• Adobe Photoshop

  How can I convert .TIF files to .png and preserve Transparency

  Posted by Stephen Curry on August 10, 2013 at 1:15 am

  Hi

  Im having a heck of time finding a way to batch convert .TIF images to .png images and preserve their alpha channel (i.e. transparent background)…

  Reason: .TIF are so much larger in file size than .png

  So this is the situation.

  I have some .TIF files of vegetation (mostly tress and shrubs) that have an alpha channel contained within them. So when I bring them into After Effects CS6 they are transparent. However, when I convert the image within Photoshop to a .png image and then bring that .png into AE CS6 the background is black and not transparent. And as you can image with a tree using the keying effect to get rid of the black doesn’t quite cut it on the fine details.

  I’ve noticed within PS CS6 when I try to save the .TIF image as a .png the Alpha Channel tick box is grayed-out in the save as option window that pops up…so I’m not sure how to keep the transparency.

  Any guru out there have any idea on how to do the conversion? Or software that can do it for me. I’m trying to create a batch process of this as I have several hundred of these .TIF images. I’m not the best at PS so a step by step would be appreciated.

  Stephen

  Stephen Curry replied 12 years, 11 months ago 2 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Dwayne Smith

  August 10, 2013 at 1:52 am

  G’day
  You could record an action and then batch process with that.
  Open the Actions panel from the Windows menu.
  Click the ‘create new action’ button at the bottom.
  It will start recording whatever you do next.

  the action would have these steps :
  (assuming your tifs have only one layer and one alpha channel)
  1. turn the alpha channel into a selection (Cmnd-click on the alpha channel)
  2. double-click the layer to turn it into a ‘live’ layer
  3. click the ‘add layer mask’ button at the bottom of the layers panel
  4. save as png (I prefer to use the ‘save for web’ option for this — make sure the ‘transparency’ option is checked)

  Test the action on a few files to make sure it works OK (open the files and click the ‘play selection’ button in the Actions panel).

  Once you’re happy with the results create a batch process for the rest of your files (File > Automate > Batch)

  Hope that gets you closer.

  d.
• 

  Stephen Curry

  August 10, 2013 at 3:34 am

  great that worked…thanks

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