Alpha layer exports all black

[woodcraftcz]

Hiya absolutely new to GIMP but could someone tell me why I can't export an image that has a top layer set as alpha, it just comes out black and not like how it looks in the work area   

TIA

[Ofnuts]

(04-13-2025, 06:15 PM)woodcraftcz Wrote: Hiya absolutely new to GIMP but could someone tell me why I can't export an image that has a top layer set as alpha, it just comes out black and not like how it looks in the work area   

TIA

What do you mean by "has a top layer set as alpha"? Can you post a screenshot?

[woodcraftcz]

(04-13-2025, 07:19 PM)Ofnuts Wrote:

(04-13-2025, 06:15 PM)woodcraftcz Wrote: Hiya absolutely new to GIMP but could someone tell me why I can't export an image that has a top layer set as alpha, it just comes out black and not like how it looks in the work area   

TIA

What do you mean by "has a top layer set as alpha"? Can you post a screenshot?

sure thing, the first layer is the image, then the second layer(top) has had a high pass applied then colour to alpha. the look is perfect but I simply can't seem to export it now

[Ofnuts]

Did you try to merge all the filter in the top layer?

[woodcraftcz]

(04-13-2025, 09:00 PM)Ofnuts Wrote: Did you try to merge all the filter in the top layer?

yeah iv exhausted a lot of options, im kinda losing my mind now 
what I have noticed is that when I watch a YouTube tutorial when he creates the colour to alpha the thumbnail on the layer has the default background (grey checkers) were mine goes black and he doesn't have the "fx" mark, is this a clue? iv attached a screenshot of his screen

[Ofnuts]

(04-13-2025, 09:07 PM)woodcraftcz Wrote:

(04-13-2025, 09:00 PM)Ofnuts Wrote: Did you try to merge all the filter in the top layer?

yeah iv exhausted a lot of options, im kinda losing my mind now 
what I have noticed is that when I watch a YouTube tutorial when he creates the colour to alpha the thumbnail on the layer has the default background (grey checkers) were mine goes black and he doesn't have the "fx" mark, is this a clue? iv attached a screenshot of his screen

The "fx mark" is the non-destructive editing (NDE) at play, which is why I asked if you merged the filters before export. NDE is nice but as it is fairly new it can create all sorts of unexpected side-effects. Your layer being black instead of transparent is indeed a problem.

I think I can reproduce the problem if I leave the color-to-alpha "unmerged". Redo the procedure, but in the C2A step, tick the Merge filter box at the bottom of the dialog. This will make it behave as in 2.10 and make the tutorial work correctly.

[woodcraftcz]

(04-13-2025, 11:28 PM)Ofnuts Wrote:

(04-13-2025, 09:07 PM)woodcraftcz Wrote:

(04-13-2025, 09:00 PM)Ofnuts Wrote: Did you try to merge all the filter in the top layer?

yeah iv exhausted a lot of options, im kinda losing my mind now 
what I have noticed is that when I watch a YouTube tutorial when he creates the colour to alpha the thumbnail on the layer has the default background (grey checkers) were mine goes black and he doesn't have the "fx" mark, is this a clue? iv attached a screenshot of his screen

The "fx mark" is the non-destructive editing (NDE) at play, which is why I asked if you merged the filters before export. NDE is nice but as it is fairly new it can create all sorts of unexpected side-effects. Your layer being black instead of transparent is indeed a problem.

I think I can reproduce the problem if I leave the color-to-alpha "unmerged". Redo the procedure, but in the C2A step, tick the Merge filter box at the bottom of the dialog. This will make it behave as in 2.10 and make the tutorial work correctly.

That's amazing, it did the trick, thank you so much for helping resolve the situation