Converting the Background in Adobe Photoshop CS5
From the book
From the book
There are many things you can do to a layer that you can’t do to the Background. For example, you can’t move the Background upward in the layer stack; change its blending mode, Opacity percentage, or Fill percentage; attach a mask to it; or embellish it with layer effects. You can, however, convert the Background into a layer, at which time it will adopt all the functions of a normal layer.
To convert the Background into a layer
- Do either of the following:
- Alt-double-click/Option-double-click the Background on the Layers panel to turn it into a layer without choosing options.
Double-click the Background on the Layers panel A to open the New Layer dialog. B Type a new Name. If desired, choose a Color for the area behind the visibility icon
on the panel, a Mode, and an Opacity percentage. Click OK. C
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If you need to create a Background for a file that doesn’t have one, you can convert any existing layer into the Background — the reverse of the preceding instructions.
To convert a layer into the Background
- Click a layer.
- Choose Layer > New > Background from Layer. The new Background will appear at the bottom of the stack on the Layers panel (its usual position).