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#### A.4.6.2 Translucent Mode

Example Translucent shading mode plot

Translucent shading mode selection

The Translucent shading mode () colours shapes in a transparent version of the colour selected by their style. The degree of transparency is determined by how many points are currently being plotted on top of each other, and by the Transparency Level slider; as you slide further to the right, points get more transparent. Unlike transparent mode, the transparency varies according to the current point density, so you can usually leave the setting the same as you zoom in and out.

Exporting: When the points are opaque, this mode works without problem for both bitmapped and vector output, but when the transparency is set there may be anomalies. Transparent points are rendered in PDF output, though the transparency levels may not be exactly the same as on the screen. This can be fixed by using the Force Bitmap option in the Plot Export dialogue. For PostScript, transparent points are rendered as opaque. You can use Force Bitmap with PostScript which will get transparency right for this layer, but then any earlier layers will be completely obscured.

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TOPCAT - Tool for OPerations on Catalogues And Tables
Starlink User Note253
TOPCAT web page: http://www.starlink.ac.uk/topcat/
Author email: m.b.taylor@bristol.ac.uk
Mailing list: topcat-user@jiscmail.ac.uk