Is there a way to directly paste PNG images in Photoshop and keep their transparency? I don't mean dragging them, but directly pasting from, for example, a browser. Transparency is always replaced by black.
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8 Answers
I don't think so.
I believe it's the operating system clipboard which kills the transparency so it's more of an operating system issue than an image or application issue.
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1It may or may not be an OS issue depending on OS. Under windows it would be an application issue. in that case one can only hope the application would support this in the future. Look for a browser plugin that can perhaps solve this before.– user7179Dec 5, 2012 at 23:24
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2Just curious how you see it as an application issue if applications are being switched? To me, it's clear the OS clipboard storing the data is not storing transparency when apps are changed. However, copy.pasting transparency within many apps works with no problem.– ScottDec 5, 2012 at 23:52
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1It's up to the application to set the data object to the clipboard. Under Windows you can do this in various ways, also the sort-of "lazy" way which a lot of applications seem to utilize (which make it appear as if it's a outside problem). I have used the clipboard to store transparent images myself (programmatic) and it's not a huge thing to accomplish, but never-the-less, it's up to the application :)– user7179Dec 6, 2012 at 0:15
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A bit of an old topic but thought I would contribute...
I normally save the image and open in PS however I found a better solution today. It's still a bit of a pain but at least you won't have temporary image files and also saves the hassle of browsing to the file itself.
Simply right click and copy image URL (or similar), or copy the address bar link if you used "view image" in Google search.
In PS, go to Open... and then paste the URL in the File name box and click open.
Note that this technique will only work on Windows currently - OSX has no option to open URL directly from an open dialog window.
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This is best solution to OP's question for trying to get a copy of an image from example browser. Please mark as correct answer if possible or mods?– dvnkissOct 28, 2016 at 11:04
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@Yisela - I believe this works for you and no plug instead required. Perhaps a better resolution? If so, please mark as best answer. Thanks.– mattbSep 15, 2017 at 15:48
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Note that this technique does not work on OS X; there is no field in a file dialog where a URL can be pasted.– PhrogzOct 4, 2017 at 14:29
There is a plugin for Firefox: Open with photoshop that does what you want, and actually does some of the work for you.
The way it works is: You right click an image and choose "Open in photoshop", and that is exactly what happens ( Not to mention pngs maintain their transparency ).
It does work pretty well, though it doesn't open up the images 100% of the time ( at least on mac/cs6 ).
It also has a feature to open background images.
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I'm a bit reluctant to switch from Chrome (its inspector is simply amazing), but it's good to know there is an extension to do so. Maybe I can find a similar one for this browser. Thanks!– YiselaDec 6, 2012 at 3:13
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@yisela I did try to check if chrome had similar extension when I made my answer, but seems like there isn't one. -- I kinda have it the other way. I feel more comfortable using firebug. one thing is that I like the way firebug tells you about javascript errors. I think that firebug is way more straight forward with that ( ...or it could be that I just don't get chrome.. ).– JoonasDec 6, 2012 at 9:30
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"Open with photoshop" is now available for Chrome. However, I can't get it to work. And according to the reviews, no one else can either. Jun 24, 2015 at 20:20
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@GhostEcho It has been available for quite a long time now and I've heard similar complaints ever since it was released. It's odd that they haven't been able to make it better for chrome. I haven't had a need too use either version, because the good old clipboard copying started working for pngs again like some years ago .– JoonasJun 24, 2015 at 21:08
The easiest way to do this would be to save a copy of the PNG and then open it in Adobe Photoshop. This preserves the transparency.
The downfall of this method is that you would have to remember to delete the file afterwords, if you don't want to keep it. Alternatively you could download it to the temp folder.
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2In OS X I keep a shortcut to the hidden temp folder accessible for these kinds of routine tasks. Save into
/tmp, drag it over to your editor (Quicksilver makes this painless for me), create your new file, and forget all about that original that's going to get wiped anyway. Dec 6, 2012 at 17:36
It is a Photoshop issue.
You can copy and paste from your browser to Powerpoint and even Microsoft word and it will retain transparency all day long. Mac or PC.
Again, it is just Adobe doing a piss poor job on supporting usability again.
Easier way to do this:
- Copy the URL link to the PNG image
- In Photoshop, hit File > Place Embedded ...
- Paste the copied link into the File name field
Photoshop grabs the image and embeds it as a smart object layer with all transparency preserved.
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Placed in an action, this could be a one button operation. Pretty smart!– PieBie ♦Jan 15, 2019 at 13:37
Whatever I did, PS still would not open the PNG file in a transparent background. I ended up using an online PNG to JPG converter. A little trouble, but it works.
The easiest way is to save it as png file into you pc then open it in Ai from there you copy and paste in Ps and just eliminate the background in Ps.
