Adobe photoshop elements User Manual

Page of 296
CHAPTER 11
234
Optimizing Images for the Web
3
Select Transparency.
4
For GIF and PNG-8 format, decide how you 
want to treat partially transparent pixels in the 
original image. You can blend partially transparent 
pixels with a matte color, or you can create hard-
edged transparency. (See “Creating background 
matting in GIF and PNG images” on page 234 and 
“Creating hard-edged transparency in GIF and 
PNG-8 images” on page 234.)
Creating background matting in GIF and 
PNG images
When you know the Web page background color 
on which an image will be displayed, you can use 
the matting feature to fill or blend transparent 
pixels with a matte color that matches the Web 
page background.
The results of matting GIF and PNG-8 images 
depend on the Transparency option. If you select 
Transparency, only the partially transparent pixels, 
such as those at the edge of an anti-aliased image, 
are matted. When the image is placed on a Web 
page, the Web background shows through the 
transparent pixels, and the edges of the image 
blend with the background. This feature prevents 
the halo effect that results when an anti-aliased 
image is placed on a background color that differs 
from the image’s original background. This feature 
also prevents the jagged edges that result with GIF 
hard-edged transparency.
If you deselect Transparency, fully transparent 
pixels are filled with the matte color, and partially 
transparent pixels are blended with the 
matte color. 
GIF with Transparency option selected, and with Trans-
parency option deselected
To create a matted GIF or PNG image:
1
Open or create an image that contains 
transparency, and choose File > Save for Web. 
2
In the Save For Web dialog box, select GIF, 
PNG-8, or PNG-24 as the optimization format.
3
For GIF and PNG-8 format, select or deselect 
the Transparency option as desired.
4
Select a color from the Matte pop-up menu: 
Eyedropper (to use the color in the eyedropper 
sample box), White, Black, or Other (to select a 
color using the color picker).
Creating hard-edged transparency in GIF 
and PNG-8 images
When working with GIF or PNG-8 files, you can 
create hard-edged transparency, in which all pixels 
that are more than 50% transparent in the original 
image are fully transparent in the optimized 
image, and all pixels that are more than 50% 
opaque in the original image are fully opaque in