Photoshop 23.5 extremely slow saving process

[Jarek Kubicki]

hello, I have a problem with an extremely slow saving PSD file process in Photoshop. It started a few days ago with one file (and it appears with this file only). Without any changes in preferences. Saving one file looks like there are about 5 - 7 minutes with "0%" of saving progress, then saving the whole file in a few seconds. The file isn't so huge - it has 600 MB

System info: Windows 10, 64-bit,
32 GB RAM

[Jarek Kubicki]

it looks like the artboards are the cause (there are 22 in the document). The problem disappears when I hide them. Turning on or off Generating Image Assets has no effect on saving speed.

[Hery284155555p8j]

how to do this? hide the artboards

[J453]

Can you share the file you're having trouble with? Post a URL to the file using CC files or dropbox, or something similar to share the file.

[garymak]

I'm having the same trouble. PS2023 is noticeably slower saving!   It isn't related to the files I'm saving. (That would imply I save the same files all the time...) It is related to a PS 2023 issue.  The files I'm opening are either CR2, CR3 or JPG, (nothing exotic)  and once opened through CameraRAW, it's all the same when you "SAVE AS PSD."   It takes 40 (seconds minimum) or more to save in PSD format a simple color file with even just 1 or 2 clipping masks!  This has been doing this since the 2023 updates.  

Incidentally, I am using a brand new Mac Studio with the super-duper Ultra Chip with 128GB RAM and 48cores VRAM with M1 Chipset, sidewinder missles, headsup displays and look-down radar... in short, this, according to Tim Cook, is the fastest, most powerful computer on the market today, designed for power users working with graphics and video....  So, I think I can safely eliminate all consideration of any possible issues related to "my computer isn't up to date" or "my computer does not have enough RAM" or does not have enough of anything...

And the slowness is irrelevant to whether the "Use Graphics Processor" is turned on or off. Same sloooooooow response in saving time.

I originally got the MacStudio because my 2016 MacBook was getting slower and slower with each new update of PS... "Action" scripts were taking so long I could almost go get a cup of tea while I waited.  But "Saving a file" didn't seem to be a particular issue, just part of the overall slowness of the aging chip set.

Now, however, it is apparent.  Other kinds of files for other programs (e.g., MS office, iMovie) are noticeably faster.  Also, importantly, for this discussion, PS "Actions" scripts are must faster in execution than with the MB Pro. But, the "SAVING A FILE" is  MUCH SLOWER. Excrutiatingly slow.

So, in conclusion, the previous gentleman (Mr. Kubicki) has a Windows machine and complains of file saving slowness with PS 2023.  I have a super-duper hepped up MacStudio and file saving is really slow, practically the same as the MB Pro, yet "Actions" scripts are much faster.  So I think we can conclude that the culprit is the "SAVE" function on PS 2023...

One final note on "Saving" issues... working with the same kinds of files generated by the same camera, I am now often hitting 2GB file size limits on saving, with the saving process terminated, and PS suggesting I save in another file format!  This didn't happen before either.  

Something is amiss with the "Save" funtion in PS 2023...

[J453]

What does Photoshop report for Document Sizes and Document Dimensions?

[garymak]

Sorry, but I have no idea where that menu is.  I've checked all available Settings menus and submenus....

Also, to reiterate, the opening file sizes haven't changed, nor has my workflow in PS, so focusing in on file size/types is, I think, misleading to the root cause of the problem.  I've been using CR3 files for several years.  I've been using Photoshop with these files for several years.  I've used PS on a MBPro and while the processing time for various functions, such as "Actions" were getting very slow over time, that had to do with the computer itself being a 2016 model, more limited RAM, VRAM, and PS requiring more and more horsepower.  But SAVING time was never an issue.  

Now, with a sooped up MacStudio with all the latest bells, whistles and RAMs, the "Actions" functions perform very quickly.  But the SAVING functions are slower than ever on PS!  And I also point out these are files with relatively few layers or clipping masks- like 2 or 3.  And I'm also hitting limits on file size now!  You can't go much more than 3 or 4 layers and you can't save it as a PS file!  How is that "professional" software?  Ad agencies and creative studios don't just just 2 or 3 layers for their work....

Again, all this points to PS File Saving structure: speed and bloat.

[J453]

The menu is on the bottom of the document window:

[garymak]

Hi, sorry for the delay.  I was out of country on an assignment.  To answer your question technically, 

8192x5464 (300dpi)

256.1M/1.00G

16 bit

However, that is this one image.  The issue is that the problem is with every image I work on... compared to every image I've worked on prior to PS2023.  It's not the "stat" view that gives the answer, it's the trend. I've worked on these kinds of images for a long time, so it is not related to the images I work on.  It's PS 2023.  

