Keeping Image & Remove White Background

[Dragoneer]

This is driving me nuts!! I'm trying to simply remove the white outside part of a pic so I can convert it to an .ico file that only shows the actual image with no excess to use for my drive letter in My Computer. I have a free program that will place an .ico file there.

I've partially succeeded by dropping the Tolerance to 23% when using the Magic Wand to separate it from the white part, but hit a wall after that. I've searched around the site but can't find the solution. It appears all but one of my older posts and links have been deleted that may help. The closest I've come to resolving it is from this link that was posted. http://sendspace.se.funpic.de/Host/tut/Outline%20Remover/ol.htm

The problem is that it doesn't show how to keep the cut-out image. Anytime I try, it does the exact opposite! It removes the image and keeps the outside part that I don't want. Here is the image.

Just in case someone wants to use the image to test it out and the one I uploaded is configured differently because of site parameters, here is the link to where I saved it from. http://www.macmall.com/n/Image-Gallery/macProductPages-macProductPages.6?op=productDetails.productGalleryThumbs.productGalleryThumbs&dpno=7532251&imgNo=0

[Sarkut]

It should work if all three boxes are checkmarked in the Alpha Mask window.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Sarkut

[Dragoneer]

I checked all three boxes in the Alpha Mask window and then clicked on Image--> Crop to Selection. The image was checkered. Where did I go wrong? What are the steps to getting this completed?

I'm a novice at this. I've only used it for basic stuff and usually stumble my way through until I figure out how to do something but can't on this one.

[Sarkut]

The checkered appearance indicates transparency,

it's not part of the actual image.

Image--> Crop to Selection is not part of the process for this.

Without knowing specifically what steps you're using,

it's difficult to guess where you may be going wrong.

If you can post some screenshots of the project including

the Layers and History windows, it may be possible to give some better advice.

[pdnnoob]

How to keep cut-out image when cropping to selection:

make the selection what you want to keep

Instead of selecting the white and cropping, add another step between those where you invert your selection (ctrl+I).

I think that's what you are looking for. I didn't check your link because my internet is running slow at the moment.

[Dragoneer]

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand.

How to keep cut-out image when cropping to selection:

make the selection what you want to keep

1. How do I make a selection? I can't seem to figure out exactly using the Magic Wand. I have to do it that way to cut the image out properly.

Instead of selecting the white and cropping, add another step between those where you invert your selection (ctrl+I).

2. I'm not sure how not to select the white & cropping. What other step do I need to add?

3, Just remembered to ask. When I first open Paint.Net, should I use Add layer?

[pdnnoob]

My bad. I can be quite confusing at times.

1. Using magic wand at 23% tolerance (like you did before), select the white.

2. Invert your selection by pressing ctrl+i

3. Crop to selection (ctrl+shift+x)

You don't need to add layer. If you are opening the image from file, leave it as is. If you are pasting it in from your clipboard, create a new image first (ctrl+n) and don't mess with the automatic dimensions.

[Dragoneer]

It's close, but not quite what I'm trying to do. For some reason, it won't disregard all of the white, just some of it. It keeps the total shape of a rectangle and not the image itself.

[Sarkut]

Save as PNG, JPEG won't preserve the transparency.

[Dragoneer]

Still can't remove it totally and the resulting .ico image it makes with both the plug-in and the stand-alone program is of poor quality. I thought that it would be a fairly simple procedure to just use the Magic Wand to separate the image and lock out the unwanted outer part so it can't be seen after the image is saved.

I guess I'll have to wait for the company to put out an .ico image. BTW, saving as .png didn't help.

P.S. Is it possible for someone here with more knowledge to do it, or is it impossible to do with that particular image?

Edited December 15, 2010 by Dragoneer

[Manc]

Still can't remove it totally and the resulting .ico image it makes with both the plug-in and the stand-alone program is of poor quality. I thought that it would be a fairly simple procedure to just use the Magic Wand to separate the image and lock out the unwanted outer part so it can't be seen after the image is saved.

I guess I'll have to wait for the company to put out an .ico image. BTW, saving as .png didn't help.

P.S. Is it possible for someone here with more knowledge to do it, or is it impossible to do with that particular image?

got this with magic wand at set at 21%

Edited December 16, 2010 by ipswichmanc

[Dragoneer]

Unfortunately, the final product comes out pretty much like the ones I did. It looks good on the Forum, but when opened, black shows around it. It seems like it has something to do with the way the original image was made.

Here'a what the .ico file looks like. Sorry, I had to attach it. The filehost I use isn't compatible with .ico files. I guess without DL it you can tell the quality is very poor.

Rats! Why can't the .ico file look like the initial image?!!

tube.ico

Edited December 16, 2010 by Dragoneer

[Sarkut]

For a better result:

After removing the white background, Gaussian blur at radius of 2.

Then resize the 500x500 image down to 100x100.

Repeat Gaussian blur, resize to 32x32.

Save as ICO filetype using ICO filetype plugin.

It will preserve the transparency rather than turning it black.

Paint.NET ICO filetype plugin:

http://forums.getpaint.net/index.php?showtopic=927

[Dragoneer]

THANKS!!! Much better! Can't see black or white around the image anymore.

Just wondering, what causes the image to not be like other .ico images I have? In other words, the image loses detail and isn't crisp like the original although it's acceptable.

Why can't it stay the same? I have many .ico images on my computer, but they're all crisp with sharp detail. Some of them I DL from different sites. Some of them I use for my dock, (a program I have installed) some of which come with the program and are ultra-sharp with excellent detail.

NEWS FLASH: I just checked and found out that my dock program uses .png image files which are high-quality, and not .ico, so I thought, why don't I just use that for my drive icon. I then checked around a bit (not extensively) and it appears that only .ico files can be used for drive letter icons.

What I do with my external drives is once I assign the drive image, I simply drag it to the dock and the image is there and I just click on it to open the drive. However, with this image, it isn't up to the hi-quality of all the other .ico and .png images on the dock. I then came up with an alternative.

I used the method by Sarkut for my drive letter icon and dragged it to my dock. When I realized that the program uses .png for their default images, I decided to use the feature provided by the dock program that allows you to change the icon.

I used the excellent looking .png that ipswichman posted without changing anything and it shows very nicely. It's very close to what the posted pic looks like with very minor degradation in quality and I can still see the individual vent holes even though the image is far smaller than the post. So, there you have it, I have a hybrid setup LOL!

Sarkut's method for my drive letter icon, and ipswichman's image for my dock. Thanks again!

[Dragoneer]

I'm glad that this thread wasn't deleted. It has helped a few times after getting a new external hard drive in the years since I first posted this since it isn't something I do everyday beause after a while I forget how to do it and have to come back to refresh my memory.

 

I just had to fix an icon image so it would show on my dock. (Winstep Xtrreme) by removing the surrounding white background which uses a png image thanks to pdnoob.

 

I also totally forgot about the .ico plugin provided by evanolds that Sarkut posted. I'll probably need it again soon.

 

I'm posting this mainly in the hope that it will help others as it did me.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Dragoneer

[Ego Eram Reputo]

The thread is almost four years old.  Deleted?  Nope.  Locked?  Yes - in order to keep things current.