Transparent images for Image Panel (Apple issue, not MDP2)

Question

MIDI Target Manufacturer(s): Other/Unlisted Maker

I did a search on this, and it appears that the problem is occurring because the only place from which we can pull images into the image manager is the photo gallery.

I screen-shotted images from the desktop app that I'm hoping to control, modified the images to change the white opaque background to transparent, then saved the file as a .PNG. I then saved the file to my iCloud drive, then opened it from the iPad, and saved it to my photos. The posts here suggest that Apple is removing the transparent background somewhere in this process, and that may be why I'm having trouble, but I'm unclear exactly how to work around this.

I think that there may be another way to get the images into my photos, but not sure what method to use, and which one will keep the transparent background.

Thanks.

Images

Loop.png

Rewind.png

Comments

Will investigate.

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Also, direct import of pictures added to backlog.  Current approach via photos is from the more strict sandbox era of the iPads.  Don't know if/when it gets to the top of the list, but it is captured.

Answer 1

I just did a trial.  Took a picture on iOS 16, used the cut out to pull out just one object, saved back into photos, then loaded into MDP2 on Mac, and the transparency was respected.

This search indicates that Apple Photos does not respect transparency sometimes on smaller images - search "does apple photos respect transparent images".  Work around seems to be saving at a larger size, greater than 500 px

So retried with a smaller image, and the background did become white.

So if the image gets transparent into Photos, MDP2 respects that transparence.

Grogu in backpack - transparency worked (as well as the iOS 16 cutout did - not perfect).  Great Blue - did not work.

Images

Transparency test.png

Comments

Thanks. Tried after re-scaling the image to 502px square. No joy. Re-scaled to 600px square. Still no joy. However, it does appear to have a transparent background even after importing it into the photos collection. If I open it in the Preview app or Gimp (from the Photos collection), it still has a transparent background, so it looks as if the Image Pane is "filling in" the background.

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Please upload the problem graphic. Easiest way is to edit your original question and add the graphic.

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Ok - Done!! Attached to OP

Answer 2

I just did a trial.  Took a picture on iOS 16, used the cut out to pull out just one object, saved back into photos, then loaded into MDP2 on Mac, and the transparency was respected.

This search indicates that Apple Photos does not respect transparency sometimes on smaller images - search "does apple photos respect transparent images".  Work around seems to be saving at a larger size, greater than 500 px

So retried with a smaller image, and the background did become white.

So if the image gets transparent into Photos, MDP2 respects that transparence.

Grogu in backpack - transparency worked (as well as the iOS 16 cutout did - not perfect).  Great Blue - did not work.

Images

Transparency test.png

Answer 3

The loop image you posted was transparent.  The rewind image is not.  Converted the second to transparent, pasted both into a layout without an issue.

I was doing my testing on a Mac, so then thought maybe it was an iPad issue, but tried on the iPad running 16.2.  This image is from the iPad.

So I am not seeing an issue with transparent images.

What version is your iOS?

Images

Transparency test 2.png

Comments

I'm running 16.2

I re-examined both files that reside on my Mac using GIMP. Both have a transparent background. I deleted the two files in my Photos collection, re-added these two files to Photos on the iPad via my iCloud Drive then used them to make two Image Panes and the backgrounds are again opaque.  I note that the two files I added to my OP reflect your observations. The backgrounds are clearly not both the same, and presumably that's because one isn't actually transparent.

I'm thinking that I'm doing something wrong that we're not stumbling across. Since you're getting good results I'm not, that's the only conclusion I can come to.

No sense sucking up more of your time on this.

I'll just have to live with the textual labels on the buttons. Because there seems to be some suspicion that Apple is modifying these files in the process of moving them to the Photos collection, perhaps I need to spend some $ on a good image editor *on the iPad* to solve this (any suggestion on that is appreciated) as I have no way of verifying that anything in the Photos collection actually has a transparent background, so I can't really trouble-shoot this other than saying repeatedly "nope - that didn't work" :-)

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Sadly enough, this is my workflow to get transparent images:
- paste image into Keynote, use photo tool to remove background
- Copy image
- Open preview, create new from clipboard, save as PNG
- Add to photos

Although, when I pasted Grogu in, I used the new iOS 16 feature to cut out an image.

I need to find an app to remove backgrounds myself.

Going through photos is a relic of the old sandboxed iOS.  We have direct image import from a file added to our backlog.

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Thanks, JK - well, your workflow gave me a work-around. I had two files on my iCloud drive that I've verified (many times and again just now) have transparent backgrounds. If I drag these into my Photos collection their backgrounds become opaque. If however I first open them in Preview as you do, then *export* them back to the same iCloud folder without making *any*changes (leaving the "Alpha" checkbox checked!!!) and *then* drag them into the Photos collection on the iPad, they retain the transparent background...I'm off now to see if this holds true with "normal" sized icons or if I still need to blow everything up to a size in excess of 500px. Stay tuned.

Ugh. Doesn't work for small images.

Thanks for all your assistance though. Glad this has been added to the "to-do" list.

Answer 4

The loop image you posted was transparent.  The rewind image is not.  Converted the second to transparent, pasted both into a layout without an issue.

I was doing my testing on a Mac, so then thought maybe it was an iPad issue, but tried on the iPad running 16.2.  This image is from the iPad.

So I am not seeing an issue with transparent images.

What version is your iOS?

Images

Transparency test 2.png