Just command-layer-click to select all areas that are LESS than 50% transparent; then Cmd. Shift I to select all areas that are MORE than 50% transparent.
You can also Cmd. Click on a Channel to select highlight areas using less than 50% of ink.
No no, it does not work that way. You do not understand what I mean. Command layer click will select the area that has pixels, whether it has a layer mask or not. But if you use blending options to drop out the white or black area of a layer, the pixels still exist and when you command-layer-click you don’t get a selection of the visible (non-transparent) pixels, you get ALL the pixles.
I want to get a selection of the visible or non-visible *transparent* area of the image, without having to resort to a ton of masking or layer mask gyrations.
So Command click on the layer mask;
followed by Command Option Shift clicking on the Image Layer.
I don’t remember how Photoshop 4 worked but did we even have Layer Masks back then?
Ann,
try this to see what I mean:
Make new document. Make a new layer. Delete the ‘background’ layer. Fill the remaining layer with a black to white gradient. Double click on layer name, the layer styles and controls window opens. In the center toward the bottom, there are 2 sliders that say "blend if". Click and drag the white triangle under "This layer" down about 1/3 of the way. Hold option then drag the left half of that same slider down to about 1/2 way. Your image will now look like a black fade that becomes transparent where the white used to be, you should have the checkerboard there. Press OK to close the dialog.
If you command click on the layer name now, you get a selection of the entire image, NOT a faded selection of white or black.
[Granted, with this simple gradient one could use a channel to select the still opaque areas. But with a more complex image it becomes more difficult to select the colored area, or the only transparent image.]
I’ve had times when I’d like to make a big selection of many layers in one shot but exclude the transparency of all the layers at once.
I think I should post this to "Feature Requests", or more accurately "Feature Returns" 😉
Yes, P4 had this function ("Select Transparency"). Yes, P4 was the first Photoshop to have layers and layer masks.
[fwiw, been using P since P3]
I guess you will just have to fall back on using the magic wand to select the "apparent" transparency that you get when you use the "This Layer" sliders (which leave all pixels present but just give the selected range of them (in your case, the white ones) the appearance of being transparent.
Those previously-white pixels are not "transparent" at allthey are just masquerading as such!
Conversely, you could use BergDesign’s "Peel-off White" filter to permanently remove the white pixels and render them truly transparent.
Cmd clicking the "Peeled" Layer will now select the non-transparent (more than 50% opaque) pixels.
Put a blank layer under the layer that uses advanced blending to drop out pixels, then merge down.
The blended out pixels will be translated to real transparency and you can then load the transparency of the new layer as a selection.
