I can't paste mono image into RGB channel.

[sethe9519243]

I am having trouble combing RGB data into a color image. 

I start with 3 mono images captured through separate red, green and blue filters.  I want to combine these into a single RGB image so I start with the Red data mono image and hit:     Ctrl + A, Ctrl + C, Ctrl + N, and change Mono to RGB in the options pannel that pops up.  I then select the red channel and paste into the red channel.  The history panel shows the paste action but i get no image.  I tried pasting all the data R,G,B, into the correct channels and still i get nothing?

Any thoughts?

[sethe9519243]

I didn't mention this but i have Photoshop CC and I tried this on 2 computers which makes me think I must be doing something wrong.

[davescm]

Try this

1. Create a new RGB image with the same bit-depth (8/16) as the grayscale images

2. Open your grayscale documents. (you now have 4 docs open)

3. Switch to the "Red" grayscale document : Ctrl A and Ctrl C   (do not change mode or anything)

4. Switch to the RGB document
5. In the channels panel switch the eye symbols so only Red channel is showing as visible and also then click on the Red channel thumbnail

6. Ctrl+V to paste into that channel

Repeat for Green and Blue

Finally turn RGB back on in channels panel

Hope that helps

Dave

[sethe9519243]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your help.

That's exactly what I was doing and have done in the past but I can't get it to work for some reason now.

I am working with 16 bit files.  I tried this every way I could think of.  Ctrl A, Ctrl C on the "red" mono then Ctrl N and changing it to RGB from mono, didn't wor. I tried creating a new window and setting all the perimeters the same as the Mono files (dpi, 16 bit, size, etc), didn't work 

When I past the data into the red channel the Photoshop registers the action "paste" into the history.  I can undo and redo this but there is no change to the white background.  I thought at first it was a glitch so I pasted the "red" mono, into the correct channel and made sure that I saw the change in the history tab then I closed the widow and was prompted to save my changes which I did.  I then reopened the file hoping to find the red data in the red channel which didn't happen, Just white or transparent depending on background settings.

I am at work so when I get home I will quadruple check everything.

Seth

[davescm · Accepted solution]

Now that is strange. I've just done exactly what you described here and it worked perfectly. So it is hard to see what would be stopping it on two computers that you have. I can't think of a setting. I would be tempted to do a preference reset and see if that cures it (but even that may not if you are seeing this on two PCs)

Dave

[sethe9519243]

I will try that.

I was thinking that with Photoshop CC maybe preferences are shared between the computers?  If that is true then I could see there being a scenario that it would happen on 2 computers. 

I will give it a try later tonight.

Thanks again,

Seth

[jev314159]

I was having the same issue - paste didn't show anything but the outline of the object I'm trying to paste. I fixed it by making the background white rather than transparent on the new image. Not sure why that worked but it did.

[Brian24053306282o]

This Solution worked.  

[D Fosse]

Huh - just earlier today I tried to make a single channel gradient on an new transparent layer. Didn't work. Did it again on a layer filled with white - that took.

Is this new behavior? Design or bug? Not a big thing, but I don't think I have ever noticed this before.

[Trevor.Dennis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote

Huh - just earlier today I tried to make a single channel gradient on an new transparent layer. Didn't work. Did it again on a layer filled with white - that took.

Is this new behavior? Design or bug? Not a big thing, but I don't think I have ever noticed this before.

I often see things in this forum that I have been doing for years, but suddenly can't remember the exact process.  We do it so often that it becomes automatic muscle memory.   It's a bit like the characters on a keyboard.  Our fingers know exactly where each letter is, but if you were away from the keyboard and someone asked you where the letter 'Y' is, you'd have to think about it.  We'd be able to work out the above example because of the QWERTY reference, but other letters maybe not so well.

JJ used to have several versions of Photoshop installed, and I might do the same if my new computer ever arrives.  Goodness we go the extra mile to help folk on this forum sometimes.

[davescm]

I don't think that is new Dag - it is the same in CS6. You need solid pixels on the layer to paste into the channel. If the layer has only a solid area (with some transparency) then paste into channel will only affect that area

Dave

[Semaphoric]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote
Huh - just earlier today I tried to make a single channel gradient on an new transparent layer. Didn't work. Did it again on a layer filled with white - that took.
Is this new behavior? Design or bug? Not a big thing, but I don't think I have ever noticed this before.

I ran into the exact same thing yesterday. Gradients and fills don't "Take" on a one or two channels of a transparent document, but they do show up in History. Used on all channels, they are visible as expected. I just tried in CS4, and it was the same way.

I then tried with CC2015 (32-bit), in which I have Telegraphics'  Filter Foundry (a Filter Factory replacement) installed. This allows you to directly manipulate Transparency. I made a transparent doc, and dragged a gradient across on the Red channel only. As before, I didn't see anything, but it showed up in History. I ran Filter Foundry, and set the 'A' channel (opacity) to 255, and the Gradient showed up.

However, I could only run FF on the composite channel if the doc was transparent, so the Gradient looked Cyan, since the Green and Blue channels were solid white. I remember Chris Cox posted once that  transparent areas actually have NO color, and that if you set the opacity to greater than zero, Photoshop has to assign some color, so it uses white.

So it appears that transparency/opacity is stored in the composite channel, and the other channels store the color.

[Jeff Arola]

Another way to combine the red, green and blue grayscale images is to use Merge Channels.

1. Open your three images

2. From the channels fly-out menu select Merge Channels

3. Pick RGB for the Mode and 3 for Channels

    Match red with red, green with green, and blue with blue in the Specify Channels.

After merge

[Guga_Baraldi]

Thank you for your reply!

I had the same problem and your tips worked for me.