P: PS CC 24.1 and later Plugins Menu goes dark in a certain configuration

[jeffreym]

ADB-28196624-T1B3 is the tech support ID. Tech support tried to test a problem and was able to recreate the particular problem on my 2019 iMac 5K running Ventura 13.1. After removing every single Adobe file from the computer and reinstalling CC app and Photoshop CC 24.1.1, after installing a plugin via the Marketplace using the Plugin menu, restarting Photoshop renders the Plugin menu gray and plugins previously installed are missing or not accessible. Reverting in Creative Cloud to 24.0.1 and the plugin menu is visible again and so are the plugins, if any were previously installed.

This problem exists in a particular configuration where the user account folder with ~/Library and contents are housed on a different hard drive than the /Library is stored along with /System, /Applications, /Users.

Creative Cloud can install its applications on different drives, and Mac OS can also be configured to use different volumes for particular user accounts, and until 24.1, this has never been a problem. The only issue happens to be with the Plugins menu, however. All other functions seem to be working fine and no other Adobe Apps that I own have shown any problems with having the user's folder with it's library and all other data housed on a different volume than where the main system and library folders are housed.

[CoryShubert]

Thank you @jeffreym, will pass this on to the team to look into.

Thank you,

Cory

[jeffreym]

Thanks, Cory. Adobe Exchange Support emailed me today and advised I call tech support. Apparently they are unaware this already went through tech support who recommended I get the problem to the programmers as they can only confirm the problem exists but have no way to fix it. Tech support went through an exhaustive process, removing every vestige of Adobe from the system, installing fresh, and the problem persists with the plugin issue concerning palettes. I suppose there are very few users that also need larger user account space than their internal drive and who also use 3rd party palates as plugins. Adobe has moved locations of support library data over the years and it is possible something got moved in 24.1 that no longer recognizes where Mac OS assigned the user library.

[BrettN]

I'm going to try setting up my system to recreate on my end. But here is what you can check for now:

When you install plugins, the default location for them to go is: /Users/[Your User]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/UXP/Plugins/External. Here you would have a subfolder for each plugin (the name is a not very useful unique identifier string, but it does include "_<version number>" appended to the end to help figure out which is which). Check if this folder exists at either location (the default and your alternate). If they only shows up in the default location, you can try moving them to your custom location and relaunch Photoshop to see if they start working. 

I will note that if I simply remove this folder, the Plugins menu and panel both behave as though I haven't installed any plugins yet. But if I remove the parent "Adobe" folder altogether, then I do lose some functionality to the menu and panel. This seems like it should be the worst case scenario, but doesn't sound exactly like what you are describing. Can you include a screen shot of what the menu and panel look like on your end? 

[jeffreym]

Thanks for following up, Brett. Yes, I did check and the folder is always created and is there as it does work in PS 24.0.1 and earlier. And Creative Cloud Marketplace will indicate the plugins are there and working, usually. But at 24.1, the menu in PS CC 24.1, 24.1.1 and 24.2 goes gray and the plugins are no longer accessible. 

[BrettN]

I was able to setup a similar user config and was able to recreate the behavior you describe. I'll note that the Plugins menu is only greyed out when I've copied over plugins from the original drive to the new location. Without this, Plugins is available, but doesn't have all options (the same thing I saw when clearing out the Adobe folder as mentioned previously).

Another thing I'm noticing is that I cannot get the Creative Cloud Desktop app to run at all. Let me know if that is the case with you as well. This might be a big part of the problem since this is what manages the plugin installation and may be part of the root cause. 

I wasn't able to find any workarounds, so for now, continue to use the older version of Photoshop. I'll update when I get more information. 

[jeffreym]

I am not having any issues with the Creative Cloud App, at present. It's been working fine with a recent caveat. Prior to the tech support call and complete removal of all Adobe vestiges and reinstallation, if I wanted to install a plugin palate that was not in the Marketplace, if I double clicked on the CCX file, it would launch Creative Cloud and warn me that it's not part of the Marketplace, and then I could continue and it would install and show up as installed in the Marketplace and was manageable. But after reinstalling CC and PS CC, those cannot be installed directly. I have to put the appropriate files where they belong, using backups from Time Machine to do this.

If I uninstall PS CC and then install again from scratch, the plug-in menu will show up even in 24.1 or 24.1.1 or 24.2, but once I use the Plugin menu to install a plugin, the relaunched PS no longer allows the plugins to be accessed and the Plugin menu is grayed out.

[BrettN]

Thank you for confirming that CCD is working on your end, glad to hear it is only an issue with my machine. But we have now confirmed that the menu is being greyed out when plugins are installed to the correct folder (in the updated user path). Hopefully we can quickly find what we changed recently and get that fixed. 

[jeffreym]

Cory, I notice that 24.3 is out now. Have you any knowledge as to whether this fixes the issue with the plugin menu?

[jeffreym]

Never mind; I already confirmed it's still broken. How long does it take Adobe to fix a mistake they introduced that prevents plugins from working? Good grief.