Can Irfanview alone make a transparent background of a multi-color background?

[arlen holder]

Can Irfanview freeware alone make a transparent background of a multi-color background?

Using _only_ Irfanview freeware and nothing else, is it possible to remove
the paint.net step in the tutorial below for creating a shortcut icon from
any arbitrary screenshot which usually does NOT have a single-color
background to set to be transparent?

============================================================================
o Find or create a shortcut that you'd like to change the icon for.

As an example, create a shortcut with the Veracrypt target shown below:
Shortcut Name: dismount.lnk
Shortcut Target = C:\apps\encrypt\VeraCrypt.exe /dismount /force
============================================================================
o Determine your Windows system "Shell Icon Size" dimensions:

Start > Run > regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
Shell Icon Size = 32

NOTE: This tells you your "Shell Icon Size" should be a 32x32 pixels.
============================================================================
o Screenshot any desired image (which will likely have an "uneven" background):

For example, snap a screenshot of this bank icon example on the net:
<https://pngtree.com/freepng/vector-bank-icon_3991558.html>

Crop with Irfanview control+y & closecrop with shift+control+y.
Save with control+s to a png file.
(For example, save as "original_icon_bank01.png")

NOTE: Since the background is uneven, it won't be wholly transparent.
============================================================================
o Set the background to be wholly transparent:

Open the file in Paint.NET
Create an ellipse selection circle around the foreground image.
Crop to that ellipse using control+shift+x.
Save with control+s to a png file.
(For example, save as "original_icon_bank01.png")

NOTE: The background is wholly transparent outside the ellipse select.
============================================================================
o Convert the PNG file to an ICO file:
Open the png file in Irfanview and save as an ICO file.

When you save with Irfanview control+s to ico, check the "Show options dialog".
That will pop up a form named "PNG/PNM/ICO save options".
In that form check "Save Transparent Color" for PNG and/or ICO.
Irfanview will ask: "Choose transparent color"
"Click in the image to select the transparent color."
After clicking on the background area, save as an ico file.
(For example, save as "original_icon_bank01.ico")
============================================================================
o Apply that icon to an existing shortcut:
RClick > (shortcut) > Properties > Shortcut > Change Icon > [Browse] >
"32x32_icon_bank01.ico"
============================================================================

In summary, the goal of this thread is to eliminate the Paint.NET step above.
o Can Irfanview freeware alone make a transparent background of a multi-color background?

[Jim]

Post by arlen holder
Can Irfanview freeware alone make a transparent background of a multi-color background?
Using _only_ Irfanview freeware and nothing else, is it possible to remove
the paint.net step in the tutorial below for creating a shortcut icon from
any arbitrary screenshot which usually does NOT have a single-color
background to set to be transparent?

Yes, IrfanView alone can make a transparent background of a multi-color
background.

o IrfanView can only make 0% or 100% transparency, not alpha
transparency. (After your background is 100% transparent,
it will no longer have multi-colors.)
o With only 0% or 100% transparency, the edges of your shape
may look jagged and not smooth. To get a smooth edge, use
paint.net.
o IrfanView cannot crop to an ellipse like your paint.net step
does. To crop to an ellipse, use paint.net.
o IrfanView's transparency works like the internals of the GIF
file format. You first fill the background area with a
single color, and then set that color to be the "transparent"
color for the image.

Post by arlen holder
Open the file in Paint.NET
Create an ellipse selection circle around the foreground image.
Crop to that ellipse using control+shift+x.

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