Exporting from Lightroom to Photoshop

[Regina Melo]

Lightroom is exporting images to Photoshop as Layer 0 not Background.

Can someone help me fix this?

Thank you!

[dj_paige]

Lightroom or Lightroom Classic? What version NUMBER?

Are you truly exporting, or are you using the Ctrl-E (Windows) or Cmd-E (Mac) command (Edit In...)?

[Regina Melo]

I'm using Lightroom Classic version 12.1, and I am exporting going to File > Export

[Lumigraphics]

When you use Transform adjustments, yes that's what you get. There will be transparent areas and it has to be Layer 0, not Background.

[SeanMcCormack]

That's interesting, hadn't noticed before as I usually constrain crop, thanks for that. 

[Regina Melo]

Sorry, but is this an answer to my question? I don't understand it, I didn't write anything about Transform adjustments.

[Lumigraphics]

You want to know why you are getting Layer 0 instead of Background. That's the reason. Because of adjustments made in Lightroom.

[Conrad C · Accepted solution]

I don't understand it, I didn't write anything about Transform adjustments.

By @Regina Melo

The bottom line is that it could be any edit that creates non-image space in the photo, usually shown as empty white edges. Not just the Transform panel, that’s only one example. Any edit that pulls content away from the edge will create an empty area that’s converted to a transparent region in a Photoshop document. Because transparent regions are not possible with a flattened (Background only) Photoshop document, a document sent from Lightroom Classic with transparent regions must be non-flattened (Layer 0, no Background) to accommodate transparency in Photoshop.

The demo below shows at least three ways that you can end up with empty white edges:

• Merging a panorama from multiple images, because the result is always non-rectangular until cropped. After cropping, the hidden irregular empty edges are not passed on to Photoshop because what Photoshop receives is trimmed to the crop, but the document is still non-flattened. 
• Transform panel options, as others pointed out already. 
• The Distortion option in the Lens Corrections panel with Constrain Crop disabled. A positive Distortion value pinches the edges to reveal empty white edges. 

There may be other features that create empty edges; those are just the ones off the top of my head.

One way to prove this: Start with a normal single frame image (not a merge).

If you apply only non-transform adjustments and Edit in Photoshop, it should convert to Photoshop as flattened (Background only).

If you apply any transform adjustments like those shown above, it should convert to Photoshop as non-flattened (Layer 0).

[Regina Melo]

Thank you! I'll try that.

[Rob_Cullen]

Exporting PNGs with transparency to Ps will open them as Layer 0.

What file type are you exporting as?

[Regina Melo]

Raw files