Patent ID: 6954215

Claim:
A method for using an image in a pixel data file rendered by a non-alpha-channel-aware application in a alpha-channel-aware environment, where (i) the non-alpha-channel-aware application writes pixel data values to an existing pixel data file of pixel data values; (ii) each pixel data value includes an n-bit alpha value and corresponds to a pixel location; (iii) the non-alpha-channel-aware application sets the alpha value of the pixel data value to 0 for each pixel for which a pixel data value is written by the application to the pixel data file; and (iv) the alpha-channel-aware environment is a graphic environment in which each alpha values is used to set transparency of the corresponding pixel when the image in the pixel data file is displayed in the foreground of other image data, with an alpha value of zero corresponding to a full transparency and increasing alpha values corresponding to increasing levels of opacity, comprising: (a) initializing the alpha value of the pixel data value for each pixel data value in the pixel data file to 1; (b) executing the non-alpha-channel-aware application on the pixel data file; (c) changing the alpha value of each pixel data value by changing the alpha value of the pixel data values in the pixel data file to 0 for each pixel data value in the pixel data file with an alpha value of 1, and changing the alpha value of the pixel data value in the pixel data file to the alpha value for full opacity for each pixel data value with an alpha value of 0; and (d) displaying the pixel data file in the alpha-channel-aware environment.