Colored backgrounds Imagemaps The GIF89a file format allows you to pick one color from the color lookup table of the GIF to be transparent. Normally the color you select is a background color. Adding transparency to a GIF graphic can also lead to disappointing results when the graphic contains antialiased edges with pixels of multiple colors. In our case, we chose white as a background color for the pages in this style guide. Copyright 1997, all rights reserved.
Transparency works with simple diagrammatic graphics, and with complex shapes.
The GIF graphic of the watercolor painting below can run across the scan column and into the white background because we made the white background transparent.