Multiple long-standing UX and performance issues in Lightroom and Photoshop on Windows

Hi,

I want to create a petition or at least gather support to push Adobe into fixing a few real problems that me and my friends from the photography industry deal with every single day. We all work on Windows.

Below is a clear list of issues. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment. I’ll gladly update the list.

PHOTOSHOP

Accidentally activating the top menu (File, Edit, Image, etc.)
Can this finally be fixed so that pressing Alt or accidentally hitting keyboard letters doesn’t activate the top menu bar? During fast retouching, panning, zooming, and general workflow, the focus suddenly jumps to the menu and something gets selected by accident. This breaks the rhythm every few seconds. Even just accidentally tapping Alt immediately activates that bar.

Hue/Saturation range slider bug
When dragging the range markers, sometimes the markers “overlap” and the middle range starts behaving illogically. Example: I set the start to 200 degrees and the end to 300 degrees, but after a moment the middle segment can “escape” outside of the start/end range, or it becomes movable independently in a way that completely breaks the selection.

LIGHTROOM

Performance and lag even on powerful computers
Can we finally get real performance improvements? It’s not normal that Lightroom can still lag and stutter even on high-end PCs during typical photography work.

Presets on import and the “photo preparation” issue (only happens after the photo is displayed)
When exporting a reportage, for example 2000 photos, I often apply a preset at the start. It doesn’t matter whether I build Smart Previews, Standard, or 1:1 previews. It still looks like Lightroom doesn’t actually prepare/process photos until they are displayed on screen.
In practice: I can only see around 200 photos on the grid when zoomed out. During culling, only when a photo appears on screen, it feels like Lightroom starts calculating/preparing it. This massively slows down fast browsing and selection.

Presets with AI Denoise are ignored
If I have AI Denoise enabled inside a preset, it gets ignored after import. Everything else from the preset works, but Denoise does not.
Later I have to select all photos, enable syncing, and click the exact same preset again to make AI Denoise start processing. Or I have to go into Denoise manually. This is extremely annoying.

No smooth scrolling when browsing photos
Can we finally add smooth scrolling so photos transition smoothly instead of jumping frame by frame? Over long sessions it becomes tiring.

Random lock of photo ordering
While arranging photo order, Lightroom sometimes randomly blocks the ability to change the order, showing messages like “photos must be in a folder” or “the catalog doesn’t allow it.” It happens randomly, sometimes after 10 photos, sometimes after 100. Then you have to fight the software, because suddenly you can’t work normally, and the only thing left is restarting the program.

Export should follow the order in Lightroom, not “whichever finishes first”
I want Lightroom to export photos in the exact order they are arranged in the software.

Right now:
If I disable GPU export, exporting becomes ultra fast, but the file creation order is random. Multiple photos export “in parallel” and for example the third file can finish before the first one. The file creation dates end up mixed. And some galleries sort images by creation date by default, not by filename.
If I enable GPU export, the order is more often correct, but export becomes much slower.

Auto straighten and sync behavior
Auto straighten in the Crop Overlay tool works fairly well, but syncing doesn’t work the way it should. Lightroom only applies the same rotation value to every photo (taken from the first photo), instead of analyzing each image individually.
Someone suggested using the tool in the Transform panel, but that distorts the image instead of simply rotating it, so it doesn’t solve the problem.

Sync settings sometimes doesn’t apply to all photos
When selecting a large number of images and trying to sync sliders/settings, sometimes only part of the photos receive the changes while the rest stay untouched. In a big set, this can completely destroy the workflow.

Too much empty space in the interface
Lightroom has tons of empty bars and margins, both vertical and horizontal, so the actual working area for the photo is smaller than it should be.
Even in full screen mode there is still a lot of wasted space that could be used to make the preview larger, or to increase UI element sizes to make sliders easier to hit with the mouse.
Example from the top of the screen after launching Lightroom:
the application title bar
the menu bar (File, Edit, Develop, etc.)
another bar used to hide the next bar
the bar with catalog name and workspace modes (Library, Develop, etc.)
Library Filter bar
and the weirdest empty bar that sits between Library Filter and the photo grid (it has always been completely empty)
and so on…

Or an example from the left side of the screen moving toward the center:
the bar to hide the left panel (navigator, folders, etc.)
the scrollbar column (yes it’s useful, but everyone knows it’s a scrollable column, so it could be hidden)
an empty bar
and only then the actual panels with navigator and folders (which still contain unnecessary empty space inside)

Sliders are too small for fast work
When editing thousands of photos, sliders are simply too small and uncomfortable to click. Minimalism is fine, but ergonomics matter more at this scale. There should be an option to increase slider height/width, make them easier to grab, or simply increase the clickable area.

More label colors
A bigger number of color labels would be extremely helpful. It’s a simple feature, but it genuinely improves culling and organization.

AN EXTRA FEATURE I’VE SEEN PEOPLE ASK FOR
I’d like to add one more feature: a free layout board where you can place photos freely like sticky notes, similar to the Windows whiteboard. Something that allows completely free arrangement, not only changing order in a strip or inside folders. A “selection board” like this would be great for conceptual work and choosing photos.

Also: change the White Balance controls (Temp and Tint) into a 2D grid with X and Y axes, where X is Temp and Y is Tint.

If you’re experiencing the same problems and you want Adobe to finally take them seriously, please support this post and add your own points.

Please avoid generic troubleshooting replies such as “create a new catalog,” “reinstall the app,” “update drivers,” or “switch to Apple hardware.”
These issues have been reproduced across multiple systems and workflows, and most of them persist even after clean installs, new catalogs, and up-to-date drivers.
This post is meant to collect long-standing workflow and UX problems, not first-line support steps. Anyone who has tried Adobe live support knows that these suggestions rarely address the root cause.