How do you smart scissor a image on gimp and cut the backgro

[Brooke]

I have a grey scale jpeg, and I want all the white to be transparent so I can put a background behind it and just have the black / grey part of the image stand out.

I've tried using the smart scissors, but I can't seem to get them to pull the white off the image.

How do I do this in GIMP?

[Carroll]

For transparency:
Use fuzzy select on the white places then go to layer to transparency.
Click on on add alpha channel and click clear.

[Ambrose]

If you want ALL of the white to be transparent. . .
1) Go to Layer<Transparency<Color to Alpha and, if white's not already the chosen color, change the color to white.
If you want a certain white region to be transparent. . .
1) Go to Layer<Transparency<Add Alpha Channel
2) Use the Color Select to select the particular region
3) Hit delete
4) Rinse and repeat for all applicable regions.