Checkerboard pattern Photoshop

Change Transparency Checkerboard

The gray and white checkerboard pattern in this image is the default view indicating transparent areas of a layer.

You can change the transparency checkerboard in the Transparency preferences for Photoshop Elements.

On a PC go under the Edit menu to Preferences>Transparency.

On a Mac go under the Photoshop Elements menu to Preferences>Transparency.

That will bring up the dialog box shown below.

At the bottom of the Transparency dialog window change the two color squares to any color you want by clicking on the first one and changing the RGB settings in the window that pops up. Click OK.

Now click on the second square and do the same thing choosing another color.

In the image below I chose blue and red for my checkerboard. The results are a little hard on the eyes but you sure won't miss which areas are transparent!

You can even get rid of the checkerboard pattern completely by changing both color squares to the same color. In the image below I changed both squares to white.

You can always change it back to the default white and gray squares by going back to your Transparency Preferences and in the Dialog box change the Grid Colors field from Custom to Light.

I hope you found this helpful. If you have a Photoshop Elements tip you would like to share, go to the bottom of the page and submit your tip for the benefit of all to see.