In the last couple days my Pshop has done something weird. Normall when i copy and paste into a new image, the background and pasted image are in teo different layers. But for some reason now, it only shows in one layer, though I still have to flatten the layers to finish it. I need that bottom layer to show. I often use the bucket to fill the bottom layer with white to let me cut out the pasted image more effectively. But I have no clue what I may have done to cause it to show in my layers pallette as a single layer. Any suggestions?

SHIFT+drag from one document to another, always work for me ;)

Tihomir

If you set the bg color to white on your new document it will lock the layer then the pasted image will go on a new layer.

Not sure how to do that. My procedure is usually to select an area in a document and copy it. Close the image and open a new document, which is automatically sized to fit the part I've copied. Then I paste what I've copied in the new document. And up until a couple days ago the pasted material came in as a new layer. Now my laye palette only shows one layer. It's very inconvenient.

When you copy something then open a new document, it shows the clipboard preset, and also in the background contents you can change the background  to transparent, white or color. If it's set to transparent you won't get a new layer underneath when you paste from the clipboard.

Here's the layers pallet after pasting

It was set to transparent. I don't know how. I basically deleted my pref file and that fixed it, but it's a pain because now I have to reload all my actions and styles. I saved the previous pref as a bak file though so I just reinstalled it, and tried again, and I cannot see where  there is anything to change the transparent background to white and save that as a default. I haven't a clue where you see the clipboard contents or color choices. So where do I change it from transparent?

I think that if you create a new document with a transparent background (done in the new document dialog) PS tries to be helpful and remembers this for all future docs. So to reset it, you just need to create a new doc with a white background and it'll be white forever after (or until you change it, anyway).

That did it. Thank you. I must have clicked transparent by accident and didn't see it.

I wasn't trying to be deliberately obtuse or stupid macatelier, but due to my disability, sometimes my mind isn't very clear, and I've been having a couple of those days.

Glad you got it sorted. I just got home from work and realised the first image I uploaded was the wrong one (sorry). Thanks Steve for explaining it better than me. Here's the image that I should have uploaded first.

Ah, see, that I probably would have understood. It's weird, you know. You can understand Photoshop deeply, and yet when some goofy little thing goes wrong it stumps ya.

I know what you mean. LOL! I had a new computer at work and when they re-installed Photoshop I realised I hadn't saved my preferences! I also sometimes get confused with keyboard shortcuts as I use Windows at work & Mac at home. Very frustrating!