Transparent Background - Engraving Etc. Forum

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	7 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	20 of 40

6095.20 In reply to 6095.19

Yes, big file. But you could have posted it and then removed it. I brought it into CD9 and saved it. Over 3.6 Meg. Great resolution.

It should be by you already. The instructions on how to do it are in a second Email, just in case your server dumps big files without notification. (Many do.)

EDIT: I forgot to mask it, duh.

I tried to upload it to a special area of the forum and it did not get there.
I will have to try to do it a different way and post it so you can download it.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

EDITED: 7 Mar 2007 by HARVEY-ONLY

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	7 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	21 of 40

6095.21 In reply to 6095.19

OK! I uploaded it directly into the forum. Let me know when you pick it up, it is now 8.5 Meg, (1,000 DPI).

http://engravingetc.org/Harvey/upload/04.cpt

Right click, 'Save target as...'.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	7 Mar 2007
To:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	22 of 40

6095.22 In reply to 6095.21

Hi Harvey ... thanks for dooing that .... now, the only question(s) is(are):
1. How do I get that do that stage with x-3?
2. After I downloaded the image, and imported it into either Corel Draw or Corel Paint, at first in the 'preview' mode I can see the image with the mask over it in Corel Paint or the whole image in Corel Draw. However, after I actually import it (using the cpt filter) I only get a empty box. What is with that?

Thanks

John

John
John & Alexa Montgomey
Lakeshore Engraving

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	7 Mar 2007
To:	Carl (CSEWELL)	24 of 40

6095.24 In reply to 6095.23

Carl explained it right.

Cursewords! I forgot to invert the mask, getting senile.

Open it with Paint, invert the mask and resave it. Then it will come into Draw they way you want it. (Did the tough stuff, forgot the simplest one.)

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	7 Mar 2007
To:	Carl (CSEWELL)	25 of 40

6095.25 In reply to 6095.23

Hi Carl ... thanks for offering your feedback to this thread ... I really appreciate your comments and I especially enjoy looking and utilizing your interesting macros you offer in Corel Draw.
When i imported Harvey's file into CorelPaint as you suggested and select all objects (masks) and then invert the mask and then save it as a cpt file then open it into Corel Draw it comes in as two objects: image and the background mask which i then ungroup and then delete the background mask and yes, it removes the background mask but unfortunately the mask still has a lot of background white space in it. I am still needing the steps to be sucessful in this process with X-3.

Thanks for your time...

John
John & Alexa Montgomey
Lakeshore Engraving

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	7 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	26 of 40

6095.26 In reply to 6095.25

Bring the file in as it was. Go to 'Mask/Invert', (or CTRL+SHIFT+I in ver 9).

Now save it. All you want is that automatic mask. It will import into Corel as a single masked object.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	7 Mar 2007
To:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	27 of 40

6095.27 In reply to 6095.24
quote: invert the mask, getting senile. Harvey, I have looked and looked and looked under the tool bar, in options, in dockers, in masks, in effects,....and I"m sorry, I simply cannot find invert>mask>getting senile. Can you point me in the right direction? Thanks

From:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	7 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	28 of 40

6095.28 In reply to 6095.22

John,

Having not seen the original graphic I cannot help, but I would suggest you contact Pradhan Balter. I am certian he will know the answer. He is very amiable to helping folks...especially those involved in ARA.

You can contact him at pradhanATretlabgraphicsDOTcom.

Mention my name if you need to.

From:	UncleSteve	7 Mar 2007
To:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	29 of 40

6095.29 In reply to 6095.27
quote: I simply cannot find invert>mask>getting senile That's because it is only in the earlier versions.... they forgot to put it in the newer versions..... (devil) "Good friends can be a real annoyance."

From:	Carl (CSEWELL)	8 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	30 of 40

6095.30 In reply to 6095.25
quote: thanks for offering your feedback to this thread You're welcome. I don't have X3 so I can't help you there. Is should be as simple as picking the magic wand tool and then clicking on the area that you want unmasked. You can play with the tolerance on the property bar and click again to see if you can improve the results. You can hold down CTRL and click to add to the mask or use Shift to do the opposite. Playing with it and observing the results is your best bet. It may take a while to understand what is happening. The stuff in red will not be displayed if you save the file and then open it in CorelDraw. Harvey's original file had what you wanted to keep in red. The background should have been in red (ie masked). If you used the original file and then selected Mask>Invert, that should have corrected the problem you were having. If you had saved Harvey's original file, that would change things. Go back and download his file again if it is available. There are times that I just resort to manually cropping the image (ie using the paint brush to make the background white). Depending on which brush you use, you can create a feathered edge around the image that can produce some interesting results. That same or a similar result can be achieved by feathering the mask also. Thanks for the comment about the macros. Sometimes the lack of comments, good or bad, are discouraging. But people are downloading them so maybe they are getting used. They sure do make my life easier.... well, the using them part, not the programming them part. Carl Guntersville Laser Engraving Guntersville, AL http://www.GuntersvilleLaser.com

From:	Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY)	8 Mar 2007
To:	Carl (CSEWELL)	32 of 40

6095.32 In reply to 6095.31

Thank you Carl.

Maybe the others did not install Service Pack 1945.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

From:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	8 Mar 2007
To:	Carl (CSEWELL)	34 of 40

6095.34 In reply to 6095.31

Carl,

Thank you. I guess I'll have to look in version 12. I have not used it since I got X3. Thanks for pointing that out. ;-)

From:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	8 Mar 2007
To:	Carl (CSEWELL)	35 of 40

6095.35 In reply to 6095.30
Hi Carl .... thanks for the continued feedback ... I appreciate it ... I know what you are saying about the work involved in making macros ... altho I haven't tried them in Corel I used to make a bunch of 'em for Lotus 1-2-3 projects and 'shared the wealth' so to speak with my workgroup. B-) You ought to reward yourself with the new X-3 ... I like it a lot better then my previous 3 versions .... and I am not a 'got to have the latest' version kind of guy. John John & Alexa Montgomey Lakeshore Engraving

From:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	8 Mar 2007
To:	LaZerDude (C_BURKE)	36 of 40

6095.36 In reply to 6095.27
Hi Chuck ... thanks for your response and the name of your acquaintence. The command that you referred to is in CorelPaint under 'mask' ... click that ... click 'select all' click 'invert mask' then save the file and that will do what Carl and Harvey were referring to. Oh, in regards to part of my other question about how to remove the background I figured that one out as well in the help selection of CorelPaint John John & Alexa Montgomey Lakeshore Engraving

From:	Carl (CSEWELL)	8 Mar 2007
To:	John (JOHNRMONTG)	37 of 40

6095.37 In reply to 6095.35
quote: You ought to reward yourself with the new X-3 I will.... eventually. But I no longer like being on the bleeding edge. Even more so since it has become my money that I'm spending (as opposed to corporate dollars). Carl Guntersville Laser Engraving Guntersville, AL http://www.GuntersvilleLaser.com