John... I think I remember it involving alpha channels...  http://voices.yahoo.com/using-transparency-photoshop-png-vs-tga-3493255.html

Take a look here and see if this is of any help:  http://tutorials.robbiegee.com/ps_tga.htm

You also might take a look at http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/cs/using/WSEC964A47-477C-4487-8CF4-332F92636117a.html#WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-7764a

At any rate, adobe.com might have your answer in this search I did...

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/search/index.cfm?loc=en_us&term=saving%20transparency%20as%20tga%20files&cat=all

Yeah, I just tried that, didn't work. 

John... I asked a real Ps guru... Lesa Snider. If anyone knows, she does. Waiting for an answer.

You need the plugin file from a previous PS edition. I can send it to you if you'd like......just say the word.

no, they didn't. they just do no longer provide a plugin that makes working with TGAs more convenient. Photoshop never stopped opening and saving transparent TGAs.

the first link of DrJBL may help you to understand what this alpha-channel is all about. it's a pretty good article (except that it claims " a .png file preserves the transparency right on the image without any additional layers, channels or work involved.". that's bullshit, of course tansparent PNG files do have an alpha-channel.)

moshi,

here's the thing... When one chooses to open Skinstudio graphics as a tga (do not convert to Png) option.. In older versions of Ps, as long as one continued to use the Ps 7 Targa.8bi the tga would open, with any transparency..intact.

Then, one would be able to modify, and save directly into the skins folder, overwriting the image, and applying it to the theme. Couple of clicks, done.

I realize tga can still be saved with transparency, utilizing several extra steps, which the old Targa format did automatically.

In Cs6 ( I bypassed 4 and 5) Photoshop no longer even has a Targa.8bi... so.. no way to overwrite and continue using the Legacy Targa.8bi.

They apparently have a new type of file that writes tga files, not named.. Targa.8bi...which cannot be replaced with the legacy format.

Its ok, I'll either go back to using pngs, saving to desktop and re-importing, or.. continue to use CS3 for skinning work.

Like you said, it's no longer more convenient than using Png's.

Sucks really..

well, batch convert isn't really an option as we, skinners typically work on one image at a time and adjust it sometimes dozens of times and overwrite, apply....before its right.

So, as it stands, looks like I will just go back to using Png, then auto-overwrite in SKS as opposed to just resaving the tga directly over the one in the skin folder.

Thanks for your input tho

About the changes on Adobe's TGA plugin, they had a reason for that, you can search "TGA plugin" at Adobe forums to find out.

But anyway, you can leave with PNG's just fine, here is how:

• open SkinStudio, go to the settings and make sure you check the option

to convert PNG into TGA.

• open the folder for the skin you're editing, create a folder there called PNG (just PNG not

variations like PNG_xx or something else)

• save all the new skin graphics you want to change or edit into this folder, as .png format

• on SkinStudio, go to any section you want to edit and use the arrow button right after the Import

button on the images area (see the screenshot bellow) and choose the graphic you saved on the PNG folder

mentioned above.

• after you use the import function, you can quick changing the graphics and click the link "Force image reimport"

at the top right of SkinStudio interface (also see screenshot bellow)

I know that reading the instructions, it does sound fancy but it's not, I will make a video showing this process and

post a link in here tomorrow to help more.

--------------------------------

--------------------------------

- Force image reimport

Thanks Danno... look forward to that vid.

Dani, you should really put that as a tutorial in the SKS WinWiki.

Well done, mate!