How to change colors in a .bmp file?

A colleague sent me drawing in a .bmp file (I guess that means bit map). I want to change the colors to match those already in the site. Do I use Layers? And if so, how?

Your friend,
George

George, hello! What colors are you trying to match? All the colors in the image? Just the background?

For starters, you should convert the image to RGB (Image>Mode>RGB). This will give you all the functions you need to make the changes (most notably, layers). Then you can use various techniques to change colors in the image, but I think we need to hear more about exactly what you're trying to accomplish. A couple tools that may come into play: Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and Replace Color function. Happy to discuss more after you explain the task at hand!

Chuck

Well, gee, thanks, Chuck.

I turned the image into a .gif and put it into this test page: <http://www.palms-california.us/logotest.html> .
I want to drop out the white background of the image and make it blend with the background of the table. I want to change the brilliant green on the palm fronds to the muted green used in the rest of the site (sample at bottom). I want to change the trunk of the tree to a very similar color also used in the site.

It sounds simple, but since I have not done anything like this before, I think I will need some guidance.

Thanks for anything.

g.

Boy, that magic wand is some neat tool!

Of course I found I had to make the insides of some of the letters transparent, too!

Now, your instructions suggested I should use the Web-safe colors palette, but I actually want to use the colors that were included with the GL template I followed. I know what there binary code is, and I can open a palette of those colors in Adobe GoLive, but naturally they are not showing up in PSE.

So what do I do about that?

Anyway, just knowing how to make the white patches transparent puts me light-years ahead of where I was yesterday at this time.

The result, still lacking those softer colors I want, is at <http://www.palms-california.us/index.html> .

George

George, if you have the binary code for the color, it's very easy! Instead of using the color swatches, click on the foreground color square at the bottom of the toolbox (where the overlapping foreground and background squares are found). That will bring up the Color Picker dialog and at the lower right of that pop-up, you'll see a box marked # - that's where you put in the code. Hit OK, and the color you want will appear in the foreground box. Then go on and Edit>Fill using foreground color. Keep changing the foreground color for each layer, and Edit>fill. That oughta do it!

Chuck

Well, I think I did as much as I want to do on the image. I am an amateur, after all.

The logo does look better when it uses the colors that were already in the Adobe GoLive palette for that page, I think. See the result at <http://www.palms-california.us/index.html> .

I am posting another question under the titles "Web-Safe Colo(u)rs?" and hope you will put in your two pennies' worth.

George