Hands On Tutorials in Photoshop 2024 are not working

[Applejacks]

I was a graphic designer about 20 years ago.  I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on Photoshop.  I am re-orientating myself by going through the Tutorials and so many of them DO NOT Work.  Like halfway through they seem to glitch and stop giving directions and then stop responding to changes I have made.  I have switched workspaces thinking it was a WIFI issue.  I updated my Macbook.  I made sure my Photoshop was up to date.  I don't know what else to do.  This is so frustrating.  Please help.

[Nancy OShea]

[Moderator moved from Using the Community forums to Photoshop.]

Performance problems are likely computer related.  Please make sure your computer meets the minimum CPU & GPU requirements. Most Creative Cloud apps work on:

• Windows 11 (64-bit), Windows 10 versions 22H2, 21H2, 21H1;
• MacOS 13 (Ventura), 12 (Monterey), macOS 11 (Big Sur).

- https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html
- https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html

If you care to elaborate more about what you're struggling with, perhaps we can be more specific.

[Curious337585391h86]

Why can i not use my hands to draw

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

Hi @Applejacks is this using the new Photoshop on the web or in-app tutorials in the desktop app?

[Applejacks]

Photoshop on my MacBook.  I attached a screenshot.

 

[Applejacks]

I'm not sure if I'm using the new Photoshop on the web or the In-App Tutrials on the Desktop App. How can I tell? Photoshop itself is open on my Mac.

[Nancy OShea]

Web tutorials are accessed from your web browser (Chrome, Firefox or Safari).

Most online content requires that JavaScript be enabled in your browser.  If you have Script Blocking Add-ons, turn them off.  Clear your browser's cached content to free up more memory.

https://helpx.adobe.com/support/photoshop.html

Creative Cloud In App Tutorials

https://creativecloud.adobe.com/cc/learn/app/photoshop

[Applejacks]

I am having problems with the In App Hands On Tutorials.  The following ones have been super glitchy.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  For instance I am in this tutorial called Create and Edit Text.  I get to step 3, follow the instruction to select the Hike Layer and it freezes everytime.  This happens a lot with these tutorials.  I am attaching 2 screenshots but it don't really show much. 

[Applejacks]

I also noticed I have two versions of Photoshop open in my doc.  See attached.  Perhaps this may be part of the problem.

  

[brucel43948923]

I'm having the same issue with the "select layer -> HIKE" Prompt.  Turns out I typed Hike not all caps, and the tutorial didn't work until I started it again and used all caps HIKE.  Case sensitive apparently

[Trevor.Dennis]

Can yopu link to the tutorials you are having problems with?

Photoshop has gone through some major changes in recent years, so if at all possible, use up to date tutorials,

Use the most recent version of Photoshop if it runs on your MacBook, because why wouldn't you.

Rather than speak in terms of general issues with tutorials we know nothing about, ask us to help with specific problems.

Use screen shots if they are likely to help, and explain in as much detail as you can.

Just out of interest, you say you worked as a graphic designer 20 years ago.  Was it all digital using apps like Photoshop and Pagemaker?  Do you go back to the days of Exacto Knives and paste up? I actually used to enjoy doing that stuff, because it was all we had and it wasn't my primary job.

[Applejacks]

I can not link them.  They are inside the app.

[Robert260053097ton]

Same issue.  Photoshop 2024 Version 25.0.0 except the impact is to an entire set of classes going through the tutorials for class. 

[Robert260053097ton]

Specifically Combine images to create a composite with layer masks with the deer in the forest picture
and the Tattoo one applying to the woman's back seem to lock up.  In the Combine one it is after you choose the brush size and the next thing should be a popup telling you to click Layer Mask, but that popup never happens.

[richardc91218347]

The same thing is happening to me at the same point in the same tutorials, which indicates to me that it is an Adobe glitch, not a setup or computer problem. At least I can stop wasting time trying to figure out what I am doing wrong!

