Generative Fill Not Showing Up

Ghost Together
5 min readJun 19, 2023

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Photoshop › Generative Fill not appearing

Original article can be found here: how to fix generative fill not showing.

Here’s a Generative Fill not working (YouTube video) on how to fix it.

If generative fill not showing up even after upgrading to latest Photoshop Beta, follow instructions in this tutorial.

It’s probably because you haven’t really installed the absolute latest version. These step by step instructions will help you do that.

Updated to new Photoshop in a rush and now you can’t find Generative Fill? No problem!

Generative Fill has been added in latest Photoshop Beta (version 24.6). It’s important to properly install this new version of Photoshop in order to make Generative Fill appear under your lasso selection. Follow steps in this tutorial if your Generative Fill button is missing.

How To Fix Generative Fill Not Showing Up In Photoshop (Beta)

If the Photoshop Generative Fill tool isn’t showing up, it is likely you need to properly upgrade your current version of Photoshop to version 24.6. This tool only functions with the latest version. Below are the steps to efficiently update Photoshop Beta:

  • Click “Help”, then “Updates…” to Open Adobe Creative Cloud.
  • Click on “Check for updates” in upper right corner.
  • Click on Beta Apps on left navigation bar.
  • Click Install button to the right side of Photoshop (Beta).
  • Once installed click on 3 dots again to check it says Photoshop (Beta) (24.6)

(Note, you don’t have to uninstall current version of Photoshop. But if you don’t you might run into a small glitch later where Adobe Crative Cloud tries to open new Photoshop, but can’t because an older version of Photoshop is currently opened.)

You’re trying to get the new Generative FIll tool to work with no luck? In this step by step tutorial we’ll go over what’s potentially causing your Generative Fill not showing up.

The latest version of Photoshop has a new loading screen.

The version with Generative Fill looks like this:

If that’s not the screen you’re seeing when loading Photoshop, you are not going to get Generative Fill.

Bit most likely…it’s simply because you’re still using the older version of Photoshop with improved Selection Tool, but not the absolute latest version with Generative Fill tool.

(To fix this, on upper menu navigation bar, go to Help, Updates…)

(Then go to Beta Apps)

(Then, without closing Adobe Cloud window, close currently opened version of Photoshop)

(Then click Open next to Photoshop Beta)

(Not closing current version of Photoshop might make Adobe Cloud think it’s the one you want to open, and not do anything at all. Closing Photoshop first, and clicking “Open” button on Beta Apps tab in Adobe Cloud, will load the newly installed Photoshop Beta.)

Strange but true: It might be because you’re not 18 years old. (Generative Fill uses text prompts to fill in image areas with content. The images created using these prompts might not be legally suitable for those under 18 years old.)

How to make Generative Fill show up in Photoshop (beta)

In the newest release of Photoshop Beta, the Generative Fill UI block shows up automatically soon as you create a selection anywhere on your image.

But even after upgrading Photoshop from Adobe Cloud you still can’t seem to make Generative Fill appear after making a selection on your image.

This will open your Adobe Cloud interface (if you have an account):

Adobe Cloud window shows you next version of Photoshop after currently installed one.

However, it doesn’t mean that this version of Photoshop is the absolute latest release.

Usually you will simply click on Update button next to Photoshop to upgrade.

But this might not get you the version that has Generative Fill.

Here’s why…

First you must make sure to click Check For Updates

In order to get Photoshop with Generative Fill feature, you must first click on Check For Updates button within the Adobe Cloud window. It sounds simple but this is only the first step.

Now you need to install Photoshop from under Beta Apps tab on left navigation bar:

Go to Beta Apps on navigation bar

This will bring you to this next screen where you can actually install the new Photoshop Beta, not just upgrade current version.

Do not just upgrade Photoshop from the initial Adobe Cloud window.

Go to Beta Apps on the navigation bar to get latest version of Photoshop Beta:

It’s because older Photoshop is currently open

Open Adobe Cloud window as shown in steps above.

Then open Beta Apps tab.

Now close the currently opened version of Photoshop without existing Adobe Cloud.

And then click Open next to Photoshop Beta.

Otherwise Adobe Cloud will think you are trying to open Photoshop, but it is already open.

It’s because generally Photoshop is seen as a single program entity by Adobe Cloud.

So even if you have latest beta with Generative Fill installed, you might glitch out on this step.

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