Viewing/using Truecolor+alpha PNGs with Paint Sho Pro 7

Viewing Truecolor+alpha PNGs with IrfanView

:::: Restore Netscape's native PNG support (when QuickTime installed) ::::

After opening the QT player or viewer, go to the 'Edit' menu and select 'Preferences...' then 'QuickTime preferences...'

In the 'QuickTime settings' dialog, select 'Browser plugin' into the list, then click on the 'MIME settings' button

Into the 'MIME settings' dialog, develop the 'Images' branch, find the 'PNG image file' line, uncheck it and click OK.
Native PNG support into Netscape is now restored (the bug may affect MSIE too, if this workaround doesn't work, let me know by mailing me at sonic-discovery @ fr.st).

:::: How to view and use 32-bit (alpha transparency) PNGs with Paint Shop Pro 7 ::::

Important note for Paint Shop Pro 8 and 9 users: there is absolutely no need to perform the manipulation above, as PSP8/9 will automatically load the alpha channel when opening a Truecolor+alpha PNG (it just behaves like other software such as Photoshop do... finally ^^), the image will appear as a one-layer transparent one. I don't know if you can export PNGs the same way however (via 'Save as'). Anyway, this is already a great improvement compared to older versions. We all thank Greg2K for this interesting and useful discovery ;).

Click on Masks, then Load from Alpha Channel.


Click OK, and transparency will be restored to the image.



Now, click on Masks, then Delete.


A dialog box appears. Click 'Yes' and transparency will be glued to the image, avoiding transparency misinterpretations by PSP during copy-paste operations.

:::: How to view 32-bit (alpha transparency) PNGs with IrfanView ::::

Go to the 'Options' menu and select 'Properties'.

A dialog appears. Select the 'Misc. 1' tab, then the 'Show PNG alpha/transparency color' option (I highlighted it for convenience on the screenshot). Check it.