How do you make graphics transparent in FMP?
Cerulean
how to do this. However, the help file and googling hasn't yielded
results.
I'm experienced in making icons, even tried copying over an image that
I'd made for FMP but made transparent in the icon editor but still,
always copies over with white background, dropping the transparency.
FMP6 doesn't support PNGs and other file formats with transparency,
yet the GIF import looked horrible.
I have tons of great icons that I've collected for FMP over the years
but I've never been able to modify them because I lose that
transparency that FMP supports after editing in any graphics editor.
So how is the magic done so that FMP allows graphics to have
transparent backgrounds?
Thanks! :oD
Howard Schlossberg
Windows side was always very iffy in FM6 and prior. But transparent
GIFs and PNGs are fully supported in FM7 forward.
Cerulean
<how...@nospam.fmprosolutions.com> wrote:
>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news again, but transparent images on the
>Windows side was always very iffy in FM6 and prior. But transparent
>GIFs and PNGs are fully supported in FM7 forward.
That's what is so puzzling. I've never been able to use my own
icons/graphics in FMP6 yet all my collection of buttons and such _do_
have transparent backgrounds.
I know how to work with transparencies, I apologize for the subject
line of this post as I see that that's not clear. It's not how to get
transparent background, it's how to get graphics with transparent
backgrounds _into_ FMP6!!!
I've been over and over many posts at a FMP forum and nothing is clear
on how to get graphics _IN_. Most all the ones dealing with
transparent graphics say INSERT > PICTURE but, as you mentioned, FMP6
is not only iffy re PNGs but it doesn't even come up as a file type
and it flat out refuses them.
Yet my hundreds and hundreds of button icons show that it most
definitely _CAN_ support transparencies as they _all_ have them in
FMP6!
So, how is it done? I've not worked on FMP lately a lot due to
various issues and concerns but I'd like to use this software rather
than have it continue languishing. And a project I've been working on
over the last 2 years just would be easier to get done in FMP than
anything else. But the minute I start working in it, sooner or later
I run into this transparency problem. I'd like to fix this once and
for all.
So my question still stands on how to "import" or whatever buttons and
icons into FMP6 so that they retain transparency? Even the GIFs get
it wiped out on import and I end up with a white background!! Okay
when the rest is white but that is usually not the case.
Thanks. Appreciate any help. FMP6 is what I have and I'd prefer not
to spend more money when I have an otherwise perfectly good app in
v6. <g>
Your Name
file is transferred to Windows, but I don't know about newer FileMaker
versions or files created under Windows.
With a decent image processor application, you can select the image and then
deselct the background. Photoshop for exmaple has a 'selection wand' and
holding down a key turns it into a 'deselection wand'. That "image-only"
selection can then be simply copy-pasted across into FileMaker (either
directly on a Layout or into a Container field) with the unselected part
remaining transparent.
I have actually recently had a transparent background problem for some
button images in Mac OS X and FileMaker 9, even using the above method, but
didn't have time to look into the why and how to fix it.
BUT,
the real problem is when making that image into a Button. FileMaker
basically insists on having square buttons, no matter what shape your image
is or its transparency. The only way around this is to use FileMaker's
in-built drawing tools (rectangle, lines, etc.) to draw a button "mask" that
is similar in shape to your image. Then Group the separate drawing elements
into one object and define the Group as the button. You can then either hide
the Group behind the image, and / or make the line and fille colours of the
Group transparent so that the real Button is not seen.
Helpful Harry :o)
Cerulean
wrote:
>This works in older versions of FileMaker on Mac OS "Classic" and when that
>file is transferred to Windows, but I don't know about newer FileMaker
>versions or files created under Windows.
>
>With a decent image processor application, you can select the image and then
>deselct the background. Photoshop for exmaple has a 'selection wand' and
>holding down a key turns it into a 'deselection wand'. That "image-only"
>selection can then be simply copy-pasted across into FileMaker (either
>directly on a Layout or into a Container field) with the unselected part
>remaining transparent.
I was so amazed when I understood this entire thing, right off the
bat!! <lol> However, wish that my holding my breath to see the
outcome had produced positive results <sigh>. No go!
