Trying to import files with transparent backgrounds into Premier Elements 10

Seeing that I've only tried to fix this darned problem for OVER A YEAR in Photoshop 6, I finally stumbled on a way to import a transparency into an existing Photoshop image:

1. First, you have to open your png/jpeg image or what have you in Photoshop and then SAVE it as:

Photoshop PDF(my Photoshop 6 also says (*.PDF; .PDP)

2. The next option in the save category is  Save as JPEG and you click the check box for Save Transparency as well as the box for Image Interpolation.

3. Click OK

Then go back to your Photoshop image and you then PLACE this Photoshop image into your existing image.

I really, really, really hope this helps someone in the cyber world because I've tried dozens of ways to get help and have gone to dozens of forums, to no avail until now.

When exporting in PS from original to PNG, make sure transparency box is checked but UNcheck the convert to sRGB and It should work.... worked for me...

ATR - I could have been clearer originally. What I was trying to do was a) answer the original question, by suggesting that unchecking the "Maximize Compat" checkbox would help and then b) noting that even with this variant of the file, PE 11 incorrectly detects a solid background and thinks it should do a videomerge, and that not doing the video merge works OK, while doing it results in bad transparency. That's a lot of following from one thought to another.

My results match your careful testing.

Adobe has a lot of versions of everything, and they all support each others file formats, which is good. But there must occasionally be glitches, such as this one.

And yeah, I noticed the age of the thread. (As I occasionally notice the age of my Photoshop!) But with a solution in hand, it seemed worthwhile to add to the record, presumably for some future googler. I realize the OP has moved on.

-kaare

Had exactly this problem with PE 11 and PhotoShop CS2. (Yeah, my PS is old; too expensive to upgrade.)

My PS image was definitely transparent: no background layer, the channels were all transparent, the checkerboard showed through.

I normally save with "Maximize Compatibility' checked during the Save File process. When I unchecked this option, my transparent PSD file worked correctly in PE 11. (So 'Maximize Compatibility' can in some cases minimize compatibility.)

Note that in PE 11 when I dragged the transparent graphic to the timeline, I got a warning about a 'solid background'. I clicked'NO' when it asked for permission to use Videomerge to create a transparent background, and the result was correctly transparent.

Mick,

As PrE can handle PSD's and PNG's with Transparency just fine, my first thought would be that the Image from PS does not have Transparency. Can you post a screen-cap showing the Image in PS plus the Layers Palette, and possibly the Channels Palette?

Good luck,

Hunt

For what it's worth, I walk you through how to do this in my in Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements book at http://Muvipix.com/pe10.php

As you know, in order to create a backgroundless graphic, you must have your text graphic on a Photoshop layer with no background layer behind it. (In other words, you should see the gray checkerboard through it in Photo Elements.)

Then you just save it as a layered PSD and it will come into Premiere Elements with the transparency (alpha) intact.

If you would rather output it as a PNG or GIF from Photo Elements, select Save for Web and MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE TRANSPARENCY CHECKBOX before you click Save.