# Make NSPopoverMBS transparent?

**URL:** <https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909>\
**Category:** Extras\
**Created:** [July 11, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909 "2025-07-11T15:26:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/mark_sweeney/32/3332_2.png) [@Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Mark_Sweeney)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/1 "2025-07-11T15:26:06Z")

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I’m trying to see if I can make an NSPopoverMBS transparent, but the only luck I’m having is making the contents of the popover transparent, instead of the background.

Anyone have any ideas?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ian\_Kennedy](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/ian_kennedy/32/6860_2.png) [@Ian\_Kennedy](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Ian_Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/2 "2025-07-11T15:40:35Z")

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I don’t suppose you can set a background colour with an alpha value, can you?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/mark_sweeney/32/3332_2.png) [@Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Mark_Sweeney)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 4:44pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/3 "2025-07-11T16:44:44Z")

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So far I’ve only been able to make controls inside the popover transparent, but not the popover itself.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Christian\_Schmitz](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/christian_schmitz/32/158_2.png) [@Christian\_Schmitz](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Christian_Schmitz)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/4 "2025-07-11T17:07:50Z")

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The whole thing?

```auto
vc.View.alphaValue = 0.5

```

this would make the whole thing half transparent.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/mark_sweeney/32/3332_2.png) [@Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Mark_Sweeney)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/5 "2025-07-11T17:30:06Z")

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That makes the content inside the popover transparent, but does not make the popover itself transparent.  
What I’m getting:

 ![Screenshot 2025-07-11 at 10.23.11 AM](https://forum.xojo.com/uploads/default/original/3X/8/7/872610f8a18140f6c5ebdc66575cf386172de55b.png)

What I’m looking for:

 ![Transparent](https://forum.xojo.com/uploads/default/original/3X/b/6/b6c9d4ccb23368b221962a6c1e41e9af0f52a882.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Christian\_Schmitz](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/christian_schmitz/32/158_2.png) [@Christian\_Schmitz](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Christian_Schmitz)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/6 "2025-07-11T18:14:25Z")

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That is a bit more difficult.  
The Container used here is not transparent.

You’d need to use a [CustomNSViewMBS](https://www.monkeybreadsoftware.net/class-customnsviewmbs.shtml) as background there and have it return false in IsOpaque event and then draw something with alpha channel.

Then you could maybe get it transparent there.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ChristopheDV](https://forum.xojo.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@ChristopheDV](https://forum.xojo.com/u/ChristopheDV)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2025, 5:53am UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/7 "2025-07-12T05:53:34Z")

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Of you want the transparant vibrancy effect, just at a NSVisualEffectView layer.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/mark_sweeney/32/3332_2.png) [@Mark\_Sweeney](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Mark_Sweeney)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/make-nspopovermbs-transparent/85909/8 "2025-07-14T14:20:07Z")

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Unfortunately both solutions seem to be over my pay grade, so to speak. Was hoping there was something simple I had missed.