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Is there any simple way to extract the "baked in" transparency in a layer and turn it into a layer mask in Photoshop? To take a simple example: Let's say that I paint a few strokes with a semi-transparent brush, or paste in a .png-file with an alpha channel. The rgb color values and the alpha value for each pixel are now all contained in the layer-image itself. I would like to be able to edit the alpha values as a layer mask, so that the layer image is solid and contains only the RGB values for each pixel.
Is this possible, and in that case how? Thanks.
EDIT: To clarify - I'm not really after the transparency values in themselves, but in the separation of rgb values and alpha values. That means that the layer must become a solid, opaque image with a mask.
+1 You can also disable the layer mask to edit the base layer without any transparency and then re-enable it afterwards. (You may also want to unlink the mask while editing the base layer.) These commands are all in the Layer Mask submenu. – devios1 – 2014-08-25T22:12:51.963
@MichaëlWitrant upvoted because you called it "The Gimp" – TKoL – 2016-07-06T16:10:52.023
What version of Photoshop does this apply to? I'm on CS4 but don't see that option. – DuckMaestro – 2012-06-04T22:50:02.057
1And it works almost the same way in The Gimp – Michaël Witrant – 2012-11-01T09:00:53.373
Worked for me in Photoshop CS6 – macek – 2013-05-16T16:57:18.297