{{DISPLAYTITLE:_CLEARCOLOR}}
The [[_CLEARCOLOR]] statement sets a specific color to be treated as transparent when an image is later put (via [[_PUTIMAGE]]) onto another image. 


{{PageSyntax}}
:[[_CLEARCOLOR]] {{{Parameter|color&}}|_NONE}[, {{Parameter|Dest_Handle&}}]

{{Parameters}}
* In color modes using a palette, {{Parameter|color&}} is the palette index of the new transparent color value or _NONE designates no clear colors.
* If {{Parameter|color&}} is not a valid palette index, an [[ERROR Codes|illegal function call]] error will occur.
* In 32-bit color modes, {{Parameter|color&}} is the [[_LONG]] color value of the new transparent color.
* If {{Parameter|Dest_Handle&}} is omitted, the destination is assumed to be the current write page. Zero can designate the current program screen.


{{PageDescription}}
* If {{Parameter|Dest_Handle&}} is an invalid handle, then an [[ERROR Codes|invalid handle]] error is returned. Check for bad handle values of -1 first.
* In 32-bit color modes, it simply sets the Alpha to 0 for all pixels matching the specified color.
* In the second syntax, transparency is disabled for color modes using a palette.
* '''Note:''' [[_SETALPHA]] can affect any _CLEARCOLOR alpha setting within the color range set.
* '''NOTE: 32 bit [[_NEWIMAGE]] screen page backgrounds are transparent black or [[_ALPHA]] 0. Use [[_DONTBLEND]] or [[CLS]] for opaque.'''


{{PageExamples}}
''Example 1:'' Using _CLEARCOLOR to "mask" the background color of an image.
{{CodeStart}} '' ''
{{Cl|SCREEN (statement)|SCREEN}} 13
img& = {{Cl|_LOADIMAGE}}("qb64_trans.png")
{{Cl|_PUTIMAGE}} , img&, 0               'place actual image with background
K$ = INPUT$(1)
{{Cl|CLS}} , {{Cl|_RGB}}(255, 0, 0)             'clear screen with red background
{{Cl|_CLEARCOLOR}} {{Cl|_RGB}}(255, 255, 255), img&
{{Cl|_PUTIMAGE}} , img&, 0               'place image without white background
{{Cl|PRINT}} {{Cl|_CLEARCOLOR}}(img&)           'displays closest clear color attribute
{{Cl|END}} '' ''
{{CodeEnd}}


''Example 2:'' Using a _CLEARCOLOR transparency with images created on a [[_NEWIMAGE]] page. Does not require an image file.
{{CodeStart}}{{Cl|SCREEN (statement)|SCREEN}} {{Cl|_NEWIMAGE}}(512, 384, 32) ' screen uses handle value
{{Cl|CIRCLE}}(50, 50), 50, {{Cl|_RGB}}(128, 0, 0) ' create a red ball image
{{Cl|PAINT}}(50, 50), {{Cl|_RGB}}(255, 0, 0), {{Cl|_RGB}}(128, 0, 0)
redball = {{Cl|_NEWIMAGE}}(101, 101, 32) ' create a new image page
{{Cl|_PUTIMAGE}} , 0, redball,(0, 0)-(101, 101) ' put screen page 0 image onto redball page
{{Cl|_CLEARCOLOR}} {{Cl|_RGB}}(0, 0, 0), redball ' makes black become see-through
{{Cl|CLS}}, {{Cl|_RGB}}(0, 0, 255) ' erase original ball and create a blue background
{{Cl|DO...LOOP|DO}}
{{Cl|_PUTIMAGE| _PUTIMAGE}} ({{Cl|RND}} * 512, {{Cl|RND}} * 384), redball
{{Cl|SLEEP| SLEEP}} 1 ' one second delay
{{Cl|LOOP}} {{Cl|UNTIL}} {{Cl|INKEY$}} <> "" '' ''
{{CodeEnd}}


''Example 3:'' Fading an image with a _CLEARCOLOR background using a new page image to prevent [[_SETALPHA]] changes.
{{CodeStart}} '' ''
mainscreen = {{Cl|_NEWIMAGE}}(640, 480, 32) ' Main Screen (viewable)
{{Cl|SCREEN}} mainscreen
{{Cl|_SCREENMOVE}} {{Cl|_SCREENMOVE|_MIDDLE}}
Image1& = {{Cl|_LOADIMAGE}}("qb64_trans.png") '<<<<<< any image with one background color to clear

{{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} Image1& < -1 {{Cl|THEN}} 'check loaded image handle value before using!
  {{Cl|_SOURCE}} Image1&
  clr~& = {{Cl|POINT}}(0, 0) 'get background color from image source
  {{Cl|_CLEARCOLOR}} clr~&, Image1& 'clear background color of loaded image
  NewImage1& = {{Cl|_NEWIMAGE}}({{Cl|_WIDTH (function)|_WIDTH}}(Image1&), {{Cl|_HEIGHT}}(Image1&), 32) 'new image page
  {{Cl|_PUTIMAGE}} , Image1&, NewImage1& 'put image without background color on new page
  {{Cl|_FREEIMAGE}} Image1& 'free loaded image from memory
{{Cl|END IF}}
{{Cl|_DEST}} mainscreen:

a& = 0: d = 1
DO
  {{Cl|_LIMIT}} 10 'regulate speed of fades
  {{Cl|CLS}}
  a& = a& + d
  {{Cl|IF...THEN|IF}} a& = 255 {{Cl|THEN}} d = -d 'reverse fade 
  {{Cl|_SETALPHA}} a&, , NewImage1& 'sets alpha level of all colors to fade image page in/out
  {{Cl|_PUTIMAGE}} (0, 342), NewImage1& 
  {{Cl|LOCATE}} 1, 1: {{Cl|PRINT}} "Alpha: "; a&
  {{Cl|_DISPLAY}}
{{Cl|LOOP}} {{Cl|UNTIL}} a& = 0
{{Cl|END}}
{{CodeEnd}}
:''Note:'' If the _CLEARCOLOR image background was not put onto a separate page, [[_SETALPHA]] would display it also.



{{PageSeeAlso}}
* [[_CLEARCOLOR (function)]]
* [[_SETALPHA]] {{text|(sets transparency level)}}
* [[_ALPHA]], [[_ALPHA32]] {{text|(read functions)}}
* [[Images]], [[Creating Sprite Masks]]


{{PageNavigation}}
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