P: New Document dialog issues

Thank you sir for the update!

Just found this to work in cc2020 too -  wonderful and thanks!

OK, I said I'd get back about this. Been a bit busy over Christmas but here we go...

First, here are...

Eight specific criticisms of the "New Document" dialog (with corresponding solutions):

Problem 1 - Speed
Obviously, the speed issue. It takes maybe 10 seconds to open, and you can no longer just hit enter like you used to.

Solution: I'm sure these performance problems will be addressed in time, if they haven't already been.

Problem 2 - Space allocation
The new dialog gives way more prominence (in terms of space and location) to the presets, rather than the actual key document properties that we need to see about the document. The key document properties are now pushed over to the side, almost like they don't matter.

Solution: Make the key document properties more central and larger.

Problem 3 - Presets seem mandatory
By placing all of its emphasis on the presets, the new dialog gives the impression that you must select a preset before you can make a new document. This is confusing and jarring to anyone who has no interest in presets and just wants to open a new document the conventional way.

Solution: The interface should make it very clear that presets are an optional alternative, rather than mandatory.

Problem 4 - Confusing interface
The interface is confusing to use. There are three different panels (top, left and right) with no clear relationship between the three. In fact, the top panel only relates to the left panel, however, it's placed above the right panel, causing confusion.

Solution: Lay out the three panels in a way that makes their relationship clear. The top panel should be within the left panel, to indicate the relationship.

Problem 5 - Confusion between presets and templates
At first I had no idea that "preset" and "template" meant two different things. Then I discovered that Photoshop now lets you download ready-made template documents, which is totally different to classic presets. I find the terms "preset" and "template" confusing and ambiguous, especially in the way they're presented. Also, to me, they seem like two totally different things that have no reason to share a menu. Templates are a creative resource and not something people normally think about when they're opening a new document.

Solution: Remove the ambiguity between "presets" and "templates" by having templates their own separate menu.

Problem 6 - Confusing tooltip
When the program first launched, a tooltip appeared in the New Document dialog, saying:

"Let's start something new. Start with your own document settings, pre-formatted document presets, or explore some of our helpful templates and starter files."

This is very difficult to understand and doesn't give any indication whatsoever about the difference between templates and presets, nor even that they're two different things.

Solution: Tool tips should use short, simple sentences that are easy to understand. If new terminology is used, then the meaning of these terms should be clearly and explicitly defined.

Problem 7 - Inappropriate thumbnails
The various presets are represented by grids of tiled "thumbnails" (simple gray placeholder graphics). Frankly, this is a terrible way to represent this kind of information. There's nothing graphical about these presets, so the "thumbnails" serve no purpose, other than to fill the 'New Document' interface with a sea of dull gray placeholder images that mean nothing to anyone. Furthermore, arranging them in a grid of square tiles forces the actual key information (the text description) to be both small and short. This isn't the right way to represent this kind of information.

Solution: The presets would be much better arranged in a conventional list format

Problem 8 - Unclear icons
This is a very minor point, but the new portrait and landscape icons aren't distinct enough from each other - they both look quite square.

Solution: Make the icons more distinct.

Finally, putting all this together, I present you with...

My humble suggestion for how the New Document dialog should look:



(And, yes, as you may have noticed, I use Windows 7 with the traditional dark-on-light interface. Frankly, I would rather shoot myself than downgrade to Windows 10. And as for Adobe's depressing, sinister light-on-dark interface, I hate it, and I begrudge the fact that Premiere and After Effects force it upon users, with no dark-on-light option any more. But I digress... LOL)

Mr Tranberry, thank you very much for your replies. I hope I don't come across as grumbly and ungrateful - I love Photoshop and I just want it to be right. (I guess we all do.)

Anyway, instead of moaning about the new 'New Document' dialog, I've decided to try to offer something more constructive. I'm going to break down all the specific problems I have with it, offer specific solutions, and come up with my own re-design of the interface. I'll post back here in a couple of days...

There is a preference for this as well. Go to Preferences > Plug-ins... and disable Allow Extension Panels to connect to the internet or disable extension panels altogether under the same panel.

Thank you for your reply, Mr Tranberry, and I take your advice on board.

What I will say, with great respect, is that a lot of the additional processes seem to relate to online operations, which for me is totally redundant as I don't allow my computer to connect to the internet. I don't like the idea of my computer going online without express permission, and I find it very creepy when applications call home. The only program my firewall allows online is my web browser. Plus, I travel a lot and don't always have access to the internet. Last year I didn't have any internet for about 9 months.

I still vehemently oppose the introduction of CC, and, if given no other choice, I can happily go back to my copy of CS6. I like installing software manually from a CD in a box. I feel like I truly own it and no one can take it away from me. I rarely install new updates, being of the view that "If it ain't broke...".

But I am probably not a typical user so take these comments for what they're worth.

We don't recommend deleting components. You may be deleting something that is necessary for the applications to function properly - and may cause problems when/if there is an update.

Please use the preference under Preferences > General...

Psssst: Go to Preferences> General> Use Legacy New Document. You don't need to restart to have the change in prefs work.  A lot of us ignore the new New Document dialog.

It might not be so truly awful if the generic huge thumbnails actually previewed the document you were selecting, or if our own templates could be included with a preview, but every type of document looks identical to every other type. Only their Stock templates get an actual preview.

And you still can't see all the Background Contents options unless you know to enlarge the dialog even more. Having anything hidden under Advanced Options doesn't make any sense, either. But. . . there is a solution.

I just saw your edit. Let's hope none of the "junk" programs  are needed for any of the features. I know others who have managed to selectively cull some.  Preferences is safer for most of us, so I wouldn't recommend to the lot of us we delete any junk programs as a general rule for getting rid of unwanted features.

I hate, hate, HATE the new dialog for "New Document". It is one of the worst examples of bad user interface I have ever seen, and it stifles the creative process.

The old dialog was absolutely fine as it was. It was fast, elegant, and simple. And you could create a new document almost instantly by hitting Enter.

Adobe: GET RID OF THIS MONSTROSITY!

I should note that I got rid of the new dialog WITHOUT even changing the Prefs! What happened is I noticed there were a bunch of strange Adobe processes running in my system tray (probably things to do with Creative Cloud, which I don't use). I deleted all these junk programs, and the new "New Document" dialog disappeared along with them! 🙂