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Why Won’t My Photoshop Save With a Transparent Background?

Last updated on September 24, 2022 @ 1:30 am

When you first open Adobe Photoshop, you’re greeted with a white canvas. Photoshop’s default background color is white, which means that any image you open will have a white background by default. If you want to create an image with a transparent background, you’ll need to change the background color from white to transparent.

To change the background color from white to transparent:

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Click on the “Background” layer in the Layers panel. If your image doesn’t have a Background layer, click on the topmost layer in the Layers panel and then click on the “Lock Transparent Pixels” icon in the Layers panel (it looks like a checkerboard).

3. Double-click on the Background layer in the Layers panel to open the Layer Style dialog box.

4. Click on the “Blend Mode” drop-down menu and select “Normal”.

5. Click on the “Color” swatch and choose black from the color picker.

6. Click OK to close the Layer Style dialog box.

7. Select the “Eraser” tool from the Toolbox and choose a soft-edged brush from the Brush Preset picker in the options bar at the top of the screen. The size of your brush will depend on the size of your image; for this example, I’ll use a brush size of 100 pixels.

8. Invert your foreground and background colors by pressing “Shift+Ctrl+I” (Windows) or “Shift+Command+I” (Mac). Your foreground color should now be black and your background color should be white.

9. Erase any areas of your image that you want to be transparent.

As you erase, you’ll see the checkerboard pattern appear, which indicates transparency. When you’re finished erasing, press “Ctrl+D” (Windows) or “Command+D” (Mac) to deselect your image.

PRO TIP: If you are having trouble saving your Photoshop file with a transparent background, there are a few things you can try. First, check to make sure that the file format you are saving in supports transparency. Some file formats, like JPG, do not support transparency. If you are using one of these formats, try saving your file in a different format, like PNG or TIFF. If that doesn’t work, try flattening your image before saving. To do this, go to the ‘Layer’ menu and select ‘Flatten Image’. This will combine all of the layers in your image into one layer. Finally, make sure the ‘Transparency’ option is selected in the ‘Save As’ dialog box when you save your file.

10. Go to File > Save As and choose PNG from the Format drop-down menu at the bottom of the dialog box that appears. In most cases, you can leave all of the other settings at their defaults and just click OK to save your file; however, if you’re working with a large file, you may want to uncheck th

Morgan Bash

Morgan Bash

Technology enthusiast and Co-Founder of Women Coders SF.