Actually ... I spoke to soon. I discovered this: identify -format "%[fx:a]" my.png
is not behaving as I initially thought. So maybe Ralf or someone else knows a better fx expression to use? >identify -verbose file.png | perl -pe 'while(<STDIN>){ if(/^\s.*alpha: >(\w+)-bit/){print "$1";}}' >Luke Thanks for your post Luke! I didn't see your reply until I had already figured out something similar, but seeing your post helped me see I was on the right track. I'm doing something in java with the -verbose output for now, which isn't nearly as terse as perl but it works. Would still prefer a -format expression if there is one. Lynn This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the message and any attachments from your system. _______________________________________________ swfmill mailing list swfmill@osflash.org http://osflash.org/mailman/listinfo/swfmill_osflash.org