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How do you invert transparency in Photoshop?

Published in Photoshop Transparency 2 mins read

To invert transparency in Photoshop, you can effectively turn transparent areas opaque and vice-versa by using a selection and a fill layer. Here's how:

Steps to Invert Transparency:

  1. Load Transparency as a Selection: In the Channels panel (Window > Channels), Ctrl+Click (Cmd+Click on Mac) on the RGB channel thumbnail. This loads the white (opaque) areas as a selection. Effectively, the non-transparent areas are now selected.

  2. Invert the Selection: Press Ctrl+Shift+I (Cmd+Shift+I on Mac) to invert the selection. Now, the transparent areas of your layer are selected.

  3. Create a Solid Color Fill Layer: With the inverted selection still active, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color.

  4. Choose White as the Color: In the Color Picker, choose white as the color. This will fill the previously transparent areas with white.

  5. Hide the Original Layer (Optional): If you want to see only the inverted transparency, turn off the visibility of the original layer that contained the transparency.

Essentially, you're selecting the transparent areas and filling them with a color (typically white) to make them opaque, effectively inverting the transparency. This technique allows you to visualize or manipulate transparency in ways that standard layer adjustments might not allow.

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