1 Correct answer
Like many features in many apps, Remove Background is available when the document is in a state where it makes sense for it to appear. When it should appear, you will see Remove Background in not just one place in Photoshop, but three, as shown in the demo below.
If you don’t see Remove Background, check what’s selected and what panels are displayed. In the demo below, it starts with nothing selected, so there is no Contextual Task Bar and no options that require a selection. When I select a C
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Click on the contextual context bar in properties.
Also, even if the Contextual Task Bar is hidden, the Remove Background button is also available on the Properties panel when an eligible layer is selected.
By @Conrad_C
As Conrad notes, an eligible layer = Unflattened, with no special Background layer:
If a flattened Background layer exists, then the contextual options don't include Remove Background:
With the "Discover" panel (the magnifying glass on the upper right of the toolbar):
The built-in "Quick Action" for Remove background will work with or without a flattened Background layer. You can see in the History panel that this simply automates 2 steps, "Select Subject" and "Add Layer Mask".
Or, just explain how to get the button back so he can do it with one click...
By @SnarkySolarGuy
Not sure why you decided to quote the end of my reply where I was only describing the alternatives, instead of reading the earlier part of the same reply, where what you said there is already answered:
The button is on the Contextual Task Bar. The original poster said the bar disappeared.
If the Contextual Task Bar is hidden, choose Window > Contextual Task Bar.
If you selected an eligible layer, then you will see the Remove Background button on the Contextual Task Bar.
If someone insists on hiding the two places where you can find the Remove Button (the Contextual Task Bar and the Properties panel), only then will they have to do it the old, long way.
Or, just explain how to get the button back so he can do it with one click...
By @SnarkySolarGuy
Not sure why you decided to quote the end of my reply where I was only describing the alternatives, instead of reading the earlier part of the same reply, where what you said there is already answered...
By @Conrad_C
There wouldn't have been an opportunity to be snarky if selective quoting wasn't used. :]
Like many features in many apps, Remove Background is available when the document is in a state where it makes sense for it to appear. When it should appear, you will see Remove Background in not just one place in Photoshop, but three, as shown in the demo below.
If you don’t see Remove Background, check what’s selected and what panels are displayed. In the demo below, it starts with nothing selected, so there is no Contextual Task Bar and no options that require a selection. When I select a Curves layer, the Contextual Task Bar appears and the Properties panel fills with Curves properties, but there is no Remove Background. Why? Because a fill layer type (such as Curves) has no background to remove.
Next I select the image layer. This type of layer can have background content, so now you see Remove Background appear, both in the Contextual Task Bar and in the Quick Actions group at the bottom of the Properties panel. Click whichever one you want.
You also see from this that even if someone hid the Contextual Task Bar, if the layer is selected the Remove Background button should still be available in the Properties panel, although you might have to scroll the Properties panel all the way down to see it.
OK, what if everything is hidden? In the demo below, you cannot see any Remove Background buttons because all panels were hidden by pressing the Tab key. Here, you can take advantage of the Edit > Search/Discover feature or its keyboard shortcut, because not only can you look up a feature, you can also apply it from there even without using any panels or menu commands.
So there you have it, three different ways to apply Remove Background, one of which you can do even if no panels are visible.
(Although I do think it would be nice if Remove Background was available as a menu command, as other AI features are.)
(Although I do think it would be nice if Remove Background was available as a menu command, as other AI features are.)
By @Conrad_C
The following script can be installed in the Presets/Scripts folder and then it will appear as an item under the File > Scripts* menu, then an optional custom keyboard shortcut could also be applied.
*Scripts can also be coded to be accessed from a small list of other locations, such as Automate, Filter, and Help.
/*
Remove Background.jsx
Stephen Marsh
v1.0 - 25th July 2025
https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/lost-quot-remove-background-bar-quot/m-p/15428717
*/
if (hasActiveLayer()) {
s2t = stringIDToTypeID;
(r = new ActionReference()).putProperty(s2t('property'), p = s2t('layerKind'));
r.putEnumerated(s2t('layer'), s2t('ordinal'), s2t('targetEnum'));
var layerKind = executeActionGet(r).getInteger(p);
if (layerKind == 1 || layerKind == 12) {
executeAction( stringIDToTypeID( "removeBackground" ), undefined, DialogModes.NO );
} else {
alert("The active layer needs to be a standard pixel layer!");
}
} else {
alert("A layer must be selected.");
}
function hasActiveLayer() {
try {
// selected layer check by jazz-y
var s2t = stringIDToTypeID;
var r = new ActionReference();
r.putProperty(s2t('property'), s2t('targetLayers'));
r.putEnumerated(s2t("document"), s2t("ordinal"), s2t("targetEnum"));
var desc = executeActionGet(r);
var targetLayers = desc.getList(s2t('targetLayers'));
return targetLayers.count > 0;
} catch (e) {
return false;
}
}
https://prepression.blogspot.com/2017/11/downloading-and-installing-adobe-scripts.html
The Remove Background button in the Contextual Task Bar is present here with Photoshop 2025 (ps ver 26.8.1) running on Windows 10
Try updating your Photoshop from 26.7 to 26.8.1 using Help>Updates from within Photoshop.
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