no. i’ve added it as an action that i’ve assigned to a function key. F6 gets me file> new (from clipboard)> paste> rename background layer to layer 0.
hth, dave
Ok thanks for the input!
It’s strange though that an advanced and sophisticated peace of software like Photoshop forces us to work in this kind of a way. I can’t really see any good reason to have the file you open locked by default and I believe the first thing majority of users do when opening a file is unlocking it.
"I believe the first thing majority of users do when opening a file is unlocking it."
And I’ll counter that contention by saying that there are a lot of people who NEVER unlock the Background, preferring instead to keep it inviolable, and to duplicate the Background as ‘Layer 1.’
That said, it might be nice to have a preference for this. Barring that (I just don’t see it ever happening), I’m sure it’s possible that your desired state of Background unlocking could be scripted, so that every single-layer image you open will be automatically changed to an unlocked ‘Layer 0.’ Perhaps you could ask if somebody in the Scripting forum could point you in that direction.
I believe it is a safeguard.
There would be no harm in an option to over-ride it for experienced users but it’s never bothered me!
there are a lot of people who NEVER unlock the Background, preferring instead to keep it inviolable, and to duplicate the Background as ‘Layer
1.
This the best way and you always have the original to refer to.
I write protect my originals as soon as i copy them to disk. that way i never overwrite them. you get a big "file is write protected" warning if you try. saved my bacon lots of times.
I only work on a copy of any file.
But once I have that copy open I still only work on a duplicate layer of the background. and using the background as a reference is much faster than opening another file.
I agree that it is sometimes good to have the original file unchanged in the bg. However I work mostly with video frames between AE and PS and in my workflow having extra layers (like the bg) is not necessary and can get confusing. That’s why I’m hoping for an option to do this automatically.
One thing comes to my mind considering the workflow of those who like to keep their BG unchanged:
Wouldn’t it be great in your case if PS automatically duplicated the opened file for editing and made the BG unvisible? I mean don’t your workflow require doing this anyway for every file you open? Is there any case in which having just the bg locked would the best way to start working? I can only imagine workflows that need additional steps from there.
But once I have that copy open I still only work on a duplicate layer of the background. and using the background as a reference is much faster than opening another file.
ditto that. 🙂
That’s why I’m hoping for an option to do this automatically.
if double click layer> enter is too long, you can create an action and assign it to a function key.
you know, thinking about it, i wonder if it’s possible to write a startup script to automate that. anyone familiar with the startup scripting options?
Hmmm…. I don’t find duplicating a layer too strenuous sort of like making coffee in the morning.
"if double click layer> enter is too long, you can create an action and assign it to a function key.
you know, thinking about it, i wonder if it’s possible to write a startup script to automate that."I got a 99.9% guess that it’s possible, and probably easy if you have the know-how. I know there’s a simple script that will automatically display any image at 100% view/1.0× magnification when it’s opened."anyone familiar with the startup scripting options?"See the last sentence of my first post. Unless you’re one of those nobodies who never reads the last sentences of #3 replies!
😉 XD
Usually there is no need to "unlock" the Background. The lock only prevents you from moving the Layer around; you can work on it all you want. If you need to, Alt-double clicking on it in the Layers palette will turn it into a real Layer while skipping the naming dialog. This can be made into an action and batched.
"Hmmm…. I don’t find duplicating a layer too strenuous sort of like making coffee in the morning."
I admit that I’m a workflow-freak. Unnecessery steps simply irritate me. They aren’t that bad when you do them a few times, but if you have to do something say fifty times per day you start to wonder if things could be better… 🙂
Then there’s the old "CTRL + J" shortcut immediately upon opening to copy the Background to a new, unlocked layer.
Much ado about little, IMO.
Ctrl J works for me.
Most of the time, I want a dupe of the background layer to do something global like noise reduction, and the software I use for that does the dupe automatically. No fuss, no muss, no danger! And, if I already have layers applied and I decide now I want to use NR, I go to Dfine and it ignores the layers and places the new NR layer immediately above the Background.
Neat!
All I’m saying that including this easy-to-implement little fetaure as an option in the preferences dialog box would make this great application even better for me and many other users. I don’t see any way how it could make it worse.
Ps. Thanks for the shortcut tips ctrl+j etc.!
See the last sentence of my first post. Unless you’re one of those nobodies who never reads the last sentences of #3 replies!
well i was just thinking it might be possible to script something like that. 🙂
