P: Continually crashes on macOS 10.15 Catalina (Apple color picker issue)

[WordWeaver]

Wow, I am so disappointed. I just upgraded from Photoshop CS6 Extended to Photoshop CC 2019 20.0.6 yesterday. This morning I worked with it for a few hours to update some of my graphics. All of these graphics were made in CS6. To my surprise and disappointment, it must have crashed close to twenty times during those two hours or so.

And what is surprising is that I was not doing anything intensive. I was only using Photoshop's built-in functions to change text size, to change text color, to move layers around with the Move Tool, to use the Fill tool with Content Aware, and to resize documents. That is basically it. To my recollection, all of the crashes occurred while doing the first three. That is, change text size, change text color and move layers around with the Move Tool. Just simple stuff.

Please note that I was NOT using any third-party plugins to add special effects to my graphics. As I said, I was only using Photoshop's built-in functions.

The crashes were so frequent, that I became paranoid and started hitting command-s every time I made a change to a graphic, because I was afraid Photoshop was going to crash again, and I would lose the change I had just made.

By comparison, CS6, which I used until yesterday, and for the past six years, very rarely ever crashed. So that is why I am so disappointed with this upgrade.

I submitted maybe three or four crash reports to Adobe, but after that, I just stopped, because it was becoming ridiculous.

The thing is, I am now stuck with CC 2019 20.0.6, because CS6 will not run on Catalina, and I would have to totally reinstall my OS using Mojave, in order to go back to CS6. Obviously, I don't want to do that.

To be honest, I am feeling like CC 2019 20.0.6 is NOT ready for Catalina by any means . . . unless you enjoy the crashes.  It is like using beta software.  Sorry to be so negative, but it was not a happy experience. 😞

[J453]

Sorry you're having trouble. I'm seeing people see the problems that we've listed in our known issues document, but I haven't heard of others with lots of crashes. I need some more clues to help. I looked in the system and I'm not seeing any crash reports from you, yet. If you haven't submitted a crash report with your email address and description of what you were doing when it crashed, please do: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/submit-crash-reports.html

You can also post a crash log here, but submitting them all to our crash reporter is the best route to a solution.

[WordWeaver]

Jeffrey, I assure you that I did in fact submit four, and possibly five, crash reports, and I included a comment regarding what I was doing at the time with each crash report. The email record you have on record here is really the only one that I use on a regular basis.

Let me add that when the crashes occurred, I got a little confused at first, because before the actual Adobe crash report window appeared on my screen, an Apple crash report window appeared first.

I didn't realize at first that it was an Apple crash report window, so I filled out the first one and sent it off to Apple. It was only the second time around that I realized that I was getting an Apple crash report window, followed by the Adobe crash report window. Once I did understand what was going on, I began ignoring Apple's crash report window, and just filling out and sending off the Adobe crash report.

Anyway, I will be using CC 2019 20.0.6 later today, at which time I will be sure to send Adobe more crash reports, should they occur. I will also have a look at the link that you included in your last comment.

[J453]

OK. Let me take a look this AM. Sometimes there's a small delta between when they're submitted and I can see them on my side.

[J453]

I'm going to send you an email.

[WordWeaver]

Jeffrey, it is just after 1:00 AM here, but I wanted to give you a quick update. As noted in my last comment above, I did in fact do more work yesterday evening. As I explain in the crash report that I submitted, I successfully worked on six graphics without a problem. However, when I got to graphic number seven, Photoshop crashed for the first time as I was using the Move Tool to simultaneously move three text layers up to the top left corner of the graphic I was working on.

In the crash report which I submitted, being as you had mentioned above that you had not found the ones I had submitted yesterday morning, I included a summary/recap of everything I had stated in the previous crash reports.

One thing has become clear to me. The crashes always occur when I perform one of several actions, one of them being simultaneously moving multiple text layers, usually three of them.

As proof of this, consider that when Photoshop crashed on that seventh graphic, I relaunched the app and continued working on that same graphic. After restoring all of the changes which had been lost, I again began to move those same three text layers. At that point, Photoshop crashed a second time.

I dismissed the Apple crash report, expecting to see one from Adobe after it. However, it never appeared. Maybe the crash was too hard. I really don’t know.

At any rate, I reopened Photoshop a third time, finished working on that graphic, and then worked on one more after that without any further crash incidents.

In conclusion, it appears that some of these crashes are repeatable and reproducible based on certain actions, all of which I repeat in every graphic I have been working on. Namely this: I increase canvas size; increase font size on the text layers; change the color of some text layers; recreate the border; move one or more text layers; and use the Fill Tool with content aware in the background of each image, when necessary.

I have been following this same workflow on all of the graphics I have been updating at this current phase of my work, which is 621 poems measuring 696x560 pixels at 72 dpi.

Let me emphasize again that all of these crashes from yesterday morning and yesterday evening only involve using Photoshop's built-in functions and no third party plugins whatsoever. These crashes occur when performing very basic Photoshop tasks. Nothing complicated or CPU-intensive.

To rule out other causes for the crashes, yesterday evening when using Photoshop, the only other app I had running was BBedit. Also, at the time, I had about 5 to 7 GB of spare memory, so memory is not an issue.

Sorry to make this so long, but I know that the more details you have, the better. Just find the very last crash report I submitted from yesterday evening, and you will be good to go.

[WordWeaver]

Ha! I just typed out that long response to you on my iPhone at almost 2:00 AM while laying in bed, and now I see this short response from you, which you apparently added while I was typing out my long response. The irony. 🙂 I am up and on my iMac now. I hope to receive an email from you soon. Between my response below, and that last crash report I sent to you, I think I have provided you with all of the information that I can. I hope to hear from you soon, after you've had a look at whatever crash reports you have received.

[WordWeaver]

Jeffrey, I just found your email in my spam folder and responded to it. You have the green light regarding your offer. 🙂

[J453]

Looks like the issue was the Apple Color picker: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-and-macos-catalina.html#Applecolorpickercausescrash Using the Adobe color picker instead prevents the crashes.

[WordWeaver]

Jeffrey, thank you so much for investing so much of your time in helping me to figure this out. I am once again a happy camper!  🙂

[J453]

Excellent. Thought I should share the answer in case it can help other customers with unexplained crashing. Thanks for working with me to figure it out!

[WordWeaver]

You are welcome, my friend. In case you are wondering why I didn't post the solution here, it is because earlier, you had mentioned to me in one of your emails that you would be posting some kind of announcement about it -- which I see you have now done -- so I didn't want to jump the gun. I figured an official announcement would be better.  🙂

[InventorsOf]

I too had problems with 20.06 in combination with Catalina.
I reinstalled 20.05 and the crashes stopped. I too submitted at least 2 crash reports.
Can't say for sure that its the colorpicker, I think I worked with shapes. but I'll wait an upgrade before I install the latest version.

[WordWeaver]

Balder, 20.0.7 has already been released. You might want to look into it.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I use the normal PS color picker and that's not the problem, I go to save and it gets stuck at 0% (sometimes, not all the time).  have had to bomb computer 4x in last 3 days.  Ideas?  (Photoshop 2020 & Catalina).

[J453]

Mike, it sounds like you're hitting something different. Might be what Adam and folks are trying to track down here: https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/photoshop-2019-cc-vs-macos-catalina-doesnt-sa...