P: Generator error "There is a problem with Generator. Please quit Photoshop and try again"

[alisonb75600996]

We are having issues with our students using Photoshop 2018. When they launch Photoshop as non admins they receive the  following error message on launch of the software and exporting the document.

"There is a problem with Generator. Please quit Photoshop and try again. If the problem persists remove any third-party plugins or try reinstalling Photoshop"

I have an ongoing call logged with Adobe support earlier this month and they are still investigating this. I've also tried the latest June version today without any luck.

If I install the archived Photoshop 2017 the students have no issues using the software and exporting their work. We've paid for the latest version so ideally want this working.

I thought I would post on here to see if anyone else is having this issue or recommend a fix

[SteveGallo]

Here is a link to a thread that may be helpful. It is somewhat long. Near the end it recommends checking and changing the registry because the Documents folder is pointing to a non-existant drive. There may be an alternative to modifying the registry. I have not had this error with my PSE 2018 so can't personally verify this. It's probably worth a try.

Open File Explorer. You should see a Quick Access section in the panel on the left. Documents, Pictures, Video, Downloads, Desktop will lbe listed there. Try clicking Documents, etc. Do you get an error with any of these? If so, right click that named folder in the Quick Access section (it must be the folder in Quick Access). Click properties. In Properties there is a Location tab. Click that. You will see a panel that allows you to move the named document folder to another Location. See https://www.dummies.com/computers/ope...

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

i am having the same problem with imac.  above suggestion doesn't apply.  contacted phone support who spent an hour with no resolution.

[alisonb75600996]

I've spent a few hours with support and didn't get anywhere so they've escalated it.

Folder redirections work fine for admins its only non-admins that receive this generator error in 2018. 2017 works perfectly fine for admins and non-admin students with folder redirections.

Hopefully adobe come back to me, the  call has been logged with them since early June and last update I received was last week about it being escalated. Not happy with the support so far.

[SteveGallo]

The following may only apply to Windows.

If only non-admins receive the generator error, it may be that the permissions on a file or folder are set to admins only or restricted to a named user. Try running Photoshop 2018 as an admin from one of the students logins. 

Type Photoshop in the search box and you should see Photoshop 2018 at the top of the results. Right click on "Adobe Photoshop CC 2018" and select Run as Admin. If you do not see the error, then it is a permissions problem. 

If you really need to run Photoshop 2018 now and not wait until Adobe or someone finds the problematic file / folder there is a (not great) option. Set Photoshop CC 2018 to Run as Admin as a default. To do this login to an Admin Account and find the executable for Photoshop CC 2018. It is likely at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2018. Right Click the exe file and select Properties, Compatibility tab, click 'Change Settings for All Users'. Then click on the Run As Admin checkbox and click OK. See the second screenshot below.  This would need to be done on each machine.

[alisonb75600996]

Gone thorough all the permissions with Adobe support. I'll wait for Adobe to come back to me.

[SteveGallo]

A tough problem. Please post the solution when it's found.

[alisonb75600996]

After spending another 2hrs with their senior support this is what they have said.

"I would like to inform you that our Application is not Supported on Domain, hence you are getting this error. I would suggest you to use Photoshop cc 2017. 

You can also use these self-help resources to help resolve your case"

Pretty poor from Adobe I guess I will have to install 2017 which runs fine on a windows domain for non admins. I've never had issues in the past running older versions of photoshop on windows domain with non admins.
Their senior support  also said it could be a bug which may be fixed in a future update.

[Lumigraphics]

Not supported on domain? Is the application installed locally? Photoshop 2018 works just fine with Active Directory logins on a domain. My guess is that you have the computers locked down too tightly (speaking as a long-time IT guy.)

[alisonb75600996]

Application is installed locally. All permissions were checked by adobe support. Photoshop 2018 only runs ok as "run as administrator" or localdmin without the generator error. I can't have school kids having admin rights. Photoshop 2017 works fine for non admins as well as Serif photo software that we have installed on these PCs. Hopefully future updates will fix this generator error issue adobe thinks it could be a bug with the folder re-directions.

[SamG__]

Hi Alison,

Please replicate the issue then zip this folder of log files:
[user home folder] \AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2018\Generator\logs

With any luck, we'll get a error to investigate there.

Thanks, 
Sam

[alisonb75600996]

The generator folder is not there as per screenshot. There is however a folder called logs that has a debug.log file in there with no content.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I just tried the above fix but I still get the error for generator third party add-ins.  I can click through but this is very frustrating 

[SamG__]

Ok, that tells us that Generator didn't load at all.  The error message is certainly not as informative as I would like it.

Let's see if there's anything to be found in the general error log:
Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CC 2018/Adobe Photoshop CC Settings/PSErrorLog.txt

Given that Export As depends on the external processes of Generator (e.g Node), I think it may be that one of those was blocked.  That could be due to a firewall or other group policy restrictions.  I am not familiar with all of those options, so I can't say exactly where to look next.  My bet is a collision of your particular domain policies and perhaps the installer or the above mentioned components.

In addition to using 2017 as a workaround, I would suggest trying the (Legacy) Save for Web.

Sam

[alisonb75600996]

I checked the path for the PSErrorlog.txt, I could not find it. I guess we will be sticking with 2017 until the bug is fixed.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

This has annoyed me, as well as zillions of others, for ages.  Today I have the solution (Mac, High Sierra):
You should already have a folder at ~/Library/Logs/Adobe.  In there I found a folder called Adobe Photoshop CC.  As an experiment I added another folder, Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.  
Bang!  Shazam! Fixed!!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

One thing to add to this: you will need to go in and set /Adobe and /Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 folders to read/write for everybody via Get Info, otherwise the problem persists.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

After trying many options, I've solved this issue on Windows 10 Windows Defender Security Center.
In my case, the "Controlled folder access" was ON and for some reason it was denying access to a PS folder. 

Try following the instructions below:

1. Open Windows Defender Security Center 
2. Click Virus & threat protection 
3. Click Virus & threat protection settings and click on "Manage Settings"
4. Scroll down to Controlled folder access and click on "Manage Controlled folder access"
5. Toggle it off 

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Thanks, cau.trindade! This fixed the issue on win 10 pro for me. It also works if I leave Controlled folder access enabled and use the "Allow an app through Controlled Folder access" option to select the photoshop.exe as an allowed exception 🙂

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Brilliant, this fixed the problem, thank you my friend!

Actually  in Windows Defender I only gave access to Photoshop.exe in folder c:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop\  so that the rest of the computer folders are still being protected by Windows Defender.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I did the same, but have since turned it off after discovering that it was causing a periodic glitch in my battlefield V game. I don't need random glitches that 😉

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Thank you , this fixed the problem

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I was having this issue on macOS Mojave with Photoshop 2018, just fixed it following these steps:

- Go to Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-Ins/CC/Generator
- There was a couple of third-party plugins I used ages ago with a previous version of Photoshop (I didn't even remember them until I saw the folders)
- Moved them to the bin
- Problem solved, no error message and "Export as..." works again for the Artboards \o/

What a feeling!

[RosaPerry]

I did exactly the same. I didn't even remember I had mine. I've had no trouble since.

[howardsony2]

I have Bitdefender and when I go in to Windows Defender virus & Threat Protection I am tols "Your IT admin has limited access to some areas .... the item you tried to access is not available. Contact IT Helpdesk"

It's my one PC, I am set to Admin so what goes on?

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

İki gündür aynı sorunu yaşıyorum ve ne yaptıysam hiç bir sonuç alamadım. Sorun çözülse iyi olur. Çünkü sabrım tükenmek üzere.