Create Transparent Areas

• 1). Open your image in Photoshop or Fireworks.
  
  
• 2). Select portions of the image to render transparent.
  
  You can use the rectangular selection tool to select entire blocks of the image or select specific portions using the lasso or magic wand tools. You can also erase portions of the image with the eraser tool.
  
  
• 3). Press the “Delete” key to render the selected portions transparent if you are using a selection tool.
  
  

Save as Transparent GIF

• 1). Click “File” and then click “Save for Web & Devices.” An export wizard window will appear. The image on the left is the original, unaltered version; the image on the right is a preview of the exported version.
  
  
• 2). Click the image format menu on the right panel and select “GIF.”
  
  
• 3). Check the box next to “Transparency.”
  
  
• 4). Click the “Matte” menu and select a matte color, if desired. Selecting a matte color will render any partially-transparent pixels non-transparent and replace the transparency with the selected color.
  
  
• 5). Select a dithering option from the dither menu, located below the “Transparency” checkbox. Dithering attempts to “smooth out” mixed-level transparency pixels by finding mathematical color averages or patterns, and is typically used for GIF images with a limited amount of stored colors.
  
  
• 6). Click the “Save” button to save the image as a transparent GIF.