P: Some AI Mask Overlays do not appear (Win)
Product: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom (Desktop/Cloud-based version)
Version: 8.3
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, OS build 26100.3915
Date: April 30, 2025
Issue Description:
Since updating to Lightroom Desktop version 8.3, I am experiencing an inconsistent issue where mask overlays for certain AI-generated masks fail to display on some images. This makes visually confirming or refining these specific AI selections difficult or impossible when the issue occurs.
Specifically:
- Mask overlays for Select Background and Select People appear to work correctly and consistently display their overlays.
- Mask overlays for Select Subject, Select Sky, Select Objects, and the new Landscape Masking features are intermittently invisible. The overlay simply fails to appear on certain images for these mask types, while potentially working correctly on others.
- When the overlay is invisible for these specific AI masks, the mask itself is generated (adjustments affect the correct area), but the visual feedback (overlay) is missing.
- Overlays for manually created masks (Brush, Linear Gradient, Radial Gradient) consistently display correctly as expected IF a new mask is created with these, but adding a Brush, Linear Gradient, Radial Gradient does not show the color overlay on masks created with the above problematic mask types.
- This inconsistent behavior began immediately following the update to version 8.3. Functionality was normal and consistent in the prior version on this same system.
- This issue is not related to standard overlay visibility settings being incorrect (details below).
System Information:
- CPU: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12950HX
- RAM: 64.0 GB
- GPU: NVIDIA RTX A3000 12GB Laptop GPU
- GPU Driver Version (Latest Tested): R570 U4 (573.06) (Clean installed & tested: April 29, 2025)
- System Type: 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Troubleshooting Steps Performed (Exhaustive - All Failed to Resolve the Intermittent Issue):
The following steps have been systematically performed. The intermittent invisibility of overlays for Subject, Sky, Object, and Landscape AI masks persists:
- Standard Overlay Settings Verified Correct:
- Confirmed "Show Overlay" checkbox in the Masking panel is ON.
- Cycled through all available Overlay Modes using Shift+O.
- Confirmed the main Mask Opacity slider is set sufficiently high (e.g., >50%).
- Explicitly checked the nested Overlay Opacity setting via the ... menu > Color Overlay Settings > Opacity slider; confirmed it is set well above 0%.
- Toggled overlay visibility off/on using the O key.
- GPU Configuration & Driver Verification:
- Toggled the Preferences > Performance > Use Graphics Processor setting through all states (Auto, Off, Custom/On explicitly enabled) followed by Lightroom restarts. The issue occurs regardless of GPU acceleration status.
- Performed clean installations of NVIDIA GPU drivers. Tested thoroughly with driver version 572.76 and confirmed the issue persists even with the latest production driver R570 U4 (573.06) (released April 28, 2025), also installed cleanly.
- Lightroom Application Resets:
- Performed a full Lightroom Preference Reset using the Alt+Shift key combination during launch and confirming the dialog prompt.
- Manually located and reset the Lightroom AI Model Cache by renaming/deleting relevant folders (e.g., ModelZoo, CR_OCPS, ModelAssets within relevant %APPDATA%\Adobe\CameraRaw, %APPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom folders) to force a complete redownload of AI assets.
- Performed a full uninstall and reinstall of Lightroom Desktop 8.3 via the Creative Cloud application, including associated component cleanup where possible.
- System Environment Isolation:
- Created a brand new local Administrator user account on Windows. Logged into the new account, launched Lightroom, synced minimal data, and tested AI masking. The intermittent issue persists in the new user profile.
- Reviewed running background processes and services; disabled non-essential software temporarily; no obvious conflicts identified.
- Ensured the Operating System (Windows 11 Pro 24H2) is fully updated with all current patches.
- Performed multiple system restarts throughout the troubleshooting process.
- Content Variance Test:
- Tested the AI masking overlay issue across numerous different image files (various camera RAW formats, JPGs). The problem where overlays fail to show for Subject/Sky/Object/Landscape masks occurs intermittently, seemingly dependent on the specific image, but the exact trigger hasn't been identified. Background/People masks consistently work on the same images where others fail.
Context Regarding Related Issues:
The intermittent nature makes this difficult to reproduce reliably. I have seen a related (though different) report in the Community about AI mask overlays failing 'on hover' in Lightroom Desktop 8.3, potentially indicating broader instability with AI mask visualization in this version.
Impact:
This bug introduces unpredictability and significantly hinders workflow when using Subject, Sky, Object, or Landscape AI masks, as visual confirmation is unreliable. It forces extra steps or requires rolling back to a previous version to guarantee functionality.
Request to Adobe and Community:
- Is Adobe aware of this specific issue (intermittent invisibility of Subject/Sky/Object/Landscape AI mask overlays) in Lightroom Desktop 8.3? Is it under investigation?
- Are other users encountering this specific type of intermittent failure with these particular AI masks? If so, have any specific image characteristics or triggers been identified?
- Are there any known conflicts or alternative workarounds (beyond downgrading) that might address this inconsistency?
Any insights or official acknowledgement would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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