.PNG support and Internet Explorer…
So, in the latest website I’ve been building at http://www.outfrontps.com, I just ran into an issue previously unknown to me…
Usually, when I work with graphics, I like to use the .PNG format. Now, I am not a graphics designer, so it’s not like I regularily use transparencies and whatnot for graphics. Anyways, I created a nice-looking header that relied on it’s transparent background to site over the current header background. Unfortunately, because IE is retarded, it cannot display the transparencies correctly. In fact, it does an amazingly horrible job of it.
So, I tried it in a .GIF, and that was unacceptably poor quality. So the final solution was to overlay it over an imitation of the existing background. That is barely satisfactory….
Why can’t IE just get with the rest of the world on standards? Without even bringing up CSS, IE has failed in many departments. Of course, this is no surprise to any web developer. Everyone has designed a page that they then have to butcher with all kinds of hacks just to get it to work right on IE.
Luckily, IE7 is supposed to be alot better, at least in terms of CSS implementation. The thing I am most excited about is the fact that according to the IEBlog, there is going to be a complete implementation of the .PNG standard in IE7. So, hopefully within a few months, that problem is one that can just rest in the annals of history.
This is the one thing I can be thankful about Microsoft - once IE7 is out, most Windows XP users will automatically upgrade to it. Of course, there will always be legacy users, but if the majority finally supports the format, I see no reason not to go with it.
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Does the background of the PNG need to show a solid color under the transparency?
If so, you can set the background chunk in the PNG and have it show correctly.
If behind the transparent pixels there is a texture, then there is no easy solution.
I am not quite sure I understand your quesiton correctly, so I apologize in advance if I answer wrong.
The problem lies in that IE does not handle the Alpha channel implementation used in the PNG files. This means that instead of allowing hte background show through, it places a white background there.
So this means that underneath whatever parts you intend to be transparent, you have to have a background layer of some sort within the image.
So, you could place some transparent text over a solid background within the PNG. But you cannot create a transparent PNG where a background external to the PNG is intended to show through the graphic - then you get the white background problem…
Of course, this is all handled correctly in Firefox…