Open .tga files with alpha channel in photoshop

Alec Jacobson

Here's the tedious step by step to open a .tga file with transparency in photoshop as if it were a .png file:

Open your image.tga
In the main menu at the top choose Layer > New > Layer from Background... then click OK
Open the Channels dialog: Window > Channels

You should see:

If you don't see the Alpha channel then your .tga file doesn't have one

Command+click on the alpha channel's thumbnail (or select the Alpha channel and click the little dashed circle at the bottom of the channels dialog "Load channel as selection")
Choose Layer > Layer Mask > Reveal Selection
With the layer mask selected choose Layer > Layer Mask > Apply
In the the Channels dialog, trash the Alpha channel