P: Dialog boxes / error messages pop up invisibly - macOS

[leaderz]

When an error or alert occurs the dialog box is invisible. Some examples of the alerts include but are not limited to: "No pixels were selected because the layer is empty" or "Do you want to save the document before closing?" Clicking anywhere on the screen prompts an audible error noise (as though you tried to click outside of the dialog box you've been prompted to respond to). The box is not appearing on a different monitor or behind other windows, it is simply invisible and cannot be interacted with unless you press Enter or Escape on the keyboard. Upon pressing the Escape key to close the dialog box, the box becomes visible for a fraction of a second before closing—revealing its location. This has hindered my workflow, especially when trying to close a document I don't want to save changes to because then I must force Photoshop to quit. Running on Mac. Version 23.2.2

[GFKS]

Exactly the same issue here. Fresh MacBook 2021 M1 Max 64GB, latest OS 12.4, fresh Photoshop, latest version 23.3.2 20220503.r.458 d8a9c44 arm64, no plugins.

If you dont want to restart Photoshop (that fixes it - at least temporarily) you can workaround the closing document by pressing "D" as "Dont save" if you want to. 

[shemphill]

I am having the same problem with Photoshop on my M1 Mac running Monterey. The Save dialog box is invisible until pressing "Escape" and it then flashes on the screen for a second, so I know that it's hidden until then. I did find success with the tip to option+click on the PS icon in my dock and then click back to PS. The dialog box is then visible.

This is not an acceptable solution for a professional app! I am a graphic designer and cannot go through this ridiculous solution every time I need to close or save a file. We pay a subscription now so that Adobe can fix things when they arise. This is not some fluke, as many of use are having this issue.

PLEASE fix this problem!

[gerbablo]

I've been having this issue fro quite some time and was hoping that that maybe I'd get a solution with an update or waitng a while for a solution to be found. Suprisingly- months later- nothing! Started when I upgrded to a mac with an m1 chip. Sometimes restting preferences will get rid of it (but I like my preferencees the way I had them!) but sometimes the only fix is to reinstall photoshop but it inevitabley comes back. I always use multiple monitors for better workflow so unpluging them is not an option. Please fix this!

[DocWalls]

I know several people have now mentioned this, but the workaround I am currenty using is to option click on the Photoshop icon at the bottom of my screen when a dialogue box is not visible - it will appear as it is supposed to  and I can continue to work. I don't know enough about using Rosetta but I love everything else about editing with the M1 chip and don't want to risk losing any of the performance. 

[davidterranova]

This is a major workflow killer. Completely unsuitable for a pro environment that costs $700/year.  Literally cannot use photoshop because of this. Optn-clicking every time the app mysteriously freezes because of the dialog bug is not a solution i have time for.

[Ben24851123xeg6]

SAME!!!! As a work around I have to 

1) make finder the front app

2) hide other apps

3) select photoshop from tray

4) then I see the dialog box and can select a prompt

SO LAME

3)

[SaltyCreative]

Have any of you tried the solution proposed by Jeff Arola on April 22, 2022? This one worked for me, and I haven't had the issue since. I'm on a 16" M1 Max, 64 GB Memory

Following solution is quoted from Jeff Arola's original post on page 1 of this thread:

Begin quote -

"

Do any of you with this issue have Enable Full Keyboard Access checked in Apple>System Preferences>Accessibilty>Keyboard>Navigation and if so, does unchecking it make any difference?

The system i'm using for this post and reference to the above setting is macOS Monterey 12.3.1 on a Mac Sudio with an M1 Processor.

"

- End quote

[shemphill]

I do not have this enabled, so that isn't what's causing the issue for me. Too bad though! That would have been an easy fix!

[SaltyCreative]

That's a bummer. Such an odd fix, I have no idea why it worked for me or the original poster. Hopefully it will help someone.

This issue is beyond frustrating, especially for those of us working professionally. Even though it resolved the issues for me, it's still a fix that requires the elimination of an OS feature...one I fortunately don't require, but nonetheless...frustrating. I keep an eye on this thread in case Adobe ever figures out what's causing this bug for so many of us.

[David24930510o3td]

MacOS Monterey, Mac Pro 2021 M1 Proc: I am having the same issue here. More and More often. One scenerio is, when closing a photoshop document that has not been saved. The 'warning, do you want to save' dialog box is hidden. There are other circumstances also. Very cumbersum, need to force quit photoshop and restart. Please figure this one out, Adobe, obviously many are having this issue

[bshigeta]

Having the same issue. OS Monterey 12.4 with 23.4.1 on a brand new Mac Studio Ultra. Pretty much ruining my experience with a new computer and crazy that this problem has not been resolved yet.