[Trevor.Dennis]

Do the people haviing this issue have anything in common?  I can see at least one is using a Mac, so is it runing Ventura, Sonoma?  Does it have the M1 or M2 CPU?  Note I am a Windows user so not fully up with all things Mac, but we do know there have been compatability issues.

It should surely be possible to point us at the tutorial even it is launched from Discover or Rich Tool Tips.  At the moment we havn't got a clue what is going on because no one is giving us any useful information.  Give us a chance guys.

[Andy Winters]

I ama also having the problem. I am using the "select part of an object and change the color" tutorial launchedfor the in photoshop  hands-on tutorial. I am using the most up to date PS (25.9.0) on a mac desktop MacStudio, M1Max chip running Sonoma 14.5.

When I feel I have completed the first step in the tutorial I am unavble to advance to the next step. The next button is greated out and unresponsive.  I have moved the tutorial window off the PS desktop to avoid interactions with the layers panel.  In the attached image I have moved it back onto the PS workarea just to include more of the information.

[Trevor.Dennis]

Hi Andy.

As of six days ago, I actually have a MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro CPU and Ventura now.  I have almost zero experience with the Mac OS, but I am enjoying the learning curve, and I will be happy to work through the problematic tutorials if you can give any clues how to find them.

Do you have Rich Tooltips enabled in Preferences > Tools?  Do the tutorials suggest themselves in particular circumstances, like when you select a particular tool?

I noticed one of the screen shots further back this thread showed the Free Transform bounding box and handles.  This option used to be in Preferences, but has moved to the Options bar along with some new features.  These, and other, changes might possibly clash with the tutorials. Note they depend on what tool is selected, so be aware of that.

Sometimes Photoshop appears to freeze when waiting for input, and those windows can be hidden or even off screen.  You can usually Escape to close those windows, but Photoshop won't allow any other input until the prompt is either responded to (OK or Cancel) or Escaped out of, which is the same as Cancel.

But, sad to say, newer versions of Photoshop especially, can freeze and hang in some situations.  I replaced my previous system with an i9-13900K Windows 11 desktop system just over a year ago, for instance, as the old system would hang every sing time, and at exactly the same when trying to use some of the Neural Filters.  The new system never crashes with Photoshop.

I would expect an M1 Mac to be OK, but I am not so sure about Sonoma.  I certainly won't be updating from Ventura any time soon.  Mainly because of reports I have seen saying that external drives with exFAT format that I need to run on the MacBook and Windows, stopped working with Sonoma.

Anyway, if you guys can give any hints how to home in on the problematic tutorials, I'll be happy to test tem/

[OC4me]

I have noticed the exact same problem in several tutorials.  The Tutorials simply stop giving directions...no clue, nothing at all.  No next option, nada.  Very frustrating and I have rerun the tutorials several times carefully following directions!

Here are the tutorials (under Orientation) that I have so far had problems with:

Get to know selections

Get to know layer masks

Get to know adjustment layers. 

All three of the above Tutorials stopped giving guidance midway. 

Here is a step-by-step of the problems with the 'Get to know adjustment layers' tutorial as an example:

1) Start Tutorial

2) First issue is we are prompted to do Step 1 of 3 twice (i.e. clicking Next prompts us to repeat the same instructions).

3) Finally we arrive at Step 2 of 3 and we are told to select the 'Truck' layer, then the 'Quick Selection Tool'.  After doing so the Tutorial provides NO further instructions and it is impossible to complete the Tutorial.  Note: even guessing the next step by attempting to select something doesn't get us back on track.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

@OC4me what specific version of Photoshop and OS are you running?

[OC4me]

Downloaded latest (trial) version about 3 days ago.  Running Windows.

I was running the tutorials directly from the Photoshop Help>Tutorials menu.  Later today, I tried the same tutorials directly from the Adobe website and was able to complete all of them.

I don't see why there would be trouble one way and not the others, but thought I would let you know.