Is there any way to set the background to a default color?

[athletic_Lark5ED7]

Let's say I open a file and use the crop tool to extend it's size. The default background is transparent (As seen in the attachment). Can I change this for a specific color?

I'm doing a series of edits where I have to "stretch" images and the background color have to be green. Is there any way to make this process faster, instead of using the bucket tool every time I extend the picture?

Thanks!

[Michael Bullo · Accepted solution]

A few random things that might help...

The reason you are getting transparency is that you don't have a background layer. When a background layer is present and you expand the canvas through an action such as cropping, Photoshop will automatically fill that area with the background colour.

If you want to convert a regular layer into a background layer you can do so via this menu option...
Layer > New > Background from Layer

When creating a new document one of the options is Background Contents. Set it to White and you get a locked, white background layer. Set it to Transparent and you get an unlocked transparent layer

You might want to consider creating a Solid Colour layer and moving it beneath any other layers. The colour of such a layer can be easily changed at any future time and it will automatically fill the document with that colour regardless of the crop.

[athletic_Lark5ED7]

Thanks!

[Michael Bullo]

Cheers

[Nancy OShea]

Go to File > New > Select your target output size.

Background contents:  Other. 

Place image files in this new document.

[athletic_Lark5ED7]

Thank you!