Using PNG files within PSP

[Candive]

First let me state that I am not an experienced user of PSP since my main focus is video. I purchased a copy of PSP 2018 a couple of years ago. I regularly use png clipart as overlays on my videos and at times I've used the PSP background eraser to create a png for a video project . It works great but that is about it for my experience with PSP. Today's project was to layer a png on a photo in PSP 2018. Simple...I thought...The problem is, when I cut and paste the clipart, the checkerboard background remains visible on top of the background photo. Oddly, the only workaround I came up with was to use the background eraser to erase the checkerboard background which replaces it with another checkerboard background! This background seems to work but I must be doing something wrong that I need to erase a png background with another png background!

[LeviFiction]

How are you cutting and pasting the clipart? Can you go through the steps you're using? Also can you provide an example file?

Inside PSP the checkerboard is just a representation of a lack of image data, so it shouldn't come with the image if you're just using the Copy And Paste method directly inside of PSP. However, if you used something like the Snipping Tool to take a picture of the image inside PSP that would include the rendered checkerboard as it doesn't know what's transparent and what's not. Copying and Pasting from Websites also doesn't work well with PSP.

The normal process is:
1) Open PNG file in PSP
2) Edit -> Copy (or Ctrl + C)
3) Select/Open image to paste the clipart into
4) Edit -> Paste As new Layer (or Ctrl + V or Ctrl +L)

Doing this should not result in the checkerboard coming along for the ride unless the checkerboard is actually part of the image and not a sign of transparency.

[Candive]

Hi LeviFiction,
Thank you for your response. You have been very helpful and led me to the solution. Yes, the image was from the internet. I downloaded it rather than cut and paste it but the result was the same. Apparently not all png's that "look" transparent are transparent! I must have been very lucky in the past not to come across this problem before. Anyway, what I discovered, based on the clue you gave me regarding PSP having issues with images from Websites, is that when you do a google search for images with transparency; once the images are displayed, click on Tools on the browser menu. Then select Color which displays a drop down list and choose Transparent. The images are filtered to display only those which are actually transparent. These are the png's that have a transparent background and will work as expected.

I learnt something new today. Thank you!