Photoshop Tips - Change The Pasteboard Color In Photoshop

Resetting The Pasteboard Color Back To Its Default Gray

Okay, you've had some fun by changing Photoshop's pasteboard color on your friend's or co-workers computer, but they're not finding it quite as funny as you thought they would. They're angry and threatening legal action unless you change it back to the default gray within the next 30 seconds. Here's what my pasteboard looks like after changing its color from gray to red (the "pasteboard" is the blank area around the photo):

To change the pasteboard color back to its default gray and avoid being dragged into court by an angry co-worker with no sense of humor, first select Photoshop's Paint Bucket Tool from the Tools palette. It's hiding under the Gradient Tool, so click and hold on the Gradient Tool for a moment until the fly-out menu appears, then select the Paint Bucket Tool from the fly-out menu:

Next, click on the Foreground color swatch in the Tools palette. Currently, my Foreground color is set to red. Yours may be set to black, white, or some other color:

This brings up Photoshop's Color Picker. Down in the bottom center of the dialog box, you'll find the R, G and B options. Enter a value of 192 for each of the three options. This gives you the gray color that the pasteboard uses by default:

Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Color Picker, then move your mouse cursor into the pasteboard area, hold down your Shift key, and click on the pasteboard. Instantly, the pasteboard is filled with the default gray color:

Remember, you'll want to use the default gray color for the pasteboard whenever you're working on your images. Changing the color of the pasteboard is just a fun trick, nothing more.