I have Paint Shop Pro, similar enough in intent to PS, and selected
the image in question. I inversed the selection so that only the
image itself was surrounded by marching ants and then I clicked on the
option to remove selection parts and proceeded to click on the
circles/spaces inside closed letters (like the enclosed parts of "d"
and "a", etc.) so that _only_ the image and text themselves were
selected (the "de-selection" you mention <g>). Then I copy-pasted
that pared-down selection into the Layout of my solution. First time
trial worked and carried the transparency, but the image was horribly
degraded! And then after that, different trials brought back the
white background for whatever insane reason and I was stuck again
_with_ an unwanted background and _horrible_ image degradation!
<sigh>
The problem lies in that inserted GIFs also give horrible results most
of the time yet FMP doesn't seem to support inserting PNGs. At any
rate, perhaps this is something that is fixable, though. Besides not
having PNGs as one of the file types listed when inserting, when I
ignore that and try to insert anyway, here's the error I get:
' "Icon.png" could not be imported. The required filter could
not be located or is installed incorrectly.'
Could this be the root of the problem or is it just that FMP6
absolutely does not support PNGs?
Thanks! :oD
Your Name
"Cerulean" <Spam...@NOTallowed.com> wrote in message
news:qbn975p5lkgk295u6...@4ax.com...
Unfortunately images using anti-aliasing to "smooth" out edges will need to
be drawn on the same background colour as you are going to paste them onto
... which largely defeats the reason of making them have transparent
backgrounds anyway.
If the buttons are going on a patterned background in FIleMaker, then you
can often get away with using the predominent colour as the image's
background to be made transparent, but may have to carefully position the
images in FileMaker.
> yet FMP doesn't seem to support inserting PNGs. At any
> rate, perhaps this is something that is fixable, though. Besides not
> having PNGs as one of the file types listed when inserting, when I
> ignore that and try to insert anyway, here's the error I get:
>
> ' "Icon.png" could not be imported. The required filter could
> not be located or is installed incorrectly.'
>
> Could this be the root of the problem or is it just that FMP6
> absolutely does not support PNGs?
>
> Thanks! :oD
I'm not sure about the other graphic formats - I always use TIFF images,
although if I know the database is going on an older / slower computer I do
often drop the number of colours down to as a few as possible before doing
the copy / paste.
FileMaker (or at least the older versions) do have problems with images, for
example often ignoring the resolution and printing ugly blocky images when
the original was a print resolution image.
Helpful Harry :o)
Cerulean
wrote:
>
>"Cerulean" <Spam...@NOTallowed.com> wrote in message
>news:qbn975p5lkgk295u6...@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 11:17:59 +1200, "Your Name" <your...@isp.com>
>> wrote:
[snip]
>FileMaker (or at least the older versions) do have problems with images, for
>example often ignoring the resolution and printing ugly blocky images when
>the original was a print resolution image.
>
>Helpful Harry :o)
But my original question still stands, how come the collection of
hundreds of graphic images that I have culled from button resources
over many years _all_ have transparent backgrounds?? How were they
dealt with? Some of these collections date back from even before I
got my FMP6 by a few years. Obviously, a lot of someones managed this
task and managed it quite well, judging by the many button and image
collections that I've found and then incorporate into my own main one.
In the meantime, I learned about formatting a group as a button which
may be the only way I can go for now. Everytime I use a newly created
"icon", I save it to my button/graphics resource file and those I may
not be able to save, intact <sigh>. But until someone comes along
knowing how all those graphics were handled perfectly in older
verisons of FMP and can describe the process, that's all I can do, I
guess <sigh>. It seems very odd to me, though, that even with the
graphics tools at my disposal that I've never been able to get this to
work. Very odd <g>.
Thanks. :oD
Your Name
"Cerulean" <Spam...@NOTallowed.com> wrote in message
> On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 16:02:18 +1200, "Your Name" <your...@isp.com>
> wrote:
> >"Cerulean" <Spam...@NOTallowed.com> wrote in message
> >news:qbn975p5lkgk295u6...@4ax.com...
> >> On Sun, 2 Aug 2009 11:17:59 +1200, "Your Name" <your...@isp.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> >FileMaker (or at least the older versions) do have problems with images,
for
> >example often ignoring the resolution and printing ugly blocky images
when
> >the original was a print resolution image.
