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GIF
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Transparent GIF
Means an image file where part of it is transparent. An example would be a round button. The
actual graphic is a square or rectangle so it has some sort of background color around the button, but if you want to make that
area transparent you can do that with a GIF.
Interlaced
Interlacing allows a GIF image to come on the screen faster by loading a low resolution file first
then building on that image until the full resolution file is visible.
How to create a GIF
You have decided your image should be saved in the GIF format because
it is a spot colored image, (Adobe's Gif or JPEG chart)
or you want it to have a
transparent background, or you want it to be part of an animated GIF.
The following steps will lead you through the process of saving an image as a GIF using Adobe Photoshop 3.
- Go to "Image" then "Adjust" then "Posterize" and set to a maximum of 16 colors.
- When satisfied with the image select "OK"
- Select "Mode" then "Index Color".
Make sure "Palette" equals "Adaptive" and "Dither" equals "None" (see screen capture below).
If you "Posterized" the image earlier in step 1, then the colors should list less than 256.
Remember the smaller the number the smaller the file size.
Be careful not to go so low you lose the quality of the image.
- To save your file you will need to export it through the GIF89a Plugin, go to the menu "File" then select "Export" then "GIF89a".
- Select areas you want transparent by using the eyedropper tool.
- Make sure "Interlace" is checked
- When you are finished click on "OK"
- Save the image to the "images" folder on your harddrive
- Make sure the file has the .gif extension
If you do not get the GIF89a window shown above, check to make sure your image is in Index Color (under "Mode").
Reminder: JPEG = RGB Color
GIF = Index Color
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