Lamkin
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I wasn't sure where to put this topic...
Basically, whenever I upload any PNG image for my avatar, the background (i.e., negative space, or essentially all of the portions of the box/square that aren't the image itself) is always an ugly black. Is there any way around this? (I'd like to make it white if at all possible.) This cloud avatar, for example, has a cool shadow underneath that can't currently be seen.

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[Last edited by Lamkin at 08-28-2008 02:02 AM]

Schik
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If the avatar is greater than 100x75 (I think...) the forum will automatically resize it, and probably loses all of the transparency information. Try resizing it yourself to 75x75 with something that understands transparency before uploading it.

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Lamkin
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I made the image 75 x 75, and it still didn't work (as you can see). I used a Mac which has a cool icon application called Pixadex (which says it saves the icon as a PNG file, preserving any transparency in the masking). I'll keep trying...
Thanks very much for the help.

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[Last edited by Lamkin at 08-28-2008 02:40 AM]

coppro
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I beg to differ... it's working fine.

Lamkin
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I'm wondering if you used a jpeg file...

Schik
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I'm with coppro, this version is working just fine for me.

I had to do a hard refresh, the old version was still cached.

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AlternativePuzzles
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Hmm, it now says: Avatar in the place of your picture. That's odd...

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Lamkin
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AlternativePuzzles wrote:
Hmm, it now says: Avatar in the place of your picture. That's odd...

You had me there for a second.

Schik
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Lamkin wrote:
You had me there for a second.

No, really. Neither IE7 nor Firefox 3 on Windows seem to show tiffs. The last PNG worked great though.

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Lamkin
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Dang...That's not good. Bad avatar or no avatar, I guess. (Perhaps I'll attempt to make it a jpeg file.)

coppro
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Lamkin wrote:
Dang...That's not good. Bad avatar or no avatar, I guess. (Perhaps I'll attempt to make it a jpeg file.)

The .PNG you had before this was displaying transparency properly. I see nothing now.

Lamkin
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Yeah, I was using Safari for Mac and it showed the TIFF file/image. IE and Netscape, however, don't show any image. Must...fix.

[Edit: It's either fix it or lie and say that "Goblin Avatar" is the highest rank one can attain.]

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[Last edited by Lamkin at 08-28-2008 03:18 AM]

Tim
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I'm sure GIF files are supported by all these browsers.
Why don't you use that?

Just in case, it's still not working.

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[Last edited by Tim at 08-28-2008 03:20 AM]

Lamkin
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When I attempt to modify, upload and submit my avatar, it will say, "Can't recognize that format. Please upload a jpeg or png."

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[Last edited by Lamkin at 08-28-2008 03:44 AM]

Tim
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Can you just attach your avatar here so that we can try transparanting it ourselves?

Edit: Not now though. It's way past my bedtime.

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[Last edited by Tim at 08-28-2008 03:33 AM]

Lamkin
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Tim wrote:
Can you just attach your avatar here so that we can try transparanting it ourselves?

If it works for all you guys, I'll just put the png image back up. However, in the meantime, I'll work on getting it in a jpeg format.
Thanks for everyone's help! I'd mod you all up if I had any available points.

[Edit: Is it working now? (I feel like the Verizon guy.)]

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[Last edited by Lamkin at 08-28-2008 03:44 AM]

AlternativePuzzles
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Oh yeah, it's working. I like your avatar. It's unusual, but I guess that can be said about all avatars.

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Jutt
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I think you should leave it as it is (png with alpha). A jpeg is not the best solution as jpegs don't support any form of transparency. And don't use gifs. No really, don't… don't…

Oh, and if you're using an older version of Internet Explorer; upgrading to IE7 fixes the png transparency issue.

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Briareos
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Jutt wrote:
Oh, and if you're using an older version of Internet Explorer; upgrading to IE7 fixes the png transparency issue.

Well, he's using a Mac, so he'd have to use a *REALLY* old version of IE...

@Lamkin: There's only a handful of file formats just about any browser can display; TIFF ain't one of them - JPG/PNG/GIF are where it's at. (Also, TIFF having oodles of subformats that are slightly different from each other doesn't help either...)

If it doesn't show correctly in Safari might I suggest uninstalling it if it can't get such basic things right? (NB: I hate Safari with a passion since trying it's abominable Windows version, so I could be biased...)

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[Last edited by Briareos at 08-28-2008 09:54 AM]

Lamkin
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Well, if the avatar is currently showing transparency, etc., and looking okay to you guys, then I'll keep it as it is, because somehow the avatar is also showing correctly now for me. (I'm using a png file sized to 75.)
Briareos is correct about the version of Internet Explorer I'd be forced to use, as it's version 5.2.3. I wish IE was updated for Mac, and that Safari worked better for Windows.
I am simply stunned at how helpful and responsive everyone here has been. Of course I realize that it's only an avatar (for crying out loud) but I'm working on an associate's degree in graphic design, so it would have bugged me more than most, I suppose.