Skip to main content
Participant
March 30, 2012
Open for Voting

Photoshop CS6: Layers palette is more difficult to scan in Photoshop CS6

  • March 30, 2012
  • 22 replies
  • 1117 views
I'm usually not the one to complain about visual changes to software, but with a power tool such as Photoshop, such changes need to be very well thought out and crafted. With Photoshop CS6, I don't think that is the case. I feel the layers palette was much easier to scan in CS5, because the icons and the separating lines are much better defined.

In CS6, they all blend into the background of the layers palette and the separating lines between layers in the layer palette, while slightly less subtle and more prominent, are really just more distracting than helpful. I think the lines between layers in CS5 layers palette was much easier to scan and it worked really well with many nested groups (where the white part of the line to the left indicated (roughly) the position of the layer within groups).

As someone who works with documents that can have thousands of layers, this change is really quite painful. Something like the layers palette should always be optimized for very fast scanning and visibility and I feel Adobe missed that point with CS6.

My suggestion is to make the icons and the bounding borders of the layer thumbnail stand out better and use the same concept of the separating line between layers that CS5 uses (where part of the line is a different color, which indicates the position in the grouping hierarchy).

Additionally, with darker layouts, the contrast between the layer box and the layer name label is too strong and as a result, makes the actual layer type and associated parameters less visible at a glance. Generally speaking, the name of the layer is always less important than what kind of a layer it is, so the layer name should visually be less prevalent.

Thank you for your time,
Riho Kroll

22 replies

Inspiring
May 3, 2013
So does Adobe plan to fix the issue or will we just have to accept their buggy software? I'm REALLY starting to regret upgrading now..
Inspiring
January 25, 2013
This is the main disadvantage of Photoshop CS6. I completely agree with the discussion starter.
45634563545
Inspiring
January 16, 2013
Right, the way Photoshop handles vector has been improved, there now being strike controls, etc. And this I'm sure changed the game quite a bit for the devs.
But I simply don't believe that they lack the ability to give the Layers Panel it's spot color swatch back (as seen in the image in the 2nd post of this thread [red square]). Since there's now a stroke too, the Layers Panel's vector layer swatch would just represent the layer's fill, and ignore the stroke. The options toolbar has controls for stroke, etc.

I don't know . . . I think it's all just a matter of executive power.
To hear "not able to make the change as it was too late" I simply don't buy. That may have been true for v13 due to deadlines they were surely under, but what about updates later on? It's never too late. Saving such changes for v14 doesn't make sense - if it's going to change, it ought to be changed (fixed!) asap.

Fortunately, there's lots of good things in v13 to be happy about. That helps.
I acknowledge we'll never all be happy; they can't please everyone all the time . . . but . . . some things are rather blatantly in need of improvement . . .
ai2caad
Participating Frequently
January 16, 2013
--Comment edited because of disclosure policies.--
As a previous user of Photshop 6, I expressed concern to Adobe, even made phone calls. But I believe this change is here to stay until we see what they come up with for CS7. I do believe we should still express our concerns to Adobe, and I would encourage you to make the list and submit it to Adobe. They really do listen to their customers. They may not be able to complete or fulfill every desire, but they do listen. They are passionate users of Photshop and other Adobe products as well. I do hope to see many advancements to the new CS7.
45634563545
Inspiring
January 16, 2013
Hmmm . . . I wasn't a beta tester. Maybe I should start. How does one become a beta tester?

But back to my point - I think a more structured approach to this could be beneficial. I may try to put together an official list to present to others. It might even include pics. Whatever it takes to get the PS team's attention and make them understand.
Edward Caruso Photography
Participating Frequently
January 16, 2013
I know I voiced by displeasure during the beta stage with comparisons in UI contrast from CS5 to CS6 but it didn't really get anywhere. the change was made, time was spent on it and that was it. the early UI changes were really really difficult to use. i'm sure they will work on it more for CS7 - something always seems to change (UI or icon wise) with each release. I find the CS6 UI icons to be especially worse than the CS5 icons.
45634563545
Inspiring
January 16, 2013
Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.

It occurs to me - this is such a subjective issue that I'm afraid it automatically takes on low priority, if any at all with the devs. It's not a bug. It's not a mistake. It's a design decision that we're questioning. So, if I'm on the PS team, what might I do to change this for the better? It's not a simple fix, with clear explicit instructions as to what needs changed.

A programmer executes instructions. A designer designs.

The Layers Panel needs to be redesigned, and explicit instructions down in writing. Otherwise, the PS team may or may not make the wanted changes. I think we've only outline the issue in principle so far and I don't think that's good enough.

What I'm trying to say is, we need a detailed punchlist. We need precise bullet points. An official submittal.
Inspiring
January 16, 2013
My thoughts exactly!

I've been using CS6 for approx 2 months now and still struggle to "visually" use the new layers window. It's just not as efficient as previous versions, and I've been using Photoshop since 1998, throughout all the versions.

It reminds me in some way of the way Microsoft have implemented some of their "Metro" changes, leaving out many icons in favour of just simple text, which might look clean but sure as heck doesnt help users identify with things.

Adobe, Photoshop is a VISUAL tool, so give us some visual improvements to the new layers pallette.

There's zero improvements for me from CS5 in this regard.

Another beef I'm having is that certain layers don't have a preview at all, whilst others have their contents shown, and I can't seem to figure out why. I have two similar layers, both with similar sized content, and both converted to a smartobject. One of them has a preview icon with its content shown, and the other just has a default square icon which doesn't tell me anything apart from the fact its a smartjobject.

Whats the craic here Adobe?
45634563545
Inspiring
October 12, 2012
I echo everyone here, at the top of my lungs. I am MORTIFIED by the update to the Layers Panel. This issue may seem small, but no, it truly is a BIG deal.

I use CS5 at work, and have CS6 at home. When I work all day in the office, in PS CS5, then go home to CS6 . . . the difference I have to endure is VERY grating.

When I fired up Photoshop CS6 for the first time I immediately noticed how sparse the Layers Panel had become. And it does look "nicer". It's simpler, aesthetically . . . but is this why it was changed so much . . . to make it look "nicer". In the context of a UI, Function-Over-Form can't possibly ring truer.
I feel the Photoshop developers erroneously favored "form" before "function" when redesigning the Layers Panel, which was mandatory since all controls were re-written as 64-bit.

How on earth did this change get through beta!?

If the dev's are THAT opposed to reverting back to CS5's Layers Panel style, perhaps a legacy option could be the solution we all seek.

That, or a 3rd party write a plug-in to FIX the Layers Panel, now that it's degraded into what it is now. If there's a 3rd party out there interested in doing this, I WILL DONATE MONETARILY TO YOUR CAUSE, as I'm sure others would too.
Inspiring
August 11, 2012
I also experience the difficulty in the layers thumbnail/icon in CS6. I tried adjusting it from the Panel Options but still the layer's are only adjusting its size. No changes with the shape icon. Does Adobe have any options/settings on this? Whenever I'm working with lots of layers I got a hard time looking for the shapes.