P: Revert UI to older Camera Raw UI (12.2.1) after Interface Changes

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

after updating photoshop , when i opened it for the first time there was option to use camera raw as it is (vertical film) or to change it to new UI (with new look and horizontal filmstrip ), i just clicked new UI to see how it looks , i thought if i dont like it i will just go back to using older UI but there is no option to select older UI , i contacted adobe but person who was helping me just suggested that i should install older version of camera raw or ask for help from this forum , i found it bit frustrating that if there was simple option to choose new UI so why not give option to revert back to older UI with newly updated software. maybe its bug or adobe forcing people to use new UI even if they dont like it

[DarkWarriorUK]

I could not get the new version of Bridge to work with CR 12.2.1 so I just downgrade too and strangely enough everything works faster including PS which is the latest edition

[makka66]

I will say that the new interface looks good, makes sense (in many ways) and something most people can get used to, but what baffles me is:

1. No warning: There was no communication that a new interface was coming. No preview, no beta testing, no feedback from users in the field. This is the biggest change to ACR (in terms of usability) for the last 20 years. It is relied on by many thousands, if not millions, of professional photographers around the world, who have loyally used the software for years to streamline their workflow, and use it to make an income
2. Forced upon: After installing, a misleading dialog box indicates it is easy to revert back to the previous look, which is not the case. I know if you read it carefully, in hindsight, it only talks about the location of the thumbnails, but the way it is presented, most people got fooled into thinking it was referring to the new UI
3. No information on how to revert: Users who don't like the new style are forced to seek support from Adobe or look through these forums to find the link. Time-wasting and frustrating.
4. Other changes:
   a) Cropping tool. The way cropping works is unintuitive. Instead of moving the crop outline to get it in the right part of the photo, you have to move the photo. If someone asked you to lay a rectangular stencil over a large map in order to cut out a particular area, I'm sure you wouldn't move the map underneath... you'd move the stencil to the right place. But Adobe think it easier the other way. What the?
   b) Sidecar files. Previously you could store all photo adjustments in the Camera RAW database, but this option is no longer available. Now you are forced to use sidecar (XMP) files to store photo adjustments for new changes. So all adjustments for existing photos will be in the database, but new ones in XMP files. This "adjustment" wasn't really thought through.

Technically this update may have gone well, but there was no communication plan.

[JohnWinkler]

This update is complete garbage from a usage perspective, what an unexpected and retrograde step particularly the disfunctional and now time wasting cumbersome UI.

Was difficult to properly remove and the only way I could could go back was a recent image backup so was able to restore my complete laptop.

Adobe has lost me for any future updates, my prefrence is for enjoying working with images and I have no idea where these guys are now heading but it's clearly not that direction.

[sonoftherock]

I agree. It is totally, totally, totally crap. When did they have to change it?

[Branislav Milic]

Here’s why the UI of the latest version of #CameraRaw is a mess. There is a confusion as some sliders are similar and there is no clear separation between group of features.


Also, instead of keeping all tools that were previously directly available on the toolbar, now some are hidden in sub panels, forcing the user to click more to access them.



You tell me to reinstall v12.2.1 to use the previous version of the UI. But Camera Raw 12.2.1 does not load anymore in Bridge 2020 v10.1 even if I restart my Mac. But it loads in Bridge CC2018.

Here’s #CameraRaw 12.2.1 in Bridge CC2018 where ALL the primary tools can be selected straight away. And no, it is not an issue if they’re in the upper left corner, they’re even closer to the image. Putting them in the upper right corner is a mistake.



And when I start to edit photos, I usually go to 3 places: Lens, Details, Basic settings. 1 click, 2nd click, 3rd click. With the new UI, I need to scroll and find the set of features as they are not clearly separated.
Bad UI, bad UX, bad decision.

[Fred Baxter]

branislavmilic this is clearly a business decision by Adobe to change the UI than better design as you have clearly demonstrated. This new UI design causes the user to make 5 times as many actions to get the same things done. If you are working several thousand images in a day can amount to tens of thousands of extra clicks mousing and scrolling.

Having to roll back to previous versions has been a disaster. It's as if the old versions for download were poorly coded beta versions not meant for the public.

Here are ACR 12.3 and ACR 12.2.1



The compact and efficient icon tab bar is now replaced by a word based menu scroll bar system which takes up the entire window. This is being pushed as a modern interface that gives the user more flexibility. Just checking all the settings before was a mouse click mouse click mouse click... that has now become mouse click mouse  scroll mouse click - mouse click mouse scroll mouse click - mouse click mouse scroll mouse click etc.

[Robert_Ripps]

I am not opposed to changes, if the changes maintain similar, or brings better, ease of operation and workflow efficiency, and ideally more functionality.

I don’t inherently dislike the change to collapsing side panels from previous tabbed panels, but perhaps some hybrid where the tiny vertical side toolbar is moved to above the panels, similar to where the icon tabs were located in the previous version, under the Histogram, thereby minimizing the distance traveled to reach tools, and still using the muscle memory of going to that area to select tools/panels?

And then of course, fix all the other bugs & quibbles raised in this thread ;).

