Transparency - 8bit w/ alpha vs. 32bit

Hi, we are designing a pretty graphics heavy site right now. It's a very rough, organic design, and uses transparency quite a bit (mostly solid color boxes letting the background texture show through a bit).
So we know we'll have to do some serious optimization to make sure this site isn't a complete slug. We plan on using sprites as much as possible. But we need to figure out how to approach all the transparency.
- Can anyone verify from experience the file-size savings you would get if saving relatively simple graphics (mostly solid tones, large color blocks, type, etc.) with transparency as 8bit w/ alpha transparency vs. full 32bit??
We are not really concerned about the IE6 compatibility aspect of it, just the file-size savings part.
The main reason for the question is that the design is done in Illustrator CS4 and we would love to just export the slices from there. Illustrator does support full 32bit PNGs (calls it PNG-24 of course). But we do have a copy of Fireworks CS4 that we don't use too much. Just want to make sure it will be worth all the effort of properly bringing all the elements in from Illustrator and making sure nothing gets messed up in the migration.
THANKS!

Thanks. We did end up using Fireworks to create a large sprite of all the Home page background elements (some will be used elsewhere). We were able to get a roughly 1800px square file with the equivalent of what would have been 34 individual grahpics saved as one 100kb image sprite! Considering all elements had partial opacity, and a lot had soft glows and/or drop-shadows, that's a HUGE savings!
UNFORTUNATELY, Fireworks CS4 slowed to an absolute crawl on my ol' G5 Dual 2Ghz Mac Pro (with 6GB RAM). Even just selecting and element would cause a few seconds of spinning beachball. So I had to 'borrow' my bosses newer MacBook Pros to get anything done (not ideal!). And even with that, I had to install a demo of Fireworks CS5 for it to really work without a lot of delays.
And the Illustrator CS4 file DID NOT come in very nicely either. I pretty much had to rebuild most of it from scratch. According to the Adobe documentation, most everything I was doing 'should' have come in fine (I wasn't really doing anything that was listed as not compatible). Nice in theory...
It's too bad Fireworks seems to be Adobes ugly stepchild that doesn't get much attention. If they fixed performance and import issues, added a useful color/swatches implementation (from Illustrator/InDesign), and added at least simple paragraph/character styles (again - Illustrator/InDesign), we would definitely love to use this for website comps and graphics creation instead of Illustrator. But for now, unless we absolutely need Fireworks' 8-bit PNGs w/ alpha-transparency, we'll stick with Illustrator. It's too bad, I'm originally a Macromedia guy and was using Fireworks back in v.2/3.

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Problem with a method to modify the transparency of a Label UILabel

HI
I Have create a small project which can modify the brightness ( or the transparency ) of a label
UIlabel
So the code
File .m
ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.m
Code :
Code:
*// ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.m*
*// Control Box Cooke*
*// Created by Bruno on 1/11/10.*
*// Copyright _MyCompanyName_ 2010. All rights reserved.*
*#import "SerialManager.h"*
*#import "ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.h"*
*#import "PickerViewController.h"*
*#include <fcntl.h>*
*#include "Led.h"*
*@implementation ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate*
*@synthesize window;*
*- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {*
*// Override point for customization after application launch*
*[window makeKeyAndVisible];*
//RootViewController.m
*- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {*
* pvController = [[PickerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"pickerview"/@"MainWindow"*//@"Control Box Cooke"//*@"PickerView"/ bundle:[NSBundle mainBundle]];*
* Led_Operateur= [[Led alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(20,50,280,20)];*
* Led_Operateur.text=@" ";*
* [Led_Operateur setBackgroundColor: [ UIColor colorWithWhite:1.0 alpha: 0.5]];*
* [pvController.view addSubview:Led_Operateur];*
* [window addSubview:pvController.view];*
* // Override point for customization after application launch*
* [window makeKeyAndVisible];*
*- (void)dealloc {*
* [Led_Operateur release];*
* [pvController release];*
*[window release];*
*[super dealloc];*
-(void)Modifie_luma:(CGFloat)luma
* pvController = [[PickerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"pickerview" bundle:[NSBundle mainBundle]];*
* Led_Operateur= [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(20,50,280,20)];*
* Led_Operateur.text=@" ";*
* [Led_Operateur setBackgroundColor: [ UIColor colorWithWhite:1.0 alpha: luma]];*
* [pvController.view addSubview:Led_Operateur];*
* [window addSubview:pvController.view];*
* [window makeKeyAndVisible];*
@end
file.h
Code :
Code:
*// ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.h*
*// Control Box Cooke*
*// Created by Bruno on 1/11/10.*
*// Copyright _MyCompanyName_ 2010. All rights reserved.*
*#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>*
*#import "SerialManager.h"*
*#import "led.h"*
*@class PickerViewController;*
*@interface ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate : NSObject <UIApplicationDelegate> {*
*UIWindow window;
* PickerViewController pvController;
* SerialManager portCunima;
* int portin,portout; // numero de port de com in-out*
* UILabel Led_Operateur;
-(void)Modifie_luma:(CGFloat)luma;
*@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIWindow window;
@end
To the initialization no problem my label UILabel display itself very well with the transparency
of 50% ( alpha=0.5)
But when I modify this transparency with a button, in my window iPhone
the program call the method Modifie_Luma witch is the class
ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate
the program go on to this method, (I have fixe a breakpoint) but impossible to various this transparency.
So if I change in method (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching
the transparency
example alpha =0,5 => alpha =0,8
Code :
Code:
* [Led_Operateur setBackgroundColor: [ UIColor colorWithWhite:1.0 alpha: 0.8]];*
this example go on
resume
when I change the transparency in the method
(void)applicationDidFinishLaunching it 's OK
when I change the transparency in the method
-(void)Modifie_luma it's not OK
Have you an explanation ?

