Transparent background using trace presets

[Offset]

I've been using the trace tool in Illy and though in general it's been really good especially the detailed illustration preset.
The problem is when I import a scanned graphic or photo that has had the white background removed in Photoshop and trace it, I lose the transparent background after tracing and it returns to white. Doesn't Illy support transparency in tracing or am I doing something wrong?
However some files have retained their transparent background for some reason.

TIA for help

[David]

Originally Posted by Offset

I've been using the trace tool in Illy and though in general it's been really good especially the detailed illustration preset.
The problem is when I import a scanned graphic or photo that has had the white background removed in Photoshop and trace it, I lose the transparent background after tracing and it returns to white. Doesn't Illy support transparency in tracing or am I doing something wrong?
However some files have retained their transparent background for some reason.

TIA for help

I assume you are using Illy CS2 and PS CS2.
I also assume you are placing a .psd file that has a transparent background into an Illustrator page that has a white background (Illy doesn't have a transparent background like photoshop does).
But, after you trace the graphic, you can expand it and then delete the background (with the direct selection tool) that is generated from the tracing (it outlines the whole graphic, including the physical canvas).

hope this helps,
David

[Offset]

Thanks for your help.
I assume that you use the expand command and select fill? I'm new to Illy and am in a steep learning curve.
Yes I'm using the complete CS2 suite and I've been using Adobe programs since the early days of Pagewrecker. Indesign is a great piece of kit.
With the tracing files, I experimented with transparency and selected 'Multiply' which erases the white background. Unfortunately in some cases this produces an overlay effect resulting in a colour cast from the background showing through the artwork.
If you can tell me the commands needed to do it with expand, I'd like to try it your way.

Thanks

[David]

Once you do the live trace, in the tool bar at the top, there is an "expand" button. Click on that and it will give you the vector art of the trace. Grab the direct selection tool (the hollow arrow) and select the square rectangle of the background and hit the delete key twice and it will go away.
Multiply does not erase the background, it makes it overprint with transparency. Depending on how you selected the object, it will probably make the whole graphic multiply overprint.

hope this helps,
David

[Offset]

Thanks David for your advice. That has done the trick and stopped me from pulling my hair out!