Generative expand on a layer

Forum|Forum|5 hours ago
April 3, 2026
1 reply
15 views

I know how to use generative expand on an image and how to use generative fill. But suppose I have a white background with a smaller image in front of it on a separate layerand I want to use generative expand just on that smaller image. Can it be done? Or can I only expand a full sized image? I haven't found a way to do this.

Ged_Traynor

Community Expert

@m5heath you could first convert the layer to a smart object, then double-click on the layer icon to open it in a separate window and use the generative expand from there, close the window and select yes to save the changes

M

m5heathAuthor

Inspiring

Yes, I thought of that, but it's not a perfect solution. Let's say I have a 5x7 inch document and the top layer is a 5x5 inch image. I really wanted to take the 5x5 image and expand it upwards to the top background margin so that it snapped to that margin. I rather hoped that that would be easy but it doesn't appear to be possible. I suppose using your technique I could expand it so that it was a bit too far and then I suppose the rest would be trimmed off. Hmm

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