Smooth Edges (XP) - RealWorld forums

When I save my icons as .bmp files the edges are not smooth (they do not seem to maintain the alpha chanel). Is there a setting that I need to make to keep the smooth edges?

The application saves the image with alpha channel by default. I assume you open an icon, select the image to save and then click the "Save current image as..." command from "File" menu. Once you select image format at the bottom of the dialog, you may select additional options that depend on the selected format. BMP can be saved with 32-bit per pixel with full alpha channel. Are you sure the saved images lack alpha? How do you check them?

I was opening and saving the icon as you described except I was using the Save Image icon (same thing though) and I did not change Image Format to Format - which gives a selection of 32-bits RGBA. However, after changing to FormatI still get the same results. I am NOT sure if my images lack Alpha. In fact, after looking closely it appears that the only jagged lines are the lines on the outside edges of the icon. I have two overlapping images and lines that transition from being an outside edge to overlapping the background image go from jagged (on the edge of the image) to smooth (inside the image). So, it does look like I have the Alpha channel but it is not working on the outside edges.

Can I send an attachment of what I am talking about? A picture is worth a thousand words. The .ico looks good but the .bmp of the same file has jagged edges.

Yes, that will be best, please send the samples to info@rw-designer.com BTW you can also check the file in the application. If you open the bmp, you can zoom in and check the rgba values of each pixel.

I've never had luck in getting bmp images to have an alpha channel. I usually use a png or a tga, although I don't know whether this program handles tga's or not.