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Inspiring
March 12, 2022

P: .psb file thumbnails display improperly in MacOS Monterey

  • March 12, 2022
  • 15 replies
  • 2428 views

For me, large file format thumbnails (.psb) do not display correctly. I'm running Photoshop version 23.2.1, MacOS Monterey 12.2.1 and have had this problem for several months. An Adobe help tech played with permissions and other solutions today but couldn't fix it. The .psb files display ok at smaller sizes but at larger sizes they display a colorblock full of noise like you'd see on a television screen. While pretty, it's very frustrating to work with because I can't tell which version of the project to click on. Help!!

Normal .psd file thumbnails work fine, as do all other thumbnails on the computer. Things I have tried: resaving the files with the most recent version of Photoshop after updating to 23.2.1. Moving the files to another folder that's on the desktop, not in Dropbox, etc. Some file permissions changes. Restarting. Toggling on and off different display types from list to icon. These files were not created on an external drive, but locally. Saving as a new file with a new name doesn't help.

How the problem manifests: I enlarge the thumbnails in MacOS by dragging the thumbnail size slider to the right. At some point the .psb files switch to weird colorful versions while the rest (.jpg, .psd) continue to resize all the way up to the largest possible display.

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15 replies

Inspiring
March 13, 2022

I can confirm the problem persists in safe mode. Here are the document color settings:

Inspiring
March 13, 2022

RGB color, bit mode 8 bits/channel. No special color profile that I'm aware of. I'm running a MacBook Pro 14 inch 2021 with 16 GB and Apple M1 Pro chip, could this be an M1 compatibility problem? It's the Mac graphics card, whatever comes standard with that model, I haven't installed anything else if that's even possible. I'm sure it's state-of-the-art. It's not possible to reset NVRAM and PRAM in the new M1 models but I'll try the Safe mode option

TheDigitalDog
Inspiring
March 12, 2022

I can't reproduce this either on the same OS using a 16-bit document, ProPhoto RGB. Seems it is something with your Mac that may need some maintenance routines.

Did you try quitting the Finder or a shutdown and restart?

Try logging into another account (you may need to make one), still no preview? 
Try starting up in Safe mode (hold down Shift Key when booting), still no preview? 
You might want to try running a free utility like Onyx: still on preview? 
https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html
Also view:
https://www.macworld.com/article/352902/onyx-review-macos.html
https://www.macworld.com/article/224955/how-to-reset-a-macs-nvram-pram-and-smc.html

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
Earth Oliver
Legend
March 12, 2022

what machine do you have? Is there a dedicated video card?

Legend
March 12, 2022

I can't reproduce. What is the color mode, bit-depth, of the documents? Any special color profile? Can you scale down one of your PSBs and share it and let me know what size to scale it up to reproduce?