I want to convert ALL that's white in this image to transparent.

Try these steps:

1. Open the file in Photoshop.
2. Convert to RGB mode (Image > Mode > RGB).
3. In the Layers palette, double-click on the name of the "Background" image. A dialog box will appear, asking you to rename it. Just click OK.
4. In the Tools palette, select the Magic Wand tool.
5. In the Tool Options bar at the top of the screen, set the tool tolerance to somewhere around 10, and toggle the "Anti-Aliased" and "Contiguous" options OFF.
6. Click on any white area in the image. All of the white areas should be immediately selected.
7. Delete the selection. You should see a faint checkerboard pattern in the deleted areas; this indicates areas that will be transparent in the GIF you're about to create.
8. Save the image for web (File > Save for Web). In the Save dialog box that appears, use the following settings: GIF format; 0 Lossy; Adaptive method; 64 colors; Diffusion dither; 90% dithering. Make sure the "Transparency" checkbox is checked ON, and select a white Matte color. When you're done, click Save and specify a filename and location.

Note that this method will yield a transparent GIF that looks good only against white or very light backgrounds. This is because the original image is anti-aliased to create the appearance of smoothly curved lines; this anti-aliasing creates a fringe that is difficult to remove unless you have the original layered Photoshop file or (preferably) the original vector artwork used to create your source GIF.

If you don't have those original files but need to create a transparent GIF that looks good on a darker background, there IS a process that works -- but it's rather more involved. Let me know if that's the case, and I'll post that process here.

Hope this helps --

Huafi

Hi gmahler5th,

You can also do this with PaintShop Pro. You can get a free trial of PaintShop Pro here:
http://www.jasc.com/download_4.asp?

Open your file in PSP, go to view>toolbars> and check the "web" toolbar. Then you will see where it says "export gif". Click that, then, under the "transparency" tab, where it asks, "what areas of the image would you like to be transparent?" choose the choice that says, "areas that match this color", and specify what color you want transparent, such as the white background color. Play with the tolerance, as it may take away that color from the image as well. Once you have it the way you like it, save it, and it will have a transparent background. It may not look that way when you open it, but put it on a webpage and you will see that it is indeed transparent.

It is indeed easier in Photoshop, but that is an expensive program.