There are 3 easy steps involved in making a shaped (i.e., not rectangular) banner:

1. Selecting the background shape

2. Adding the text

3. Saving the file

Step 1. On the Background tab, select the shape you would like to use. When a shape other than rectangle is used, the remaining area is filled with lime green, which is the default transparent color. The transparent color can be changed on the Save tab. You would want to change the transparent color if you were going to use lime green on your shape because when the image is saved, all lime green areas will become transparent. The background of the shape can be any color, image, or gradient.

Step 2. Add text, images or other shapes as you normally would.

Step 3. Go to the Save tab and click the Save button. Note that on the Save tab, the Transparent check box is checked and the Transparent Color is set to lime green. When you save and view the image in the gif compressor, the transparent color (in this case, lime green) will be removed.

That's all there is to it. You can check to make sure the image is correct by clicking on Preview on the Save tab.

Hints on transparency:

• Shapes must be saved as a gif in order for transparency to work. Jpeg files do not have a transparent component.

• Sometimes the white looks grayish when saved as a gif. If this happens, set the text to anti-aliased or use the text on the angles tab.

• You can also create transparent images using the shapes on the shape tabs and setting the transparent color to the background. This will also allow you to add a border around the shape.