P: File > "import from iphone or ipad" not active

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I have a Macbook Pro (15 inch, late 2019) running Mojave 10.14.6. I'm running Photoshop 2020, version 21.0.1 (but I also saw this problem in v21.0.0).

When I choose File > Import from iPhone or iPad, I don't see any options to import. I'm on a WiFi with several of my iDevices nearby and on the same WiFi network. I've also tried this on a different WiFi network with the same results.



I've seen this question asked in the Community forums, and see that from someone who has it working, I should see a list of my devices and then further options for import:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/Photoshop/MacOS-Photoshop-2020-File-gt-quot-Import-from-iPhone-or-iPa...

Is there some sort of device setup required? Some setting that I haven't activated?

[JohanElzenga]

Try this: Log out of iCloud (on the computer with Photoshop) and then log in again. This function depends on Apple's Continuity and that sometimes needs to be reset this way. Also check this page: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/03/15/troubleshooting-continuity-ios-mac/ Maybe you do not have Bluetooth on, for example.

[Yves-CH]

Hello, be careful that the Mac and the iPad is connected to the same WIFI network, otherwise it does not work!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Johan, Thanks for the reply. I did try signing out and back in, this had no effect.

I was able to use Continuity to "Insert from iPhone" within the Mac Pages app, and successfully transferred a photo. However, even there (in Pages), the devices aren't consistently shown (some seem to come and go from the menu).

But for Photoshop, I never get the second level of menu to appear at all.

Here's my view from Pages:

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

By the way, I tried this with my phone connected via USB cable, and it still did not show up in Photoshop.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Thank you, Yves. I have confirmed this, and in fact it even works with other Mac apps (as I demonstrated above), just not with Photoshop.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

me too!!!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Same problem...

[LaurelE]

Ditto!

[Jeffrey Tranberry]

It's working for me here. I can take a photo or scan using the camera have that import into Photoshop. I did connect my iPad pro via USB-C first and go through the Trust this Computer dialogs prior to doing it over wifi.

[JohanElzenga]

This may be a new bug. It used to work fine for me, but now I don't see the sub menu either anymore in Photoshop 20.0.1 and MacOS Mojave... Connecting my iPhone and making sure it is trusted (like Jeffrey says above) did not fix it. And indeed, the menu is available in Pages, so this is something with Photoshop, not with the Mac in general.

[Jeffrey Tranberry]

Ok. Apparently engineering is looking into this one. Sounds like restoring Photoshop prefs makes this work again.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Work for me now when I reset preferences using this method:

With Photoshop closed, press and hold Shift+Ctrl+Alt (Win) / Shift+Command+Option (Mac) on your keyboard and relaunch Photoshop the way you normally would.

[LaurelE]

This did make the options show up, but my phone was still grayed out so I can take a photo or scan a document, but can't open an existing photo on my phone! 

[JohanElzenga]

I believe the name is always greyed out. It’s just to tell you which device it is, in case you have more than one device (see the screenshot of Pages).

[LaurelE]

But then what's the point of importing from iPhone if the only option is to take a photo after you're connected to Photoshop? I don't want to import photos of my office, I want to import photos I've taken elsewhere! 

[JohanElzenga]

You probably have to ask Apple, because this seems to be an Apple functionality that Adobe just hooked into. There are other ways of getting photos from your iPhone to your computer (and then into Photoshop).

[Jeffrey Tranberry]

This issue should be fixed in the 21.0.2 update that was released yesterday.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Did anyone get this to work?  I reset my preferences but my iphone is still ghosted.  I can take picture through that menu, but won't let me import an existing photo on my phone.  Thanks

[rus5]

To Jeffrey Tranberry - It didn't.  And, there have been more updates to PS and I STILL have this exact same problem.  Would be nice if Adobe actually fixed something - ANYTHING - once in awhile.

[Jeffrey Tranberry]

I don't think that is supported from the feature. Try Apple's text edit. It only allows the same 3 option as Photoshop.

[Jeffrey Tranberry]

What exact issue are you seeing? Are you seeing it work the same or differently from an Apple app like TextEdit?

[rus5]

Well, to start off with, since adobe can't be bothered with creating a proper users manual, finding information about how to use ANY feature in PS is catch-as-catch-can.  The help system is almost always useless, the adobe webstie information only addresses very basic things, and adobe's support is ALWAYS utterly useless.  And that leaves guessing.

So  I GUESS  if PS was connected to my camera so it could do whatever this function is supposed to do, my camera listing in "File>Import from Phone" wouldn't be greyed out.  But it is.

I have ensured PS and my LrM camera are both on the same WiFI (in case it connects via WiFi - which, of course, I have no way of knowing since there are no instuctions on how to use this) and I have connected my phone to the same computer running PS via a USB cable and ensured the computer was "talking" to the phone.  Still, the phone is greyed out.  Since it's greyed out, there is nothing further I can do to play with the feature to try to figure out how it works.

I'm using the latest version of everything except MacOS which is running Mojave.

[rus5]

What does Apple's text edit have to do with PS's "File>Import from iPhone" function greying out a user's iPhone" ?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I think the key point is that the "File > Import from iPhone" is a MacOS feature, built into OS X... so testing it on another Mac app like TextEdit or Notes would let you see whether it is working at all on your Mac (i.e. maybe not a Photoshop issue).

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Ah, but there is a user's manual for Photoshop:
https://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/photoshop_reference.pdf

But, as I've learned, this is really a continuity feature on the Mac, not a Photoshop feature. You can find more about this here:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/insert-photos-and-scans-from-iphone-or-ipad-mchl9aebdc99/ma...

Key point: this feature does NOT allow access to your camera roll. It only allows you to insert a photo or scan that you take at that moment.