I have a logo file, saved as PNG, that is black on transparent. Very simple file, just stylized black lettering on a transparent background. In Illustrator CS5, I can place that file, do a "Live Trace" in "Lettering" mode, and Illustrator will correctly ignore the transparent areas when I expand the trace. After expanding, I'm left with scalable paths and an easy way to change the fill color to have the logo work with my background.
Fast forward to Illustrator CS6. I try to do the same thing but a) there is no "lettering" preset for Image Trace and b) there is no setting I have yet found to cause Illustrator to ignore the transparent areas when I expand. If I then fill, everything inside the bounds of the placed image (the square containing the logo) is filled with that color. The only way I've found to get similar results is to go through the layers panel after the Expand and deselect each piece of the image that should not be filled. I have a hard time believing this is the desired approach.
I freely admit that I'm an Illustrator novice and I suspect that there is something one of you Illustrator experts thinks is obvious that I'm missing. I'd sure appreciate some guidance in the right direction.