Can Inkscape make transparent backgrounds?

[MajMartin]

Is it possible for inkscape to make the background of an image transparent?
Thanks, new Inkscape user.

[prkos]

Do you have an existing image you want to edit to make parts of it transparent or do you want to draw such an image from scratch?

The default Inkscape background color is transparent, so if you draw something and export it to .png format the areas around objects will be transparent. Also if you view the .svg file in a browser or svg viewer the background behind objects will be transparent.

[MajMartin]

I would like to edit an exiting jpg pic. Thanks for the info about transparent background when creating new pics.

[SureWhyNot]

Dude, just select the picture, go to fill and stroke, and change it's opacity.

[llogg]

Dude, just select the picture, go to fill and stroke, and change it's opacity.

that's incorrect. He doesn't want to change the opacity of the entire picture, just the background of the picture. Use the Bezier tool to trace around the parts of the image you want to see. Then select the tracing and the jpg and do object->clip->set. All the untraced elements disappear and the background is transparent.

[SureWhyNot]

I see, my bad. Sorry.

Ok, you could also use gimp (and it's selection tools) to remove the picture's background easier. So you'll have two pictures, one with the background cut out, and with the foreground cut out. They both have the same size and transparency.

Then bring em into Inkscape, use the align tool to center em up right, then select the background piece and set it's transparency.

Theoretically, that should work.

[rogert]

On a related note, is there a way to get rid of parts of an image without clipping? I remember having tremendous problems when importing a PDF, as it was huge and I only wanted a small bit of it, but when I tried to export as PDF again it got rid of all the clipping. I know this problem with PDFs is known but I would like to know in general if I can delete things like that. Thank you.

[SureWhyNot]

use the Gimp.

[microUgly]

On a related note, is there a way to get rid of parts of an image without clipping? I remember having tremendous problems when importing a PDF, as it was huge and I only wanted a small bit of it, but when I tried to export as PDF again it got rid of all the clipping. I know this problem with PDFs is known but I would like to know in general if I can delete things like that. Thank you.

It kinda depends on your drawing. As you noted, clips don't remove stuff, rather they hide them.

The only real way to do what you want is to manually delete the objects you don't want, or reshape them. Using "difference" from the path menu can make this easier but you'll need to do it to each object one at a time.

[MajMartin]

Sorry ladies and gentleman, but I still can't make it work. I am importing a jpg and then i try to isolate a building in the picture and make all the rest transparent. Can this be done I'm new to inkscape so please be patient. Thanks!

[Simarilius]

1. import the picture
2. Draw a shape with the line tool that covers the building you want to keep
3. select both and do object>clip>set

The bitmap should be clipped to the area contained by the shape, making the rest disappear.

If thats not what your after let us know

[MajMartin]

GOOD JOB!!! That worked. I saved the final pic as a PNG file and now the background is transparent! Now I can finish my logo. THANKS

[llogg]

Is there some difference between what simarilius said and what I said? For my future reference. Thanks.

[MajMartin]

Don't be offended. I'm a newbee to inkscape and it takes me a while to learn a new program. All of the above comments have helped me. It worked with both the "bezier tool" and "line tool." Thanks again to ALL who had an input.

[llogg]

I wasn't offended. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't incorrect in my thinking.

[Simarilius]

llogg, only difference was presentation. yours was in the middle of another statement, mine was done as 1.2.3.
I found a while back its always best to give instructions as a list of steps like that, as it makes it clearer, plus if they
get stuck they can say, I'm stuck on step X, what am i doing wrong?

[Corwin]

I have examples where a transparent .png can have curves and text at angles
in a layer over Tex and MathML at
http://www.issi1.com/corwin/sniffers/sphere_1.xml and
http://www.issi1.com/corwin/sniffers/sphere.html .

I have exampels of how to combine Jipsen's Tex like notation,
MathML, curves and labels at any angle at
http://www.issi1.com/corwin/sniffers/combine.html ,
details are at combine.txt

[Grexe]

It would be highly preferable to simply select the image's background color (e.g. white) and let Inkscape transform it to make it transparent, similar to Gimp's Color-to-transparency feature... copy&paste to Gimp sadly did not work, and Gimp also makes the remaining colors slightly transparent...
Is such a feature available or planned?

[EarlyBlake]

If it was just the back ground I'd put the jpeg on a layer of it's own and change the transparency of the layer in the layer menu Shift Ctrl L. Then lock the layer to get it out of the way.

[DEE]

The way I understand the original question was: Is there way of manipulating a bit map image to turn a selected colour transparent.
This is a common issue while blending vector and bitmap images and is supported in many compositing tools even powerpoint supports this.
Because this is really a bit map editing function you may want to use a dedicated bitmap editor like Gimp to do this (as suggested by prior post) this will give you more flexability.
The question remains however about Inkscapes support for transparent bitmaps? which transparent bitmap formats does it support? and which ones actually work well?

[Slow Dog]

The question remains however about Inkscapes support for transparent bitmaps? which transparent bitmap formats does it support?

The non-comprehensive answer is that Inkscape supports PNG, including transparency/alpha channel, so that's a sensible choice. Jpeg's and Bmp's don't support transparency at all.

I'd assume that Inkscape supports transparency in all formats that do.

[Sventje]

Dude, just select the picture, go to fill and stroke, and change it's opacity.

Thanks

[newbie]

I can't get this to work.
I have my jpeg open. I used the bezier tool to trace around the part I want to keep. (A person)
Then I hit the select tool. When I use it over the image, it selects a rectangle area of where I used the bezier tool. Then I go to object-clip-set and it doesn't do anything.

I feel so silly that I can't fill this in. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong?
Thanks so much! AMAZING program!!!

I want to remove the background though b/c I am making a silhouette of this image, but I don't want the background in the bitmap trace! Thanks!

[firststepphoto]

Just registered. I was "newbie" who posted above. Just wanted to subscribe to this post!
Thanks so much!

[brynn]

Welcome to the forum!

In Inkscape, the dotted lines are known as the "bounding box", which indicate simply which object has been selected, not the shape of the object (like in raster type graphics programs). So be assured that your shape has been selected when you see the rectangular dotted lines surrounding it.

Try File menu > Import, to import your jpeg, rather than simply opening it. There is some kind of bug affecting bitmap type images (jpg, png, bmp, etc.) edited in Inkscape. But it seems that Importing the image will allow it to be edited successfully.