Could not use the gradient tool because of a program error

[Emmanuel315950380qsg]

I just opened up my PSD file to make minor edits and when I wanted to apply the gradient, it shows an error as the title topic suggest. 

No idea what caused the bug as it popped out suddenly. 

Appreciate if there are any workarounds. Cheers.

[Sameer K · Accepted solution]

Hey, @Emmanuel315950380qsg. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I'll need more info to help you figure this out.

Does this happen when you use the Gradient Tool, or using a Gradient Preset saved in Library panel? Please share the system info from Photoshop Help > System info > Copy & paste into a text document > upload & attach here. 

I'll move this to discussions for now. You can begin with resetting the Gradient tool itself in this case. Right-click on the Tool icon in the Toolbar menu & select Reset Tool.

If this does not help, ensure there are no stale preferences in your Photoshop. Go to the location of the preference folder below and rename it to backup.

• Windows 10/11: Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
• You can press Press the Windows key > Enter 'Run' > Enter %APPDATA%\Adobe
• Rename the Adobe Photoshop folder by adding a .old at the end. (Adobe Photoshop 2024 > Rename > Adobe Photoshop 2024. old), you can later restore these preferences if needed.(https://adobe.ly/4860qM9)
• Restart the computer.

These changes will give a fresh start to Photoshop as a fresh install. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks!

Sameer K

(Use '@mention' to tag me when you reply)

[Sehoon33638445m529]

This is really helpful to solve the problem.

Many thanks! Sameer K

[belk1n]

I had the same issue and these steps didn't help. Instead they reset all my brushes and workspace, why didn't you mention that?! 

Anyway, I figured out that gradient goes with "Program error" when placed inbetween of adjustment layers and it works just fine when placed above. Isn't it a bug?

[defaultn92opa9e4bo3]

I am experiencing the same error message however I get it when I try to use the gradient tool on a mask. It no longer works when you have the "Gradient" tool selected. You need to change it to "Classic Gradient" to stop getting the error message. This is an unfortunate solve however because it no longer gives you the live preview as you're using the tool like it does in the "Gradient" mode. Adobe has had so many problems with the gradient tool in the last few releases, it appears there is still some work to be done. Hope that helps! 

[Esther Meraki]

Thank you so much for this,defaultn92opa9e4bo3, because i was going crazy not able to do this anymore! Changing it to classic gradient did the trick....

[defaultn92opa9e4bo3]

Happy to help! It was drivign me crazy too. Keep an eye on your colors especially when using the foreground>background. I've had to reset the tool a couple of times because it doesn't update to the correct color always. Hopefully they get this sorted out in the future.

[VM333]

Thank you! Going back to classic gradient. This worked for me too.

[gstvmn]

Thank you so much, it worked! I started thinking the problem was hardware incompatibility at this point, because I couldnt solve the problem.