Transparent

Updated: 09/12/2023 by Computer Hope

Transparent may refer to any of the following:

1. With hardware, transparent is a device that does nothing with data that passes through it. For example, a network hub passes all data to the other ports on the hub without analyzing any data. With software, a transparent program is a program that works so efficiently the user is unaffected or unaware that it is even working.

2. With an image or graphic, transparent refers to an image that is clear and can take the effect of any images behind it. Below is an example of the Computer Hope logo with a transparent background. The image is the same but looks different with different colored backgrounds.

Computer Hope logo Computer Hope logo 2 Computer Hope logo 3 Computer Hope logo 4

Almost all image editors used today are capable of making a transparent images. If you're having trouble making an image transparent, make sure it's saved as a GIF (graphics interchange format) or PNG (portable network graphics) format (recommend PNG 24-bit). To remove an image's transparency, flatten it in the image editor or by saving the image in a different format (e.g., JPG or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)). Additional help with creating transparent images is found in the document mentioned below.

Note

The JPEG image format does not support transparency. To create a transparent image, use GIF or PNG.

3. With color, transparent color is a color that lacks color or is the same as the background. For example, this text "example text" is red text with a red background; dragging the mouse and highlighting the red box shows the text. The text is transparent since it is the same color as the background.

Note

There is no HTML (hypertext markup language) transparent color code. If you wanted to have text with a transparent background, you would need to create a transparent image with the text in the image.

Alpha, ARGB, Color terms, GIF 89a, Opaque, Photoshop terms