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FeedbackCommunityMember
Inspiring
May 2, 2014

P: Introducing scale the UI 200% for high-density displays for Windows

  • May 2, 2014
  • 339 replies
  • 4328 views

The Photoshop team welcomes your feedback on this experimental feature. Let us know what you think!
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Photoshop user interface controls may appear small and hard-to-read on high-density displays. Also, on touch-enabled screens, you may have trouble clicking the smaller controls. 200% scaling solves this issue by doubling the size of the user interface.

Since the user interface elements increase in size by 200%, depending on the size and resolution of your display, you may need to adjust the layout of existing workspaces. For example, on a 1080 px screen at 200%, the Tools panel extends off the bottom of the screen. You can change to double-column orientation in order to fit the panel on the screen.

Note: This feature is only for Windows users. HiDPI on Mac has been available for high-density Retina displays since Photoshop CS6.

Caveats

You may encounter some cosmetic issues while using this feature. While many Photoshop dialogs have been reworked so that they fit on the screen at 1080 px, viewing some dialogs (such as Smart Sharpen) completely may require you to collapse sections.

Disable 200% UI scaling

If you need to return to the default 100% scaling, do the following:

1. Select Preferences > Experimental Features.
2. Deselect Scale UI 200% For High-Density Displays (Windows Only).
3. Restart Photoshop.

    339 replies

    Show previous replies
    J
    J453
    Legend
    February 1, 2015
    This is a great conversation that's separate from the main one, so I created a new conversation to continue the discussion.

    Please reference the new conversation here: Photoshop CC 2014: Running with 200% scale for the UI degrades performance
    yortlecti
    yortlecti
    Participating Frequently
    January 31, 2015
    The only thing that makes it slower is initiating the 200% UI feature. If I disengage it, it is comparable to CS5 speeds, though still notably slower- if I activate this feature, it slows down unbearably. The resolution is the same while running both programs, the only variable is this feature. I am running the same preferences as I was in CS5. Also of note, the speed on CS5 doesn't change regardless of the resolution. My system is in good shape, I don't know what would be wrong there. Just sharing my experience, if there are additional details I can provide to be of assistance I gladly will.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 30, 2015
    That needs a new topic, as it has nothing to do with this topic.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 30, 2015
    As a result of problems, I had a CS rep give me a couple months free subscrip to CC or whatever, in a tel conversation, but my account is still billed in the month after. Adobe has problems deeper than consideration for its hi-rez customers.

    The dinosaurs never saw it coming.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 30, 2015
    OK, for everyone else CC runs faster or the same as CS5. So you need to check your system to see what might be slowing down CC.

    And yes, drawing on a high res display is a bit slower than drawing on a low res display - which can be hidden by a good GPU, but not all GPU drivers are yet optimized for high res displays.
    yortlecti
    yortlecti
    Participating Frequently
    January 30, 2015
    The aesthetics of this feature are great, however the blow it gives my performance makes it unusable. I am using a Dell P2715Q 27" 4K display, 16GB Corsair RAM, 120GB Crucial SSD as boot and scratch disc, and XFX R7 250X GPU; all in Windows 7. I was running PS CS5, but decided to do a trial run with PS CC 2014 due to the ridiculously small UI in CS5 at 4K resolution... The performance slow down from CS5 to CC 2014 is ridiculous with the 200% UI enabled, and disappointing even without it. My actions that run lightning fast on CS5 take a significant amount of time in CC 2014. All in all, I will be reinstalling my CS5, and reducing my resolution to standard high definition again... unfortunate that my brand new screen has to be held back to half of it's capabilities due to poor development on Adobe's part.
    J
    J453
    Legend
    January 29, 2015
    In Photoshop CC 2014.2.2:

    1. Select Preferences > Experimental Features.
    2. Enable Scale UI 200% For High-Density Displays (Windows Only).
    3. Restart Photoshop.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 29, 2015


    I have a 2014 HP Envy laptop with a high res screen. All Adobe products show up extremely small on the screen, making them virtually impossible to use. I can't figure out how to make them bigger.
    A
    Azriel777
    Participating Frequently
    January 23, 2015


    At high resolution, the menu and dialog box text is too hard to see. Even with the interface set to huge.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMemberAuthor
    Inspiring
    January 21, 2015
    We are still working with Microsoft to address the Windows API issues needed for more flexible scaling on Windows.
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