P: Text layer inconsistent property values (new in 13.0.5 / 13.0.1.2)

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'm opening a new topic regarding the new text problems introduced with Photoshop 13.0.5 (Mac) and 13.0.1.2, which seem like a result of attempting to fix earlier font-size reporting issues.

This is worse than before, because:

1) It happens a lot more often (I can open a new file and reproduce the bug easily).
2) Now some properties are "scale aware" and some aren't, resulting in quite a messy experience when editing text.

Bug A (OS X, 13.0.5):

1) Open a new photoshop file.
2) Create a text layer, type a word, commit.
3) Using the transform layer tool, scale the layer up significantly (say 200-300%)
4) Using the text tool, select the word, copy.
5) Using the text tool, click empty area to create a new text layer, paste.

Expected: Same text size the layer I copied AFTER scaling it.
Actual: Smaller text as the text layer was originally created.

Bug B (OS X, 13.0.5):

1) Create a text layer with "add space after paragraph" to 10pt.

2) Scale the text layer using the transform tool to 300%.

Expected: "add space after paragraph" must show as 30pt now, and render as 30pt.

Actual: "add space after paragraph" shows as 10pt, *BUT RENDERS* as 30pt.

The same bug may apply to other text layer settings (kerning, tracking etc.).

The result can be two text fields with identical settings, yet different rendering, example file:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0hnlf2e8dzs...

Bug C (Windows, 13.0.1.2):

After scaling a text layer with the transform tool, I observe "magical" multiplication of the values I enter for various properties of the text layer, like "add space after paragraph".

I enter there 10, hit enter, the text box becomes 20.
I enter 20, hit enter, the text box becomes 40.

This also happens with the other settings. For example:

I enter "Tracking" 50, the text box becomes 21.
I enter 21, the text box becomes 8.
I enter 8, the text box becomes 3.

Obviously, that makes any text editing very hard.

[Paul Riggott]

If a text layer is transformed only the original size is reported.

$.writeln(app.activeDocument.activeLayer.textItem.size);


This is wrong it should be the actual size that gets reported

With CS6 the text size has to be multiplied by the transformed percentage, this is wrong.
$.writeln(getTextSize());
function getTextSize(){
var ref = new ActionReference();
ref.putEnumerated( charIDToTypeID("Lyr "), charIDToTypeID("Ordn"), charIDToTypeID("Trgt") );
var desc = executeActionGet(ref).getObjectValue(stringIDToTypeID('textKey'));
var textSize = desc.getList(stringIDToTypeID('textStyleRange')).getObjectValue(0).getObjectValue(stringIDToTypeID('textStyle')).getDouble (stringIDToTypeID('size'));
if (desc.hasKey(stringIDToTypeID('transform'))) {
var mFactor = desc.getObjectValue(stringIDToTypeID('transform')).getUnitDoubleValue (stringIDToTypeID("yy") );
textSize = (textSize* mFactor).toFixed(2).toString().replace(/0+$/g,'');
textSize.replace(/\.$/,'');
}
return textSize;
}

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

At this point I honestly wish someone would just revert the entire text functionality back to CS5.

[cbadland]

I'm seeing very similar problems. (see my post on character scrubby input after scaling)

[Garconis]

Adobe needs a beta release before pushing untested bug "fixes".

[cbadland]

they've got my number...

[Moodybird]

same issues here

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I am running into the same problem as bug c on OS X.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

That's not the the worst part. The worst part is this might never get fixed, or best case scenario we'll wait for months now.

Text editing is very awkward in Photoshop right now.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'd kill to have CS5's text/character engine... it was FLAWLESS. Why mess with some thing that worked so well?

[Garconis]

Having a similar issue with the tracking. Somehow I choose -25 from the dropdown for the tracking, but then it shows the adjustment as -12 in the text box. If I manually type in something like -100 in the text box, then it ends up being -25. Seriously?

Text should NOT be treated this way. Once text is transformed or adjusted, it shouldn't matter what it USED to be. If I type in -100 tracking, that's what I want to see.

[DaveChap]

I'm having these issues too! I put video examples on this post:
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photosh...

[David Mohr]

This is a bug and it's been logged. Hopefully, we'll have a solution soon.

Thanks,
David

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I feel as if a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulder, phew.

Good luck with it, David!

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Did CS5 actually resize the font to accommodate the increase using the scale tool? Cause I didn't think it did (or it might have been CS4 that I'm thinking of). Either way, I'll have to respectfully disagree with you guys about going back to CS5 on that aspect. I actually really like that PS adjusted for the scale in CS6 (despite the many other hang-ups I had with CS6). So when I used the scale tool to increase the size of a text field originally set up at 20 points, then it would auto adjust it to the font that it is currently being displayed at. This helped a lot for being more consistent with my fonts throughout artwork. So if I wanted some text at the same size, all I had to do was refer to the text size on the other layer. When using the scale tool in previous versions, it was a best guess as to what size I'd just made the font. And when you deal in print, you need to make sure you're not going under minimum font sizes on certain things.

