transparent PNG's

[eckered]

Im working on skinning a demo (the one in the challenges forum), and the graphics im editing over are in .png format.
since i do most of my pixel pushing in ms paint (d'oh), I don't really have the know-how about creating transparent PNG's. 

My question is this: is there a simple program (such as giffy) that handles transparency in .png's?  if not, what is my best bet for creating them?

[Feron]

have you tried http://www.iaza.com/ ?

[Gil]

I'm fighting the urge to ask why you use Paint if it makes you install extra applications just to make something transparent. Why not just start using another pixel art tool?

[Mathias]

Yikes dude, you need to expand your software pool. Transparency was solved by cavemen. Gimp is free, and it just got a big overhaul.

[eckered]

i use paint because i like its simplicity and stability (no crashes, etc).

i solved my problem my using an icon creating program called "iconxp", google it if anyone else is in need
thanks for the help!

[crab2selout.png]

Just about all the other programs don't crash. I don't think I've had graphics gale crash on me in over 5 years of using it. Have a look at Paint.net(google it). I'm sure you'll like it and it even has layers.

[Shrike]

Just about all the other programs don't crash. I don't think I've had graphics gale crash on me in over 5 years of using it. Have a look at Paint.net(google it). I'm sure you'll like it and it even has layers.

Seconded.  But GG has layers too 
Graphics Gale (GG) is free too btw.  I forget what changes when you buy it, I've had the full version so long.

[skw]

edit: Oh crap, just saw you've solved your problem already!

Since you're asking about a simple app, what follows may not be very helpful to you; but anyway -- I'll try.

Pro Motion by Jan Zimmermann/Cosmigo (look up Google) is a really wonderful software, and it handles alpha layers within .PNG files. One problem is that you'd have to carry an additional mask-or-something file with your .PNGs, which is not a comfortable option considering its pragmatic usage in games.

Anyway, it sure IS possible (using some coding magic) to have one color in an indexed 8-bit .PNG that is 50% transparent.  You might ask a coder, or anyone in your team who handles programming to look closer at the matter, since it would probably take one.

I'd suggest converting to .GIFs, then. :/

[Scribblette]

I've been using Iaza as well. For some reason when I set the background to transparent in Graphics Gale and save it as a PNG, it just makes the background white. If I save as a GIF with transparency, the background remains whatever colour it was to start with.

I'll have to try adding an alpha channel, removing the background and then saving, and see if that does the trick... testing... okay, that DEFINITELY works. Hooray!

ProMotion can be VERY confusing to use, and I'm yet to figure out how 'index painting' can actually be useful. I've heard some reasons but haven't had luck putting it in action and actually saving time for quality.

[Atnas]

Scribblette, for transparencey with GraphicsGale, you need to set the transparency via frame, not layer.