Photoshop Quick Tip – How to Change the Color of Your Workspace

Here I have a photo I took on Block Island. The default workspace around the photo is a pale gray:

To change the color of the work space, all I have to do is “right click” anywhere on the area of the workspace. This will bring up a menu. The default “Gray” has a check next to it:

I can set it to “Black” or I can select a custom color:

I’d like to make a custom color of dark gray. I’ll click on the Select Custom Color option and the color picker will come up. I’ll drag the white circle to a dark gray area. I’ll be able to see the color I choose in the preview box. Then I’ll click OK:

Here is what it looks like with the dark gray workspace:

If I should change my mind and decide I want the workspace back to its default setting, all I have to do is right click anywhere on the workspace. Then choose the “Gray” option:

Here’s a sample of different color’s to choose from:

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9 Comments

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9 Comments so far

Rifas March 18, 2009 2:58 am

wow very nice
bruce March 18, 2009 6:11 pm

nice,simple and heplfull.
Kim Siever April 24, 2009 10:35 am

Great tip. Thanks. Mine had changed to black without me knowing how.
Lisa June 9, 2009 5:18 pm

Thanks so much for posting this!

I changed the color of my workspace by accident (to black) and couldn’t figure out how to turn it back to default gray. Your tip saved the day!
Rupa June 16, 2009 2:47 pm

I have a question on this. Why would you typically change the background color as it’s not part of the photo anyway? Is it just to make the photo not blend into the background too much while you work on it? Or perhaps I have misunderstood this whole thing? Pls clarify, sorry if I am asking a dumb question
admin June 16, 2009 3:04 pm

Hi, Rupa. The reason I posted this is because some people might be interested in changing their color space. Either way, it’s something you should know about. For example, if you look at the above comments, someone changed it by accident, and this tutorial helped them put it back to the original default.

The more you know about the program your using, the more comfortable you are with it, and you won’t be afraid to experiment.

Lorri
Alice July 16, 2009 5:51 pm

I’m using Photoshop 7 and I was wondering how I would change it in this version? No right click box comes up when I right click anyway, and I accidentally changed it to white.
admin July 16, 2009 10:18 pm

Hi, Alice,

I haven’t used Photoshop 7 in a long time, but hopefully it’ll be in the Edit Preferences menu option. Go to Edit / Preferences, then click on the Interface option. When that box comes up, at the top of the box it says “Standard Screen Mode”. Drop down the menu, and pick gray.

I hope this helps. If not, let me know.

Lorri
Diana October 14, 2009 11:33 pm

Finally. For six weeks I could not get my workspace back to gray. Tonight out of desperation I brought up bing.com and typed the question “how do I change my workspace color in photoshop” and BING…I got your answer. Thank you thank you.

Diana