P: Opened document(s) are invisible coming back after using 'win d' or 'alt tab' in Windows

6 months from reporting it and almost 11 months from CC 2018 realease and this bug is still not fixed, why? Anyway here you can see it's not only Windows problem (however I mentioned it as well), as just today someone came with the same problem for OSX:  https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2538882

btw originally this bug on this and regular Adobe forum was reported 11 months ago by others!

That could be solution, but:

1) win & d
2) some stuff
3) win & d

would be:

1) win & ctrl & d
2) some stuff
3) win & ctrl & F4

or:

1) win & ctrl & right
2) some stuff
3) win & ctrl & left


That last solution is totally unconviniet taking in consideration I don't move my right hand from mouse (beside sometimes using thumb to press second enter - that in right bottom corner of keyboard - until I have enter some numbers on numeric part of keyboard or sometimes write some text). Left hand I don't move as well. I don't use nothing beyond very left part of keyboard. Usually only 'ctrl (shift) tab', 'win d', 'tab', 'a', combinations of 'shift' and 'alt'. Most things I have in my mouse. About hundredt single or multi operations (by just left, right, middle, 4th, 5th, roll and tilt that I combine by chording, delaying and few methods of sending signals with using of macros) I remember all, as I use them every day.

Middle solution ie. 'win & ctrl & right' could be after all accepted, but win & ctrl & F4 is too uncomfortable. For years I worked out method where my hands almost don't move, and now all of sudden I had to do such gimnastics. Now I have only two keys to press without bending hand however I leave / come back Photoshop.

As to only me I can write script that will activate next / previous document by pressing apropriate keys. So that's really nothing hard to fix for engineers who must programming way better than me. Either they sort out a fail with 'win d' or they enforce activating chosen document by 'ctrl (shift) tab'. If you check Action Manager code produced by Photoshop during your time with Ps you will see that when you choose from 'File / Open Recent', or from 'Window' or else Ps icon on ToolBar, some opened but minimised image then it will be recorded to ScriptListenerJS.log as the same operation we do by keyboard. So my conclusion is simple, when they changed some functionallities without checking fully how that affect other things we finished up with no signal sent by those keys that normally worked, or beeing blocked by something else.

I saw many things they finally fixed they didn't work that Adobe didn't made intentionally, but by accident. I assume it's one of them, but because I see not many people care of, their management don't consider to fix it even when that seems is easy bug to handle. Since customers deal with or don't see difference in their workflow this difficulty is at far under bottom of priority's list. This topic is mostly not to find workaround, however there nothing leaves so every advice like yours will be worth of trying, but to help them to notice there's another problem that should be disposed; not delayed to next release 😞

Either the bug is difficult to fix because something changed about how the keyboard and windows are accessed in PS 19, so an architectural change in PS programming, or there are so many bugs and other things to worry about that the project team hasn't prioritized the fix to be completed, yet.

Another thing you can do to get to the desktop is create a new virtual desktop using Win-Ctrl-D and use Win-Ctrl-Right/Left-arrow to get to and from it back to PS, so you could leave your PS windows intact and switch to a new virtual desktop to do other work.  Use Win-Ctrl-F4 to close a virtual desktop and I think this will consolidate the apps from both desktops to the next still unclosed desktop.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a4dv3tiilnalwpe/ToolBar.jpg?dl=0

As you see I also (over)use that you suggest. I have easy access to most important folders on computer when I work in Photoshop. The only special space I don't have there is Desktop. it's very convinient to me when I can see that area the way it's designed. Thx for tips though, that might help someone for sure. For me it's unfortunately not a solution, and to be honest it's a bug not functionallity of Photoshop, so I can't understand why for so long time they didn't fix it yet. Changing opened documents from one to other is eternal part of Photoshop; if not that then we shouldn't be allowed to do it even when documents were not minimised.

I also never use WinLogo-D to show/hide the desktop.  I like to see my desktop wallpaper without icons covering it. 

I have frequently-used apps on my task-bar as small icons, and I have enabled the Desktop toolbar at the right of my task-bar so I can get to the recycle-bin and the first couple dozen icons on my desktop.

If you want you can also drag that toolbar left to reveal the first few icons in your desktop, and if I have the recycle-bin as the first item on the revealed Desktop menu and turn off the toolbar title and icon text then, then I have OneDrive and Recycle Bin icons at the right of my task-bar meaning I rarely have to even expand the Desktop toolbar to see the rest of the desktop icons.

Maybe you put more things on your desktop and need to see all the icons laid out in a grid.  I have few enough things that I do from my desktop that I rarely need to use those icons and everything is either on my taskbar already or available in the Start menu.

Good catch. I remember I clicked everything in that 'Window / Arrange' menu to find some workaround but had to miss that one item (Consolidate All to Tabs) or simply if most of them didn't work I assumed nothing does.

Still this method is not solution for some cases. Firstly, we had to set some shortcut to press each time we are back to Photoshop, even two or record some action (not talking of users who can't script). Secondly if we had arranged opened documents some way then with this method after being back to Photoshop they all would be rearanged to cascade.

...and of course there is problem for multi monitor users you noticed - all their images are going to be collected into one screen.

Good catch. I remember I clicked everything in that 'Window / Arrange' menu to find some workaround but had to miss that one item (Consolidate All to Tabs) or simply if most of them didn't work I assumed nothing does.

Still this method is not solution for some cases. Firstly, we had to set some shortcut to press each time we are back to Photoshop, even two or record some action (not talking of users who can't script). Secondly if we had arranged opened documents some way then with this method after being back to Photoshop they all would be rearanged to cascade.

...and of course there is problem for multi monitor users you noticed - all their images are going to be collected into one screen.

Reminder: It's 19.1.5 version of CC 2018 and after 8 months we have to work with this bug 😞

After going to desktop (by for ex. win d) and then back to Photoshop all opened documents are going to be minimised. Because of bug there is no way to access them just by using 'ctrl (shift) tab', so like that can be done, before they are minimised. Minimising them without leaving Ps (by clicking '_' in right upper corner of document on its frame) makes the same problem. They become not accessible.

It's possible to use some commands from 'View' menu like: 'Zoom In', Zoom Out', 'Fit to Screen', 'Fit Artboard on Screen', '100%', '200%', 'Print Size' to display current document on the screen. It is pity only active one, because there is still no convinient way (like that was before introducing this bug) to access / display all other minimised documents.