.idml import transparency/fill issues

[Atlas Games Webmaster]

When opening IDML files in Publisher 2.0.4, transparency/fill isn’t working as expected. ALERT card attached should be white. Lightning symbol attached should be transparent. Mac desktop 10.15.7.  There were no errors on opening the file.

[loukash]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:57 PM, Atlas Games Webmaster said:

Lightning symbol attached should be transparent.

Is this a linked or embedded 1-bit image?
If so, you may need to reedit the image in Photo (persona) and save it as a 1-bit PNG with transparent background (aka palettized 2-color grayscale). That's because ID can "translate" the white background of a 1-bit image to transparency, while Publisher cannot.
Optionally you can also change the blend mode of the images to Multiply if you don't mind that everything below will be rasterized on PDF export.

On 1/27/2023 at 4:57 PM, Atlas Games Webmaster said:

ALERT card attached should be white

No idea unless you upload an example IDML here.

[Atlas Games Webmaster]

Thank you for the reply. Here's a comparison …

CORRECT: first image is how it looks as an INDD file in InDesign, with white card and transparent lightning.

INCORRECT: Second image is how it looks in Publisher opening the IDML file, with transparent card and white lightning.

[Atlas Games Webmaster]

Cat_CORE_Rules_TEST.idml

Attached is the IDML file.

[loukash]

The IDML contains linked files which are not available.

[Atlas Games Webmaster]

Symbol_power.tif Pages from Cat_CORE_Alert_v10.pdf

Attached. I pulled the one relevant page out of a multi-page PDF, so it will need to be relinked.

[loukash]

Alright, so Symbol_power.tif is a 1-bit image. And in pretty poor quality at that. (No, it doesn't help that it's been saved at 1200 dpi!)

When it comes to such simple shapes, I wouldn't even waste any time attempting to convert it to transparent background so that works in Publisher. Not worth it.
I would simply redraw it as a vector shape. All problems solved for good.
It takes just a few clicks. You may want to round the corners using the Corner tool in the Designer persona:

[loukash]

12 hours ago, Atlas Games Webmaster said:

INCORRECT: Second image is how it looks in Publisher opening the IDML file, with transparent card

The transparent background looks like a bug to me.
The IDML picture frame object has a white fill attributed, but it doesn't show any fill. The fill remains transparent, no matter which color I apply.

As a workaround, you would either have to recreate all such picture frames, or as a "quick fix" simply place a white background rectangle inside the frame, below the linked PDF:

Pinging @Gabe since you're already following this thread…  

[Gabe]

You don't need to re-create them. You can toggle the fill from the context toolbar . Still a bug though, but it's probably because by default pic frames hide fill with content. InDesign doesn't have an option to toggle it, so we treat it as a standard pic frame. 

[loukash]

1 hour ago, Gabe said:

You can toggle the fill from the context toolbar

Aaah! Forgot about that, thanks!

[loukash]

1 hour ago, Gabe said:

Still a bug though, but it's probably because by default pic frames hide fill with content. InDesign doesn't have an option to toggle it, so we treat it as a standard pic frame.

I see. So when converting an IDML, the button should have the "Show" state by default.

[Affinity Info Bot]

The issue "IDML import > Fill on picture frames is hidden on import" (REF: AFB-7203) has been fixed by the developers in internal build "2.1.0.1742".
This fix should soon be available as a customer beta and is planned for inclusion in the next customer release.
Customer beta builds are announced here and you can participate by following these instructions.
If you still experience this problem once you are using that build version (or later) please reply to this thread including @Serif Info Bot to notify us.