How Do You Fill with Foreground in Photoshop?

In Photoshop, the quickest way to fill a selection, layer, or shape with the foreground color is by using a keyboard shortcut.

Filling with Foreground Color in Photoshop

Based on the reference provided, you can easily fill with the foreground color using specific keyboard combinations:

On Mac: Press Option + Delete
On Windows: Press Alt + Backspace

These shortcuts apply the currently selected foreground color to the active layer or selection.

Foreground vs. Background Color

Photoshop uses two primary color swatches:

Foreground Color: This is typically the color used for painting tools (Brush, Pencil), filling selections with these shortcuts, and text color.
Background Color: This is primarily used for gradient fills, eraser tool background simulations (on specific layer types), and filling selections with a different shortcut.

You can see the current foreground and background colors in the Tools panel. The foreground color is the upper swatch, and the background color is the lower one. Pressing the X key swaps these two colors.

Related Shortcut: Filling with Background Color

The reference also mentions how to fill with the background color:

On Mac: Press Command + Delete
On Windows: Press Control + Backspace

This shortcut fills the active layer or selection with the color currently set as the background color in your Tools panel.

Applying Shortcuts to Different Layer Types

As noted in the reference, these shortcuts (Option/Alt + Delete/Backspace for foreground and Command/Control + Delete/Backspace for background) are versatile. They work with several types of layers, including Type and Shape layers.

Steps to Fill with Foreground Color

Select your desired Foreground Color: Click the foreground color swatch in the Tools panel and choose a color from the Color Picker.
Select the area you want to fill: This could be an entire layer, a selection made with a Marquee or Lasso tool, or a specific shape or text layer.
Use the Shortcut: Press Option + Delete (Mac) or Alt + Backspace (Win).

The selected area will instantly be filled with the chosen foreground color.

Shortcut Summary

Here's a quick overview of the fill shortcuts:

Action	Mac Shortcut	Windows Shortcut
Fill with Foreground	`Option + Delete`	`Alt + Backspace`
Fill with Background	`Command + Delete`	`Control + Backspace`

These simple shortcuts are essential for quick color fills in Photoshop workflows.

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