So the code , sorry but no marker for the code in post
How do you do ?
// ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.h
// Control Box Cooke
// Created by Bruno on 1/11/10.
// Copyright _MyCompanyName_ 2010. All rights reserved.
#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>
#import "SerialManager.h"
#import "led.h"
@class PickerViewController;
@interface ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate : NSObject <UIApplicationDelegate> {
UIWindow *window;
PickerViewController *pvController;
SerialManager *portCunima;
int portin,portout; // numero de port de com in-out
UILabel *Led_Operateur;
-(void)Modifie_luma:(CGFloat)luma;
@property (nonatomic, retain) IBOutlet UIWindow *window;
@end
// ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.m
// Control Box Cooke
// Created by Bruno on 1/11/10.
// Copyright _MyCompanyName_ 2010. All rights reserved.
#import "SerialManager.h"
#import "ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate.h"
#import "PickerViewController.h"
#include <fcntl.h>
#include "Led.h"
@implementation ControlBoxCookeAppDelegate
@synthesize window;
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {
// Override point for customization after application launch
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
//RootViewController.m
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {
pvController = [[PickerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"pickerview"/@"MainWindow"*//@"Control Box Cooke"//*@"PickerView"/ bundle:[NSBundle mainBundle]];
Led_Operateur= [[Led alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(20,50,280,20)];
Led_Operateur.text=@" ";
[Led_Operateur setBackgroundColor: [ UIColor colorWithWhite:1.0 alpha: 0.5]];
[pvController.view addSubview:Led_Operateur];
[window addSubview:pvController.view];
Led *ZoneA;
CGRect Dimension;
ZoneA = [[Led alloc]initWithFrame:Dimension];
[pvController.view addSubview:ZoneA];
[window addSubview:pvController.view];
[ZoneA Modifie_luma:0.5];
[ZoneA release];
// Override point for customization after application launch
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
Led *Led1;
CGRect frame;
Led1=[[Led alloc] initWithFrame:frame];
[pvController.view addSubview:Led1];
[window addSubview:pvController.view];
[Led1 release];
[label release];
[Error_message release];
[path_port release];
- (void)dealloc {
[Led_Operateur release];
[pvController release];
[window release];
[super dealloc];
-(void)Modifie_luma:(CGFloat)luma
pvController = [[PickerViewController alloc] initWithNibName:@"pickerview" bundle:[NSBundle mainBundle]];
Led_Operateur= [[UILabel alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(20,50,280,20)];
Led_Operateur.text=@" ";
[Led_Operateur setBackgroundColor: [ UIColor colorWithWhite:1.0 alpha: luma]];
[pvController.view addSubview:Led_Operateur];
[window addSubview:pvController.view];
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
@end

PNG premultiplied Alpha

Has anyone come up with a solution for exporting PNGs with premultiplied alpha?
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Hello Mr Cox,
Thank You for your reply.
Chris Cox wrote:
PNGs are not premultiplied, and are saved as straight color/alpha from Photoshop.
PNG does not support alpha channels, only transparency.
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I understand that transparency and alpha channels are different thing, but I want to make files transparent and with alpha channels.
If PNG is not premultiplied why video export has an option to premultiply PNG alpha with black/other color? Its really confusing!
What I have been doing to this day:
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Programmer i work with says that the files I gave him worked like premultiplied alpha pngs, he wrote custom scripts and shaders and he says that these were ok. I am really confused now.
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I have created a desktop Estimating program written in Java. One feature (measuring off drawings onscreen) requires a transparent window sitting over the drawing on which the user clicks the start and end points of the item to measure. I make the window transparent using the alpha component of the Color() class (e.g. setBackground(new Color(0,0,255,30))).
This works perfectly when running on a single/multiple screen on a macintosh running OS X, but the window does not appear transparent on PC's running Windows.
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edit: [http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/GUI/translucent_shaped_windows/]

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Hi,
I'm currently trying to implement some kind of message box that can fade in and out. This message box is a subclass of JComponent, the message it contains can be an arbitrary Swing-Component.
The message container and the message itself have the same background color. When fading, the (partly transparent) colors of the of the container and the message are added, which I do not want.
Here are two images to illustrate my problem:
What I have: http://www.inf.tu-dresden.de/~ab023578/javaforum/reality.gif
What I want: http://www.inf.tu-dresden.de/~ab023578/javaforum/wish.gif
Here is the code:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Main {
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                g2d.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
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        jpBack.setLayout(null);
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        jpContainer.setBackground(Color.RED);
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        jpMessage.setBackground(Color.RED);
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        jpContainer.add(jpMessage);
        jpMessage.add(jlMessage);
        jpContainer.setBounds(10, 10, 120, 100);
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        frame.setContentPane(jpBack);
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}I understand that the Porter-Duff-Rule SRC_OVER causes the container to be drawn over the message (or vice versa) and both of them over the background. I think what I need is a way to handle the whole jpContainer-Panel and all its subcomponents as a single source image. Is that possible?