[mattheww34426070]

HI everyone i was haveing the same problem but just updated the OS and it seems to have fixed it

[jmvdigital]

MacOS 12.4 Monterey (latest) and Photoshop 23.4.1 (latest) does NOT fix the issue. Restarting Photoshop alleviates the issue temporarily for me, but it eventually comes back after a few hours/images (not sure exactly what triggers it). 

[Ben Prindle]

Option+Click the Photoshop icon in the Dock 

Thank you jmvdigital for reiterating what someone else mentioned in this thread.
M1 Max MBP, was experiencing the issue when I started using a non-apple (BenQ) external display.
It'd be nice not to have to Option+Click though 😉

[burbalade]

I'm having the same issue on my Mac Studio M1 Max. I even have some images open up hidden when I open them through Bridge. I can control + tab between images so I know the image is open. I can see it's layers in the layer palette but I can't see the image anywhere. I have to close the image and use the option + click on the PS icon in order to see the save dialog box.

[Bandaru]

I'm experiencing the same issue. After a clean Photoshop startup it works like you'd expect for some random period of time, but then after a while the popups stop appearing and I have to either hit 'Enter' or 'Esc' to get out of it, after which a tiny blip of the popup appears and then goes away. Very frustrating since I do a lot of work in Photoshop and having to work around this wastes a lot of precious time. 

M1 Max Macbook Pro  - Monterey 12.4
Photoshop 23.4.1

This has been occurring since day 1 of installing it on my Macbooks (Happens on my M1 Macbook Air as well)

[Eric254373443yp0]

I'll have two documents open.  My main document and a document that I made into a new window to drag a layer into the main document.   Usually, I make somekind of alteration to the document I sourced from.  When I try to close that document, I should see a save/don't save warning box.  

However, not only does the save/don't save box not appear, the entire app freezes and I have to force quit.  

I assumed that the warning box got stacked beneath the documents but that doesn't seem to be the case.   Still, photoshop prevents me from interacting with the app until the seemingly hidden warning box is answered.

My OS is MacOS Monterey and the version of PS I'm using is 23.4.1

[Marlena25437572pqzh]

I'm having the same issue

[llex_paul]

I just wanted to add my complain here too...its beyound reasonable and ive been waiting for a few months for this to be solved. I see nothing...i am desparate, i payed a ton of £££££ on this top of the line Apple laptop + another £££ for Adobe yearly... what the heck guys?! just fix this bug, theres so many of us having this issue! 

[Elisha239940154wi4]

I am having this issue also. Did anyone manage to resolve it?

[licence04c90776642]

I'm also waiting for this to be resolved. My team often sit with clients in an edit suite situation and when this happens it's just plain embarassing.

[davidterranova]

I've been using Pixelmator as an alternative. Wow. Unless you're doing photo retouching, it's much simpler and quicker to do graphics work. Highly recommended.

[RufioFox]

Same problem: brand new Macbook 2021 M1 Max, updated OS, updated Photoshop (completely vanilla, no settings changes, no plugins), no external monitors, using built-in display, full keyboard access disabled (as default), etc. Confirmation dialog boxes randomly showing up behind the main Photoshop window, making it inaccessible.

Adobe Photoshop Version: 23.4.2 20220711.r.603 aa147b3  arm64
Number of Launches: 1
Operating System: Mac OS 12.4.0
System architecture: Apple M1 Max, HybridCPU(8:2)

[robertw44482386]

Just switched to a Mac Studio, M1 Max 64GB RAM latest OS latest Photshop and this problem is happening for me too. Never happened with my iMac, now it is drastically slowing me down on my first day with this new machine.

[RE2215]

Hi.

Sometimes, randomly, when trying to save a new file, Photoshop can lock up, only allowing me to click on the X button (doesn't close though). The application stops responding but it doesn't become "Unresponsive" according to Windows, it's just the save window never comes up. Please note I don't save to cloud, as I don't like it, so my Default File Location is "On your computer". Whenever this happens I have to kill Photoshop with the Task Manager.

This is a fresh install of Windows and a fresh install of Creative Cloud, so I don't see why this is happening.

This started happening a few updates ago, and it's becoming increasingly annoying.

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