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garconis
3k Points

105 Messages

 • 

3.8K Points

Tue, Jul 12, 2011 3:09 PM

Solved

Photoshop CS5: Opening Indexed Transparent PNG loses transparency

Opening a transparent PNG causes the transparency to be lost, and turn into a black background and with an Indexed Color Mode. This happens when I save the PNG from Chrome and open it in Photoshop. Same issue when dragging it from Firefox 5. Pretty sure there is a work around for this, but can't remember. When dragging from Firefox, it does keep the Alpha channel, but am still having issues getting the BG to be transparent like the original. File is here:



Edit: I finally got it by selecting the alpha channel in the file (the one that I open that has a black background), and I just filled the selection and deleted everything else. Not sure why I can't simply open/drag the file while maintaining the way it looks in a browser or Windows.

Edit 2: I was only able to do this by Dragging from Firefox into Photoshop. That's the only way I was able to open it with an Alpha channel.

Problems

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Updated 

a year ago

190

5

Responses

chris_cox_2148894

15.1K Messages

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195.8K Points

10 years ago

1) You're confusing alpha channels with transparency. You're talking about transparency here, and not alpha channels.

2) Photoshop opens transparent PNG just fine, but cannot currently open indexed color PNG files that have indexed transparency -- because it just doesn't fit with Photoshop's image modes.

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garconis

105 Messages

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3.8K Points

10 years ago

So, who ever created that "transparent" PNG, didn't export it with true transparency? Basically, I am rather surprised that while browsers and Windows can display that PNG image with the transparent background, Photoshop has trouble displaying it as one would expect it to (i.e., with the transparent background that it was intended to have).

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chris_cox_2148894

15.1K Messages

 • 

195.8K Points

It has indexed transparency, which very few image editors can work with. Photoshop will try to read it in as an indexed color image - but with only a single index transparent.

Like

10 years ago

0

tim_osborn

1 Message

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82 Points

9 years ago

What a nuisance! I've had to open in Fireworks and Save As PSD. I'd rather never have to open Fireworks (ie have it installed). More info: http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.co...

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flp_nm

1 Message

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100 Points

8 years ago

Here is a tip:

I used the pixlr (an online, simple and free image editor) to simply open the file, and save it again(it opens the image correctly, and offers the option to save in "png full quality" which saves the image with the correct transparency! Now, just reopen it in Photowhop and everything is ok ;)

ps.: weird that an online tool, made in flash, can open it and photoshop cannot!

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chris_cox_2148894

15.1K Messages

 • 

195.8K Points

Photoshop CS6 also opens indexed transparency PNG files correctly, and converts them to full RGB with transparency.

Like

8 years ago

0

howard_tayler

1 Message

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62 Points

I'm still on CS 5.1. Pixlr did the trick for me. Thank you!

Like

5 years ago

0

zoran_veli_kovi

1 Message

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62 Points

Flp NM - Well done, thanks !



Like

a year ago

0

peter_schwarz_5528319

6 Messages

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156 Points

8 years ago

How bout you finally integrated PNG8 Alpha-transparency in Photoshop? You know, this cutting edge technology that is already in the PNG 1.0 spec from 1996! Ever since I discovered it (and tinypng.org/pngquant, my makeshift solution!) i have *only* been using PNG8+Alpha!... But now I cannot open and edit these PNGs in Photoshop, cause it simply does not support it!.... btw, While you're at it: Why not update your quantizer to deliver results as good or even better than free websites (tinypng.org) or opensource-tools (pngquant)? If i remember right, that's been unchanged since Photoshop 5.5!... And in general your indexed color mode has been unchanged since Photoshop 3.0, possibly even earlier!.. Don't you think it's high time for a revamp? The HTML5 web *demands* proper transparency, and PNG32 is simply too large for most things!

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled
Photoshop: PNG8+Transparency.

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