HELP! Alpha Channels

This is for the pros: I need some help here with photoshop 7 and alpha channels.

Ok, I'm designing a facejob with my photoshop 7. Using one of the templates from the website, I even used the default alpha channel, made it visible, and when I go to save using targa format: The "alpha channel" checkbox is off and greyed out. Well, I ignore this and continue with the other options. When I finally save and upload, the texture does not have any alpha applied. The area I shouldn't have had to bother with was showing up when I applied the texture. I've tried several times to save in this format with alpha, varying the color mode and other tweaks... but nothing at all.

I read dozens of tutorials and they all suppose this works like nothing is wrong.... is there something I am overlooking??

I had the exact same problem..
Then someone at work showed me just to delete the stuff you don't want, hide the other layers (so you end up with the bits you want on a checked background) and save it as a 32bit TGA. Seems to do the trick just fine and tbh I can't think yet why I would bother doing it the alpha channel route when just scratching away at the image with an eraser or selection tool (or using another layer to do your selection on) works just fine..

PC

One word... Patch.

Adobe 7 cannot save a TGA with transparency without it.

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1851

Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1 update

The Adobe® Photoshop® 7.0.1 update fixes a number of problems discovered after Photoshop 7.0 was released.

The most significant fixes in the 7.0.1 release include the following:

• Photoshop now saves alpha transparency data in Targa files in the same way it did in previous versions.

Download and install and it should work fine.

I wasted hours myself before I found it was a program issue and not a user one.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, both pirate and keith!

I'll be working on those solutions right away!

goto layers-flatten image before you save. sometimes it will only show a background image but that always works for me.

7.0 will show transparencies, just not from alpha channel.

I just made one

Took a billboard picture of my guy, green background

Double-click the layer to promote.

Select meun - same color, click on the green

Hit the Delete key

Save as TGA, 32 bit.

Job done

(yes you might have to 'flatten' if you have multiple layers. Turn off the layers you don't want of course).

PC

This is exactly what I did in PS7. So much so that I was totally confused when I got CS and had to start making alpha channels again! LOL

Why do you -have- to? I think I'm missing something.

PC

Just as an update to my findings... I downloaded the 7.0.1 update, but it doesn't install

I did do the transparency background and it does work well. I might be going with that solution for a while. The only problem with that is that you've got some extra work with the bleeding and the erasing to do... but heck, at least it works.

Thanks all for your ideas! Any new ones will be very appreciated.

Hey thanks! I am uploading it now

According to the Adobe website, if you have problems where the patch program gives an error that it can't find the Photoshop executable, they recommend reinstalling Photoshop 7 first, then trying the updater again.

Thanks everyone for your asistance!

I downloaded the patch, reinstalled PS7 then installed the patch... voila! IT WORKS!

Also, following the suggestion of selecting and cutting hollow, also works!

I believe each method has it's pros and cons. I just haven't figured them out yet.

Best regards and thanks to all!