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sebastianm
Known Participant
October 17, 2018
Open for Voting

Photoshop: Option to disable live preview of layer blending modes

  • October 17, 2018
  • 31 replies
  • 3264 views
The AdobeCare twitter informed me there is no such thing and to post it as a request here, so, here we are.

With the Photoshop CC 2019 update came a live preview of layer blending modes. While I appreciate this will help people who aren't entirely familiar with what each blend mode will do and aren't sure about which one they would rather use, for me this 'feature' is a huge problem.
To get the simple part out of the way first, I'll just say that I have no use whatsoever for a preview of the layer blend modes. I know what each mode does, I know the results I'll get, I use the layer blend modes in very specific ways for very specific tasks and I've no need for a preview of the results.
The more complicated part which needs more explanation is that I have a significant sensory disability which is not entirely unlike epilepsy. (It's not the same, but that's the quickest way to illustrate to you what I'm talking about.) When I pull up the layer blend mode menu now, due to the live preview, I'm assaulted by one of the more extreme blend modes right away and then am treated to a painful lightshow as I move to the layer blend mode I actually want. As a result, for the last couple of days when using Photoshop I've had to just close my eyes and pick the blend mode blindly; the effect of moving down the list of blend modes is that painful.

So for the sake of my sanity (not needing the previews) and my physical health (not needing my eyes burnt out by a kaleidoscope of abstract colour and contrast), please add, as soon as humanly possible, an option to disable the layer blend mode live preview.

    31 replies

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    feinschmecker
    feinschmecker
    Known Participant
    April 8, 2019
    Wow, is it this simple? I’m going to install and test this workaround first thing tomorrow. Thanks Adam!
    Earth Oliver
    Earth Oliver
    Legend
    April 8, 2019
    Nice. Thanks Adam. Hopefully we'll see a new pref pane in the near future for all the legacy toggles instead of needing to edit text files.
    Adam Jerugim
    Adam Jerugim
    Inspiring
    April 8, 2019
    To disable live blend modes, do the following:
    1. Use Notepad (Windows) or a text editor on Mac OS to create a plain text file (.txt).
    2. Type the text below in the text file:
      LiveBlendModes 0

    3. Save the file as "PSUserConfig.txt" to your Photoshop settings folder:
      • Windows: [Installation Drive]:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019\Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings\
      • macOS: //Users/[User Name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 Settings/
    Earth Oliver
    Earth Oliver
    Legend
    April 8, 2019
    totally and completely agree. I work all the time with massive images (15,000px+) and watching Ps struggle with the redraws is not pleasing. Adobe did a fantastic job of making the preview be relatively quick, but there are many times when it's absolutely annoying and getting in the way of my job.

    My suggestion would be to add the layer panel option to toggle this off.
    feinschmecker
    feinschmecker
    Known Participant
    April 8, 2019


    Hi!

    Even though I'm making my living using your applications, I'm the typical first mover when it comes to updating to the latest versions of your software. It's a gamble, I know. The latest version of Photoshop CC, I had to uninstall because of the obnoxious blend mode live preview. Working with dusins (sometimes hundreds) of layers, the insane flicker scrolling down to your desired blend mode, has made it unbearable to work with. 

    So please: give ud an option to disable it. I know, i know. It's fancy and all: but terrible to work with every day.

    I know you can do it.

    Kind regards

    Henrik
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    March 31, 2019
    This is a terrible, terrible, addition. So much so that it has made me post here to express my frustration - other 2019 problems (proportional scaling, pen smoothing, step backwards etc. can be fixed with text files).

    But this? It helps no-one. Working on large, complicated, files becomes almost impossible as the preview slows everything down to a grinding halt and you have to wait while each mode is rendered. Only solution is to turn off layers, which defeats the purpose entirely.

    I will stay on 2014 as that version, apart from the excellent CS6, seems to be the last version that works with the least amount of headaches.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    February 26, 2019
    I too would like to turn this off. There is a performance downgrade, as it hangs with each preview scrolling through the list to reach the one I already know I want.
    F
    FeedbackCommunityMember
    Inspiring
    January 17, 2019
    I agreed! I hate the mouse over previews! You can disable the mouse-over previews of presets in LR why not be able to disable mouse-over previews on blending modes in PS, Grrrr!
    Kukurykus
    Kukurykus
    Legend
    November 13, 2018
    So like me - I use my lovely CS6 EXTENDED 🙂
    Denyerpro
    Denyerpro
    Known Participant
    November 13, 2018
    Also an addition: The feature is bugged. If I try and set a layer to a blend mode with the mouse, the update of the screen crashes and I have to restart photoshop to get it to work again - no workaround.
    Reproduction steps:
    1) open an image
    2) Duplicate background to new layer
    3) Change blend mode using mouse
    4) Scream at PC because PS is no longer displaying updates to your image anymore

    Changing GPU options does not resolve this.

    I have been forced to return to CS6 until this nonsense gets sorted out.
    --
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