Thank you for your answer, Sarcommand. Unfortunately the test program I provided is a bit too simple as your solution works here but not for my original problem. :|
Let me explain what I want to achieve and why.
I'm writing a tool for algorithm visualisation. Currently I am dealing with a parsing algorithm (having compontents such as an automaton with an input tape, output tape and a stack). Those components (containers) can contain multiple JComponents (GraphicalObjects), which display a BufferedImage that can be altered during the animation.
I want to create my message windows the same way. A container that contains GraphicalObjects (or, if necessary, any other Swing component). One GraphicalObject has a very limited field of responsibility: mereley displaying its information.
Aligning the GraphicalObject is one of the container's responsibilities.
What I'm currently trying to do is to put my GraphicalMessage into the center of a container, leaving an offset on the left/right/upper/lower side. This is why I need the same background color for both the GraphicalMessage and the MessageContainer, I don't want the user to see that there are actually two JComponents on top of each other.
While I could use another approach for text messages I prefer this one as I would be able to fade arbitrary Containers and their GraphicalObjects .
Here is the code:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
public class Main {
    static float transparency = 0f;
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        JPanel jpBack = new JPanel() {
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                g2d.setColor(getBackground());
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                g2d.setComposite(alpha);
                g2d.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
                super.paintComponent(g);
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        jpBack.setLayout(null);
        JPanel jpContainer = new JPanel();
        jpContainer.setBackground(Color.RED);
        jpContainer.setLayout(null);
        GraphicalMessage msg = new GraphicalMessage();
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        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setContentPane(jpBack);
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class GraphicalMessage extends JComponent {
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    private Graphics2D ig2d;
    private BufferedImage image;
    public GraphicalMessage() {
        setLayout(null);
        image = new BufferedImage(100, 50, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
        ig2d = image.createGraphics();
        ig2d.setColor(Color.BLACK);
        ig2d.setBackground(Color.RED);
        ig2d.setFont(new Font("Courier New", Font.BOLD, 20));
        updateInternalContent();
        redraw();
    public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        super.paintComponent(g);
        Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D)g;
        g2d.drawImage(image, 0, 0, null);
    public void redraw() {
        ig2d.clearRect(0, 0, image.getWidth(), image.getHeight());
        ig2d.drawString(text, 0, 20);
    public void updateInternalContent() {
        text = String.valueOf((int)(Math.random() * 10000));
}A possibility to erase the text from the BufferedImage without having to draw a rectangle would help me as well.

Loading transparent swf through swf REFdn3005773759

How to load a swf from another swf (I mean, from another AS code, not from html code), in order to be transparent? What properties should I have in loaded swf and how should I load it in order to be transparent?
With word transparent, I mean, the color of the stage of the loaded swf must be transparent.
Also, with this way of load, it is possible to play with “alpha” property?

Hi, thank you for your reply.
I did it, I work now with SWFLoader, but the stage still remains not transparent. Bellow is the mxml code of the loaded swf.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute" width="598" height="200" cornerRadius="20" >
<mx:Image width="128" height="130" scaleContent="true" x="10" y="10">
    <mx:source>http://www.infodyn.com/images/info_invent_main_logo_300.jpg</mx:source>
</mx:Image>
<mx:Canvas x="146" y="10" width="444" height="180" backgroundColor="#646464" borderStyle="solid" borderThickness="3" borderColor="#CECECE">
    <mx:Label x="10" y="10" text="Info" fontFamily="Arial" fontSize="34" color="#BFBFBF"/>
    <mx:Label x="10" y="50" text="constructions" fontFamily="Arial" fontSize="18" color="#BFBFBF"/>
</mx:Canvas>
</mx:Application>
I do not apply any background color (I think so). Note that the Canvas is a simple container that doesn't cover the whole stage!
Here is the code where I load the swf:
          aboutInfo = new SWFLoader();
          aboutInfo.load("form_about_info.swf");
          aboutInfo.alpha=50;
          aboutInfo.addEventListener(MouseEvent.CLICK, HandleCloseAboutInfo);
          mxmlApp.addChild(aboutInfo);
The swf is loaded and appeared succefully but the its stage is not transparent.
The "alpha" also didn't work at all!
I am working Adobe Flex Builder 3, the colors of the Stage of the loaded swf is the default blue color. Where does this color defined?
Best regards
Dn

Transparency - 8bit w/ alpha vs. 32bit

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