Creating a new layer in Photoshop allows different colours, but not white

[ChrisLeicester]

When I create a new layer in Photoshop CC (Layer | New Layer) it creates a transparent one by default, which is usually what I want. However, sometimes I want a white layer, and the New Layer dialogue has a "Colour" option, but white (or indeed black) isn't an option. I know it's not too hard to select the entire layer and fill it, but it seems an unncessary extra two steps. Is there an easy way to create a new layer that is solid white?

[Myra Ferguson · Accepted solution]

When you go to the Layers panel menu and select New Layer..., the Color option in the New Layer dialog is a color that is applied as a label to the layer as opposed to a fill on the new layer.

To create a new layer that is solid white, add a Fill Layer. Go to the Adjustments layer icon (the middle one at the bottom of the Layers panel), select Solid Color... or go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color... The Color Picker will open where you can select white or any other color to fill the layer.

[ChrisLeicester]

Ah, thank you very much Myra!

[Myra Ferguson]

You're very welcome! 🙂

[Stephen Marsh]

If this is something that you do regularly, then you would need to create an automation via an action or script to automatically add a new white-filled layer (a solid fill layer or a standard pixel layer). The action can use an F-key keyboard shortcut, while an installed script can use a custom keyboard shortcut.

Script code for a white color fill layer:

solidFill(255, 255, 255);

function solidFill(R, G, B) {
	function s2t(s) {
		return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
	}
	var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
	var descriptor2 = new ActionDescriptor();
	var descriptor3 = new ActionDescriptor();
	var descriptor4 = new ActionDescriptor();
	var reference = new ActionReference();
	reference.putClass( s2t( "contentLayer" ));
	descriptor.putReference( s2t( "null" ), reference );
	descriptor4.putDouble( s2t( "red" ), R );
	descriptor4.putDouble( s2t( "grain" ), G );
	descriptor4.putDouble( s2t( "blue" ), B );
	descriptor3.putObject( s2t( "color" ), s2t( "RGBColor" ), descriptor4 );
	descriptor2.putObject( s2t( "type" ), s2t( "solidColorLayer" ), descriptor3 );
	descriptor.putObject( s2t( "using" ), s2t( "contentLayer" ), descriptor2 );
	executeAction( s2t( "make" ), descriptor, DialogModes.NO );
}

Script code for a white raster layer:

addWhiteLayer();

function addWhiteLayer() {
	function s2t(s) {
		return app.stringIDToTypeID(s);
	}
	var descriptor = new ActionDescriptor();
	var descriptor2 = new ActionDescriptor();
	var reference = new ActionReference();
	reference.putClass( s2t( "layer" ));
	descriptor.putReference( s2t( "null" ), reference );
	executeAction(s2t( "make" ), descriptor, DialogModes.NO);
	descriptor2.putEnumerated( s2t( "using" ), s2t( "fillContents" ), s2t( "white" ));
	descriptor2.putUnitDouble( s2t( "opacity" ), s2t( "percentUnit" ), 100 );
	descriptor2.putEnumerated( s2t( "mode" ), s2t( "blendMode" ), s2t( "normal" ));
	executeAction( s2t( "fill" ), descriptor2, DialogModes.NO );
}

Info on saving and running scripts:

https://prepression.blogspot.com/2017/11/downloading-and-installing-adobe-scripts.html