Error - Target Channel is hidden in Photoshop

Forum|Forum|12 years ago
December 16, 2013
11 replies
324747 views

In Photoshop CC, I am constantly getting the message "Could not ...... because the target channel is hidden" whenever I try to do anything. Every time, I check and see that the alpha channel is selected and hidden, so I select RGB instead. Why does it keep automatically switching back to alpha?

Correct answer

I had the same problem and found the solution:

Your top panel, go to Select then in the dropdown menu uncheck "Edit in quick mask mode". Then it switches back to automatic RGB channel selection from automatic Alpha selection.

Show previous replies

Noel Carboni

Legend

Are you maybe clicking on a layer mask icon in the Layers panel?

-Noel

E

Elliott B.Author

Known Participant

Nope. I did have some layer masks, but they were inside layer groups that were closed and not visible.

Noel Carboni

Legend

I'm not sure what you might be doing, but I haven't heard a lot of complaints here on the forum about Photoshop selecting alternate channels on its own... Is is possible you're fat-fingering a key on the keyboard just before this happens?

I'm scouring my memory and I can't think of a time when I've had a channel made active without being able to explain it...

I can only encourage you to watch for it to happen then very carefully review what you've just done.

Next time it happens, before changing anything consider doing a screen grab and posting it here. Maybe there's some other clue there that one of us on the forum might be able to spot. Maybe something will be showing in the History panel that will make it clearer...

-Noel

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