Either way, it seems they are aware of it and are making headway on doing something about it. I wouldn't sweat it being an update that takes months to deploy. Within a couple of days of downloading CC, they already put out an update (I don't know what it did), so I think it shows they have no problems deploying fixes as soon as needed. Fortunately, if I get desperate, I haven't removed CS6 yet and can use it if needed.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

We're in agreement, but we're talking about different properties.

Let me explain. Photoshop has *always* compensated font-size and so on when you scale with the transform tool, yes.

But some properties are scale-agnostic. Tracking -15 is still tracking -15 never mind the font-size and scaling. Other properties like line-spacing should scale with font-size because they're in points, however.

Every property has a specific semantic and 13.0.5 has most of them upside down. Tracking shouldn't be altered with scale, yet it does. Paragraph spacing should alter with scale, yet it doesn't.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Ah, I gotch ya. Makes sense.

[David Mohr]

Howdy Brady,

In CS5 and previous versions, transforming text worked the same way. We changed it in CS6 to accommodate Type Styles. We heard from users and this was not what people wanted, as I'll explain below...

In CS5, if a user transformed type, we displayed a new point size, but under the hood, we actually retained the old size and transformed it (the reason is technical and way too long to share). If a user then entered a new point size, we would APPEAR to use that, but in reality (again, for technical reasons), we would maintain the transformation scale and use the reciprocal value to set the actual point size. That said, the new size would apparently trump the old one for most purposes. Example, 12pt Tahoma transformed to 300% would show 36pt but would actually be 12pt text at x3 magnification. If a user then changed the point size to 30pt, it would show 30pt but would actually be 10pt text at x3.

In CS6, we thought it would be more valuable for customers to maintain the transform. So when you change point size, the new value is whatever you enter multiplied by the scale. Using the same example, if a user then changed the point size to 24pt, we would show 24pt but it would display at 24pt x3, or roughly 72pt. Based on overwhelming user feedback, this was a bad call and we reverted it in the latest version of the dot-release and in CC.

In CC/CS7, a new bug crept in at the 11th-hour and we're working on a fix now. I have no ETA for the fix yet, but it was not a design or logic change, just a bug.

Hopefully that spells out the history of this feature a little and gives some context to what's going on and why.

Thanks,
David

[Garconis]

Has this been fixed yet? Still having an issue. Photoshop says it's on v 13.0.1 x64.

Scaling issue occurs when using our resize script (down-scaling). We have a script that down-scales a given image once (with a text layer) to 800px, then changes text to different word, and saves JPEG, then different word, and saves again. Each time the text changes and it's saved, the font-size in the resulting JPEG gets larger and larger for some reason.

If you (Adobe) needs to view our script, just let us know and we can post/host it. (Note, this script worked perfectly fine before this "update").

[David Mohr]

Howdy Garconis,

We are actively working on a fix for this bug. Hopefully, it will be available soon.

Thanks,
David

[David Mohr]

Okay, I can finally post this:

We have made many fixes to the behavior of transformed text and they are now available in the latest release, Photoshop 14.1, which you can download RIGHT NOW. I will acknowledge, there are still a few lingering issues to resolve, but for most users, these fixes should handle their problems. We felt it was better to get a partial fix out now than a perfect fix in the future. We are still planning additional improvements for a coming release.

If you are still struggling with problems, by all means let us know so we can make sure we address them.

Thanks and enjoy!
David

[cbadland]

David-
What about CS6 users? This bug was introduced in a CS6 update. No fix for us?
It looks like Adobe has pulled the CS6 update that contained the bug. What are the steps to "downgrade" Photoshop CS6 to the version before the bug? Is this our only option?

[David Mohr]

Hi Charles,

Yes, we have not forgotten CS6. We are looking into putting these fixes into an upcoming dot-release for perpetual users. At this time, that's all I can say.

Meanwhile, for those who have switched to CC, the first round of fixes are available today.

Thanks,
David

[David Mohr]

We have been working on a solution to these bugs for CS6 as well a for CC. While the transformed type fix for the Creative Cloud is already released, that for CS6 is still being refined.

If you are interested, I would invite you to join a special prerelease program to validate these bugs really are resolved. All you have to do is respond to this message. I will then submit your name and email address to the program. You will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement, since this software is not available to the general public. Then, you can download and tryout the fix for yourself. If we've missed something, your voice can help us catch it and repair it.

Thanks,
David

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'd like to test the prerelease bits for you. I reported the original text issues here and then I also reported the additional problems exactly 15 minutes after I downloaded the CS6 update that caused them.

For some reason I discover bugs easily. We can help each other. I'm also a developer.

I've also been testing/advising (it was called an "advisory board") for the Flash IDE/player development for Macromedia (when they were Macromedia yet).

[Paul Riggott]

Please put my name down.