by Perspective Warp is greyed out for one of seven reasons, and most of them take under a minute to rule out. Work down the list in order; the first two account for most cases and the last one has no fix inside Photoshop.
1. The graphics processor is off
Perspective Warp is a GPU feature. If Photoshop cannot use the graphics card, the command sits in the Edit menu greyed out with no message. Open Edit > Preferences > Performance (Photoshop > Settings > Performance on a Mac), tick Use Graphics Processor, click Advanced Settings and confirm Use Graphics Processor to Accelerate Computation is ticked too. Restart Photoshop; the change does not take effect on the open session.
If the Performance panel says the graphics processor is unavailable or the box will not tick, the card or its driver is the problem: update the driver from the manufacturer's site (not Windows Update), and check the card against Photoshop's minimum. Current versions list 1.5 GB of GPU memory as the minimum, 4 GB recommended; an older 256 MB or 512 MB card is below that, and no setting changes it.
Laptops: Photoshop can silently drop the GPU when the machine is on battery or running on the integrated graphics. Plug in, make sure Photoshop is assigned to the discrete card in the Windows Graphics settings or the NVIDIA/AMD control panel, and restart.
2. The layer is linked
A layer linked to another layer (the chain icon in the Layers panel) greys out Perspective Warp. Select the layer, Layer > Unlink Layers, and the command returns. This one catches people who linked a logo to its shadow weeks ago and forgot.
3. The selected layer is not a pixel layer
Perspective Warp needs a pixel layer, or a Smart Object, selected. A group, a text layer, a shape layer, an adjustment layer or a layer mask target all grey it out. Click the pixel layer itself, or rasterise the text or shape (Layer > Rasterize) if you are happy to lose the editability, or better, convert it to a Smart Object first so the warp stays reversible.
Selecting several layers at once also disables it. One layer at a time.
4. Bit depth or colour mode
The command supports 8- and 16-bit documents. A 32-bit HDR file, an Indexed Color file (most GIFs and some PNGs) or a Bitmap mode scan cannot be warped: Image > Mode shows which you have; convert to RGB Color at 8 or 16 bits per channel and the menu item comes back. Converting Indexed to RGB is lossless; going from 32-bit down to 16 needs an HDR toning decision, so do it on a copy.
5. The Smart Object needs refreshing
Recent versions of Photoshop apply Perspective Warp to a Smart Object as a non-destructive, re-editable warp, so a Smart Object is not itself the problem. When the command is grey on one anyway, and the GPU and linking are fine, the workaround that Adobe forum staff give is to convert it to a Smart Object again (Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object), which wraps the layer afresh and re-enables the command. Odd, but it works.
6. View > Extras
An occasional cause reported on Adobe's forums: with certain Extras showing, the command refuses to enable. View > Extras (Ctrl/Cmd + H) to hide them, try Perspective Warp, then show them again. If this is the cause it is a bug rather than a rule, but it costs five seconds to test.
7. You are on Photoshop CS6
Perspective Warp arrived in Photoshop CC 14.2 (January 2014). It is not in CS6 or anything earlier, and the menu simply does not have the entry. The nearest thing in CS6 is Edit > Transform > Distort for a single plane, or Vanishing Point for editing within a photograph; for a multi-plane straighten without upgrading, the browser perspective warp below does it.
Once it opens: the keys that speed it up
The mode buttons are in the options bar, but you do not need to reach for them. L is Layout mode (draw the quads), W is Warp mode (drag the pins), H hides and shows the quad edges while you judge the result, Enter commits and Esc cancels. Shift-click an edge in Warp mode to lock it horizontal or vertical; it turns yellow. The three buttons at the right of the options bar straighten near-vertical lines, level near-horizontal ones, or both at once, which for a leaning building is often the entire job. The full Perspective Warp guide walks through Layout and Warp step by step.
If it stays grey: do it without Photoshop
When the card is below the minimum or the fix is not worth the time, the perspective warp tool here does the same four-corner mapping in the browser with no GPU requirement, and the perspective correction tool straightens a leaning building the way the automatic buttons do. Nothing is uploaded; export a PNG and bring it back into Photoshop as a layer.
Read next
Photoshop Perspective Warp guide · which Photoshop perspective tool · perspective warp online · perspective correction · Photoshop perspective grid
Questions
Why is Perspective Warp greyed out in Photoshop?
In order of likelihood: the graphics processor is switched off in Preferences > Performance (or the laptop is on battery and Photoshop dropped it), the layer is linked to another layer, the selected layer is not a pixel layer (a group, text, shape or adjustment layer), the document is 32-bit or in Indexed/Bitmap mode, the Smart Object needs converting, or you are on Photoshop CS6, which does not have Perspective Warp at all.
How do I enable Perspective Warp?
Edit (or Photoshop on Mac) > Preferences > Performance, tick Use Graphics Processor, click Advanced Settings and make sure Use Graphics Processor to Accelerate Computation is on, then restart Photoshop. Perspective Warp lives under the Edit menu, not in the toolbar; if it is still grey after the restart, work down the layer causes on this page.
Does my GPU need a minimum amount of VRAM for Perspective Warp?
Yes. Current Photoshop lists 1.5 GB of GPU memory as the minimum (4 GB recommended), and Perspective Warp is one of the features that is disabled when the GPU does not meet it. A 256 MB or 512 MB card is below that line, so the command stays grey however the preferences are set; the browser perspective warp here does the same job without a GPU requirement.
Perspective Warp is greyed out on a Smart Object — why?
Recent versions apply Perspective Warp to a Smart Object non-destructively, so a greyed-out command on one usually means the GPU is off or the layer is linked. If neither applies, a known workaround from Adobe's forums is to convert the layer to a Smart Object again (Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object), which refreshes the layer and re-enables the command.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for switching between Layout and Warp mode?
With Perspective Warp open, L switches to Layout, W to Warp, H hides or shows the quad edges in Warp mode, Enter commits and Esc cancels. Shift-clicking an edge locks it horizontal or vertical (it turns yellow). There is no default shortcut for opening Perspective Warp itself; assign one in Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts if you use it daily.
Why is Puppet Warp greyed out too?
Puppet Warp shares the layer causes: it needs a normal pixel layer or a Smart Object, not a group, text, shape or adjustment layer, and not a layer that is linked to another. Fix the layer and both commands come back. Puppet Warp does not depend on the graphics processor the way Perspective Warp does, so if only Perspective Warp is grey, the GPU is the difference.
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