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Imaginerie
Community Expert
ImaginerieCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 26, 2025

P: Layer masks degrades/displays incorrectly at each new action

  • February 26, 2025
  • 18 답변들
  • 4151 조회

It's been happening for a very long time and I usually just go back in the history, save and open again, but this time it bugged me a bit so I decided to post it as a bug:

It happens at random, sometime I can go without it happening for several months and then it happens again, with completely random files.

Basically you can look at the video and you'll see the mask starts to degrade as ifi it was corrupted file or something similar.

For the amount of time I have seen it happening, I have had 4 computers, both laptops and desktops, countless different Photoshop versions (I try to always be up to date)
Just to state that there will be no point sending a file to someone else to check, as saving it at a state where the mask is correct and open it again solves the issue. If I save at a corrupted state, Photoshop saves the corrupted state and one cannot recover the original state.

I never save the corrupted state as it's client's work, and it didn't happen today so I couldn't share a .psd here, but I will share in a comment if it happens again (and the files are shareable)

To reiterate: it's absolutely random (I honestly think it's been happening for at least 10 years, but difficult to be exact on this)

It never happens with a vector mask.
My GPUs have always been compatible.

I am not too bothered as I have been living with it for quite a long time, but just in case it can get resolved....





    18 답변

    이전 답글 보기
    Sarah13242
    Sarah13242
    Participating Frequently
    May 4, 2025

    If the problem is relevant, then try disabling the "GPU compositing" function in the settings.

    Edit > Preferences > Performance > Advanced Settings > off "GPU compositing" > restart photoshop

     

    I had a similar problem, but the main layer crumbled into artifacts. Disabling this option helped me. There were also cases when it helped to solve other problems for different people.

    Imaginerie
    Community Expert
    ImaginerieCommunity Expert작성자
    Community Expert
    May 4, 2025

    @Sameer K 
    I can confirm @© Si  's assessment. The problem lies in the feather feature (properties)
    If I see the issue happen, and that I put back the feather to 0, then the degraded mask display stops. Of course if I need a non-destructive mask blur, I'm toast.
    But at least I can save it in a state that is acceptable.

    © Si
    © Si
    Inspiring
    April 23, 2025

    You've gone silent @Sameer K  ..
    Any news on this issue?

    © Si
    © Si
    Inspiring
    April 16, 2025

    Hey @Sameer K - I have moved my currrent job from External HD to Mac internal drive and I can confirm the Layer Mask bug is still happening when feather is introduced ...

      Imaginerie
      Community Expert
      ImaginerieCommunity Expert작성자
      Community Expert
      April 12, 2025

      Turning the GPU on or off never repaired the issue
      My general rule is to never turn the GPU off, but I tested a few things when it happened, including that, so I know it's not the issue as it happened with or without.

      © Si
      © Si
      Inspiring
      April 9, 2025

      I'm currently working with images that have multiple layers with layer masks. (50+) 

      The masks have various opacities of brushed in black and I like to apply various levels of feather and density.

       

      When I apply feather or density changes, all is good, and I carry on with my workflow - then I'll notice one of the layer masks within my stack will stop working randomly... It is always a mask with feather or density setting applied. (Masks without these settings don't suffer from this bug).

      The mask settings stay the same, but the mask is no longer doing its thing ... visually, it's reset to default white, despite brushwork and the applied settings. My current fix is to slide the feather or density off and on & back to its original setting, and then the mask with appplied brushwork is visible and working correctly.

       

      I've experienced this issue many times over the years - never annoyed me enough to report here, but today's the day! This issue is certainly not exclusive to the latest version of Photoshop - it's a bug I've experienced in multiple versions - that was either overlooked or gone unreported.

      Certainly way overdue a fix.

       

      Photoshop 26.5.0 - Apple Mac Studio M2 - 64 GB - Sequoia 15.4

      Sameer K
      Community Manager
      Sameer KCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      April 9, 2025

      Hey, @© Si. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I'll need more information to help you figure this out. Please share a video of the issue and the system information from Photoshop Help > System info > Copy and paste into a text document > Upload and attach here. 

       

      When this happens, save the document and, if possible, share it with me via direct message. Where do you keep the documents? Internal or external drive? Also, please test and confirm if the issue exists with Photoshop (Beta). You can get Photoshop (beta) from the Creative Cloud > Apps tab > Beta Apps section. 

       

      Thanks! 
      Sameer K

      (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

      c.pfaffenbichler
      Community Expert
      c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 27, 2025

      Did you apply anything to the Mask in the Properties Panel (Density, Blur)? 

      Does turning off »Use Graphics Processor« in the Performance Preferences (Photoshop > Preferences > Performance > Graphic Processor Settings) and restarting Photoshop have any bearing on the issue? 
      https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html

        Imaginerie
        Community Expert
        ImaginerieCommunity Expert작성자
        Community Expert
        February 27, 2025

        I didn't apply anything (apart from a marquee selection followed by fill in with either black, or white)
        I didn't turn off graphics processor on this occasion, but I know I did in the past, to no avail.

        I can try again, I just need the glitch to happen again (so far so good)

        Sameer K
        Community Manager
        Sameer KCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        February 26, 2025

        Hey, @Imaginerie. Thanks for sharing the details and the video.

         

        The randomness of the issue report acts against finding the fix for any unexpected behaviors. I'll still share this with the team for review. 

         

        Thanks!

        Sameer K

        (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

          Imaginerie
          Community Expert
          ImaginerieCommunity Expert작성자
          Community Expert
          February 27, 2025

          THanks @Sameer K 
          I will make sure I share an example of a degraded and saved file if I can.
          I might have to share privately as it's client work... (or save a copy and replace critical layers with black, I guess it won't affect the masks situation)

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