work, may have done something wrong, will try with Ifranview. hmmm tried IfranView got warning....Someone will be along that can help...sorry, thought I would try though

It's My Secret
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
You need to have Photoshop, and this tutorial explains how to make a 32 bit bmp: WWW Link

It shows how to make a center "splash" for XP Logons, which require 32 bit bmps for transparency, but the technique would be the same for what you are trying to do.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
yes boss0190 that is one of the guides i found on how to make transparent bitmaps (and how i found these forums) but either i did it wrong or it doesn't work for what i'm trying to do. Anyone here successfully followed that guide? if so i could really use some pointers. cuz i could not figure it out for the life of me.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sphynx is a friend of mine, and he is the person that taught me how to make them for my logons, and then he put out that tut. It takes a bit of practice to do it right, but yes, it works.

Just make sure you use Photoshop. Other graphics programs will not save in true 32 bit format.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
i thought by definition a bmp does not have an alpha channel. DesktopX from Stardock uses a 'magic pink' color to define 'transparent' areas of a bitmap, but it is on the rendering side of the image the transparency is 'attached' and not inherent to the image.

Try finding out whether there is a color your game uses as a 'transparent color' then use that wherever on your bmp you want 'holes' to appear.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Sphynx is a friend of mine, and he is the person that taught me how to make them for my logons, and then he put out that tut. It takes a bit of practice to do it right, but yes, it works.

Just make sure you use Photoshop. Other graphics programs will not save in true 32 bit format.


I'm using photoshop, and when i add the alpha channel the hand is white and the transparent areas are black. And when i save it as a 32bit bmp i get a white square. So maybe i need help setting the opacity of the alpha layer?

Also if you have time i have a link (in my first post) to the PNG i'm trying to make a BMP, maybe you could give it a shot?


i thought by definition a bmp does not have an alpha channel. DesktopX from Stardock uses a 'magic pink' color to define 'transparent' areas of a bitmap, but it is on the rendering side of the image the transparency is 'attached' and not inherent to the image.

Try finding out whether there is a color your game uses as a 'transparent color' then use that wherever on your bmp you want 'holes' to appear.


i already looked into this, and i tried magic pink (255, 0, 255), green (0, 255, 0) and some other colors but they just showed up as the colors. If teh game has a color it renders as transparent i don't know what it is or how to find out. :X
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
skarnivorous, a normal 24 bit bmp does not have an alpha channel, but if you add one, you can get transparency. I use it in my logons because Logon Studio does not support transparency, unless you change the code in the uifile to use a 32 bit bmp, and adding an alpha channel will make it 32 bit.

In the alpha channel, black will be totally transparent, white will be opaque, and in between will be various levels of trans.

Sam, I'll take a look at your png and see what I can do.
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
many thanks boss0190, I've been working on this for some time and I am totally stumped.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah, I just tried lots of different ways, and while 32 bit bmps work in logons with transparency, they don't seem to as you want to use it.

I've never tried them as an icon, so I learned a bit too.

Does it say somewhere that you can only use a bmp for the game, or are you guessing because the game crashes when you try a png or gif?

I really don't have a clue, but good luck.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Yeah, I just tried lots of different ways, and while 32 bit bmps work in logons with transparency, they don't seem to as you want to use it.

I've never tried them as an icon, so I learned a bit too.

Does it say somewhere that you can only use a bmp for the game, or are you guessing because the game crashes when you try a png or gif?

I really don't have a clue, but good luck.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.


Thanks for trying i appreciate the help. It would seen if you could make a Bitmap transparent for you splash screen I would be able to do it for mine too. Oh yeah, In the game it says specially that they take only BMP, and doesn't allow you to add PNG or GIF, and if i rename those files to .bmp that causes the game to crash.

So if anyone else out there has some ideas i would greatly appreciate any help.

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top
if i rename those files to .bmp that causes the game to crash.


renaming doesn't work

it has to be converted - file > save as