Make placed JPEG color transparent in Illustrator CS2/3

I've been using CorelDRAW! for years and want to learn to use Illustrator CS2 and CS3.
In CorelDRAW I can import (place) a simple bitmap images, such as a JPEG, and I can select and make transparent any color in the image. An example would be to bring in an image that has a white area, select the white color with the eyedropper tool and then use a slider to change the opacity of the white. It's much simpler to do than to describe it!
I've searched the Adobe web site, asked some "experts" I know and also spent a few hours searching the web. It seems that there is no such capability built into Illustrator.
The only way I've been able to accomplish this task is to open the image with Photoshop, select the white area and make it a separate layer, then save it as a native Photoshop file, then import it into Illustrator.
The only thing annoying about this procedure is now I need an additional copy of a bitmap file.
Thanks,
WK

Kurt Gold,
Thanks for the definitive answer, it still seems strange to me that this function is not in Illustrator. Oh well, life goes on.
Yes, CorelDraw's function is indeed called "Bitmap Color Mask."
/no flame for Bert Philippus/
Where O' Where is this information in the FM? ;-)
/no flame, no blame/
Thanks,
WK

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Jacob Bugge wrote:
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OK, a quick progress report...
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Mylenium, Thank you for your on-point explanation of why the markups don't import into Illustrator. Based on your input, I did some digging and discovered:
I can export the Acrobat "Comments" (text highlights, but not markups?) to a FDF file
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/pro/using/WS40A4853E-0D48-46a6-8AB6-6B9A27A22D83.html
and then optionally re-import them to another PDF, including a blank document (with the same dimensions to maintain registration) or the final output file. I can then open the PDF (that contains the comments only) using Photoshop and save as a PSD file. Photoshop captures the text highlight color graphic without the white background or text so I am able to achieve transparency. I can then "Place" the Photoshop file as an object on its own layer in the Illustrator construction file as either an embed object or a linked object, but I tend to link for a number of workflow reasons.
Quite clunky, but it seems to maintain exact registration (although for some reason, whenever I place an object in either Illustrator or Photoshop I need to move (transform) the object corner to 0,0 because it is typically off by a pixel or 2). Not sure if there is a way to also export PDF "Markups", but my objective was to use Acrobat's highlighting tools combined with Illustrator's vector graphic tools for markups, so even if I can only export the Acrobat text highlights and not the "Markups", I can still achieve my objective.
From a work flow perspective, I may optionally choose to use the text highlights only as a reference in the Illustrator construction file and turn them off when saving back to PDF. I would then import the text highlights (FDF file) into the final PDF so they are actual Acrobat highlights rather than raster objects, but I do have the option.
I have also noted that I can print an Acrobat file to PDF to capture the text highlights, but that method introduces problems with registration and transparency (the white paper background). I'll often print my final output to PDF rather than saving to achieve a small flat file that will render consistently on different computers, but in this case registration is important so it is better to save to PDF and live with the larger files size.
Why all the fuss? Acrobat is good at highlighting text and Illustrator is good at drawing stuff like curvy paths with variable strokes. Illustrator also has layers and stacking order control. (Acrobat has clunky wannabe layers that are good for limited stuff like multiple versions, but not much help with graphic composition or stacking order). I need workflows that can merge tools from multiple programs (Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, Autocad, and Solidworks). I could do my vector markups in Illustrator, then save to PDF and do the highlights in the final Acrobat file, but if I need to change the vector graphics later I would lose the highlights. Doing the highlights in a separate PDF file and then exporting to a FDF file lets me make changes in Illustrator without having to recreate the highlights from scratch.
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Make placed JPEG color transparent in Illustrator CS2/3

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