[alans98926879]

UPDATE on my last reply: Although things seemed "back to normal" the illusion vanished after a system reboot, which has left me with Bridge failing to display thumbnails. So, I have once again installed 12.3 to simply regain some usability (albeit with an infinitely crippled workflow). Any suggestions on which prior versions of Bridge and ACR work and play well together would be appreciated. 😞

[SteveRinzen]

I agree. Adobe simply neglects the workflows and usability of its users. Arogantly developing tricks and gimmicks instead of focusing on stability and improved performance. Most of us have jobs to do and limited time - we need to get things done not relearn the tools we've already mastered!

My big issue is accessing my develop settings from the previous version.. am i missing a trick or did they ditch old develop settings? Can't find any info on it.

[Lumigraphics]

Did you see my post about bugs with the Local Adjustment tool and Wacom tablets?

[dave_dalquist]

Wow.  I've maxed out the font size for Bridge (to the largest of only four options) so that I can actually read the menus.  "Preferences" >> "Interface" >> "User Interface Scaling" has only three options: Auto, 100%, & 200%, with nothing in between.  Selecting 100% with max. font size is borderline small, and 200% with min. font size is ridiculously large - there's nothing in between!  A 150% option might work OK, but it's not an option, as should be others, such as 125% and 175%.

I like everything else about my displays setup and how my other applications appear, but I cannot make this work to get even close to my other apps.

This fails badly on both usability and accessibility (ADA compliance). 

[Branislav Milic]

During my Raw Photography trainings, people are surprised why I will cover Bridge, Camera Raw, and then Lightroom. “You"ll see...” I tell them. 

1. When I have finished a day of shooting, I copy first all the photos in a folder on the Desktop. 
2. Then I make a first selection in Bridge with stars and labels. Why I need to add hundreds of files in Lightroom's database if it is to remove 90% at the end?
3. Then I edit all my photos in Camera Raw, simply because the UI is faster.
4. Sometimes I do a roundtrip in Photoshop.
5. Then, when I have finished developing, I apply metadata. 
6. Finally, I add everything in Lightroom just for the archive. 

This is the moment where I show them how to develop in Lightroom.

After a few exercices, I ask them:
— “Where do you prefer to develop? In Camera Raw or in Lightroom?”
— My attendees say “Camera RAW”.
— Me: “Why?” 
— Attendees: “More efficient, easier UI.”

We are talking here about the tabbed horizontal set of features organized by categories. 

There you go Adobe. 

[bruceb76700895]

I haven't received a reply to that question, and probably won't.  I'll try again.

[An Coats]

China....sums it right up.....

[An Coats]

Yup! Fckn RUINED by some overpaid idiots who should know better!

[An Coats]

Because like most things in this stupid era we live, IT'S GOING BACKWARDS!!
Those 'engineers' (probably chinese or Indian) should be SACKED!

[An Coats]

Pathetic.
That is the the 'official' response? An attitude that basically says; we don't give a rats arse what users think.....

Digging your own graves Adobe!!

[An Coats]

Pointless reverting back when the camera I have needs the NEWEST version to open the ARW files!!!

[vik1215]

I want to revert back to the old UI too!!! UGH!

[jimo66]

I have been using PS for 25 years, and for Adobe to just change it willy nilly was a complete shock to me. I am 72 and it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, i called adobe and they said I could uninstall and put the previous version back on. I did not want to do that I like to look forward and not the rearview mirror. I played with it for a couple days and I am very comfortable with it now, just give it a chance

[kevind36976440]

Hi Jimo. 

I hear what you are saying. I too am 72. I struggle with change sometimes. 

I wanted to uninstall and put the previous version back on. But when I did it gave me the earlier 2019 version. Not the version before the recent update. So I gave up on that idea. Just seemed to make things more complicated. 

[JP Hess]

If you're looking for an answer from Adobe in this forum I think you will be waiting a long time. This is a user to user forum. We all just users like yourself. I don't use Camera Raw that much, mostly a LrC user. From what I have observed, Adobe has heard the voice of disgruntled users and is working on some sort of fix. Don't know what it is, but something is in the works. In the meantime, if you want to revert to the previous version here is the link:

https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-in-installer.html#12_x 

[An Coats]

The worst layout ever! Why don't Adobe staff consult users??
Please revert the layout back to how it was or give users the option to toggle between the two!
It's a disgrace and makes the workflow harder!!
Stupidity at it's best!

[bruceb76700895]

Thank you, Jim, and yes I realized Adobe wouldn't reply personally. I just
wished to give others a forum to vent whatever concerns they might have
about the latest ACR. Maybe this isn't the right place, but still.....

As for returning to the old ACR, I suspect it best to wait for Adobe to
come up with some sort of fix, rather than add a plug-in. However, thanks
much for that information, as others may wish to use it.

Thanks again,
Bruce

--
Bruce Bartrug
Nobleboro, Maine, USA
bbartrug@gmail.com
www.brucebartrug.com
•The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but
because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein
•In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence
of our friends. -Martin Luther King
•Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder
respectable, and give the appearance of solidity to pure wind. -Orson
Welles

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

The way I used to work in RAW is totally gone with the new 12.3 version. Please please please use the former UI for this new version. Then I can find everything quick again for my workflow. Now I have to search, click, click, click etc. I temporarry are back in 12.2.1 that works fine!!