Photoshop - Change Colour of Extended Canvas

Published 19:28 on 08 May, 2006

I recently discovered a rather nice feature of Photoshop completely by accident.

Whilst you are working on an image, it’s possible to change the colour of the extended canvas around it. This is helpful if you’re interested in viewing your image in context - you can pick a colour that relates to it’s final surroundings in your design.

To acheive this effect, you must do the following:

  1. Set your screen mode to "Full Screen with Menus". To do this press F once or select View > Screen Mode > Full Screen Mode with Menu Bar.
  2. Select the Paint Bucket Tool (G).
  3. Select the colour you require the extended canvas to be as your foreground colour.
  4. Shift+Click the extended canvas.

Voila, now you can see how your image will suit it’s final surroundings.