>
> hundreds of graphic images that I have culled from button resources
> over many years _all_ have transparent backgrounds?? How were they
> dealt with? Some of these collections date back from even before I
> got my FMP6 by a few years. Obviously, a lot of someones managed this
> task and managed it quite well, judging by the many button and image
> collections that I've found and then incorporate into my own main one.
>
> In the meantime, I learned about formatting a group as a button which
> may be the only way I can go for now. Everytime I use a newly created
> "icon", I save it to my button/graphics resource file and those I may
> not be able to save, intact <sigh>. But until someone comes along
> knowing how all those graphics were handled perfectly in older
> verisons of FMP and can describe the process, that's all I can do, I
> guess <sigh>. It seems very odd to me, though, that even with the
> graphics tools at my disposal that I've never been able to get this to
> work. Very odd <g>.
>
> Thanks. :oD
The buttons you've (and I) have collected were probably drawn on the
appropriate colour background so that the anti-aliasing works, e.g. images
drawn on a white background will look fine on light grey backgrounds too. It
should be noted that this isn't really a FileMaker problem - you'll get the
same difficulty using anti-aliased GIF images on web pages with the "wrong"
background colour.
But FileMaker does seem to have a problem processing transparent images ...
at least in newer versions (although converting older files retains the
transparency) and apparently when using Windows. Of course, since Macs are
the "graphic" computers, the original button makers may well have all been
using Macs. ;o)
Helpful Harry :o)
Cerulean
wrote:
Now, they're transparent, all right! <g> I used to use them straight
out of the FP5 files I dl, but a few years back, I took one of those
photo collection databases and modified it enough to dump my images
in. Then like before, I copy them on to all sorts of coloured
backgrounds. I never have a white background, you see. I always use
coloured. That's what has always stumped me. Each and every one of
these irregular images works on any coloured background, retaining its
transparency. That what stumps me this thread, too. I can't get an
answer, which is puzzling. And I've searched and search through the
forums, one in particular, and there's not a straight answer in any of
those, either.
Obviously it is possible, so many different collections of irregular
images support that. How was it done?? That's what I'm not dying to
know <lol>.
>But FileMaker does seem to have a problem processing transparent images ...
>at least in newer versions (although converting older files retains the
>transparency) and apparently when using Windows. Of course, since Macs are
>the "graphic" computers, the original button makers may well have all been
>using Macs. ;o)
You think that may be the reason? All of them??? I wonder. If it
were a handful of collections and if all the files I've dl throughout
the users all used white backgrounds, I might be inclined to believe
you but odds are that that can't explain the enormous number of images
w/transparency.
Well, nothing I can do to fix this one, yet again. I've tried
throughout the years on my own and this is the first time I asked for
help. Looks like it's one that's not got an answer right now (or the
people who know just don't happen to be hanging around ngs or forums!
<g>).
Thanks. :oD
>Helpful Harry :o)
Cerulean
wrote:
Looks like only solution is a "new" feature for me. I'll make my
composite images out of the ones I have as per normal (all of which
have transparent backgrounds, btw), by cobbling them together via the
format as buttons feature. I don't know this before, believe it or
not <g>. At least this way, when I need to assign a new script or
change something, I won't run into the problem I have always had in
the past that FMP doesn't like grouping buttons together when one has
a script attached. At least via the format as button way, this is
better and the composite image acts as if it were all one image.
In my FMP6, this "format as button" is done via:
FORMAT > BUTTON > assign script
Thanks to everyone for their help! :oD
Howard Schlossberg
> Obviously it is possible, so many different collections of irregular
> images support that. How was it done?? That's what I'm not dying to
> know <lol>.
It's been a long time since my FM6 days, but I recall it had to be a
particular GIF format and something had to be tweaked on the layers in
Photoshop, and perhaps it had to be done on Photoshop on a Mac (not sure
about this last one; I just know I always had a Mac person do it for me
when it needed doing).
Cerulean
Interesting. And limited <g>. Wonder what the FMP people were
thinking if this was truly the case.
Good thing I have my large collections and continue to find more,
that's for sure! <lol>