Now, I see in my absence that "Arseniy28320787a4i8" has proposed a cause and solution to the issue, which he/she believes is CameraRaw and returning to 14.5 would solve it.  I will try it and report back here.  

In any event, regardless of whether or not that is a fix - it is a temporary fix (and would be a welcome one, Mr./Ms. Arseniy28320787a4i8, to be sure!) so Adobe needs to be making this a PRIORITY to fix, as this affects every user on every save...

Stay tuned...

And much thanks Arseniy28320787a4i8 for proposing it!

[Arseniy_S]

@garymak,

also see my 2nd update on my post with the link.

I realized that it wasn't the camera raw version, but rather the default setting for the bit channel. From what you posted, it looks like your document is in 16bit. 
tey going to your Camera Raw settings>Workflow, and change the channel to 8bir if yours is set to 16

[D Fosse]

@garymak 

A 16 bit PSD at the pixel size you specify, with a couple of layers and masks, saves quicker than I can measure here (well under a second).

So, no, this isn't something inherent in Photoshop.

Where are you saving to, exactly? 

Go to Preferences and disable compression for PSD/PSB. Does that improve it?

[Arseniy_S]

hey all,

I might have found a cause and solution for this issue. After updating from Photoshop 2022 to 2023, I also started seeing super slow psd file save time and my file size increased by 4-5 times (I save psd files of images 5000-6000px, 300ppi in 16 bit mode. usually the file size is around ~100 mb, now it is 500-600mb). I also work with CR2 and JPG files.

After doing some tests I realized that for me it was having camera raw 15 that was causing slow saving speed and large psd files. After I downgraded to Camera Raw 14.5, and still using Photoshop 2023, my files size and saving speed went back to the original! And overall the photoshop performance has become much faster.

Can anyone else with this issue confirm that Camera Raw 14.5 solved the issue?

[Arseniy_S]

update on my post: I posted a new topic about this and someone pointed poninted out that it could the the 8 vs 16 bit channel setting, so that was the new solution.
https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-discussions/camera-raw-15-causes-large-psd-files/td-p/1358...

[garymak]

After reading the above last night, I tried to contact Adobe about reverting to 14.2 but it seems it was really complicated and as it was late, I bagged it, but then tried the 16-to-8 bit solution also proposed by Arseniy28320787a4i8.  That seemed to do the trick!! 

Just to try to be helpful to others who might not know where to adjust this buried power nugget:

- Go to PREFERENCES… FILE HANDLING…FILE COMPATIBILITY…CAMERA RAW PREFERENCES (which then opens a new submenu page) 

- On that submenu page, go to the WORKFLOW sub-sub menu, then Go to “COLOR SPACE” and change “DEPTH” to “16 bit” to “8 bit”…

Again, MUCH thanks to Arseniy28320787a4i8 for posting the solution!!!!  My saves are now zippy, as reflective of my monster machine's capabilities, and my files are no longer hitting the 2GB limit, and all is as it should be!

Just a suggestion, but can ADOBE make it any more hidden and complicated and unintuitive to find in the next revision...?

[D Fosse]

There's still something not right if you see that dramatic difference between 8 and 16 bits. There's no reason you should see orders of magnitude longer save times with 16 bit files; just slightly longer. It's just 2x the file size.

Besides, working in 16 bit is very much the standard these days. An 8 bit file has only 256 discrete values per channel. A 16 bit file has 32768 discrete values per channel. That means you can do adjustments without worrying about degrading the file. At 8 bit there's not much you can do before the file is permanently degraded.

There's a reason 16 bit is the new default in Camera Raw. It's what we all use.

[garymak]

Thank you very much for this important update!  I will assume you are correct in your statement "There's still something not right if you see that dramatic difference between 8 and 16 bits. There's no reason you should see orders of magnitude longer save times with 16 bit files; just slightly longer. It's just 2x the file size."  

Therefore, assuming you are correct then there IS something wrong that all these users are seeing the same thing: and order of magnitude longer file save time and huge files that hit the 2GB limit.  We have people complaining about it using Mac and Windows, and on some very advanced machines.  This then sounds like an Adobe problem, not a user problem, and Adobe should address it posthaste...

It now behooves me to try Arseniy28320787a4i8 suggestion of a Camera Raw Roll Back.  If that works, and it works on 16 bit (assuming that Camera Raw 14.2 did not have 8-bits as the default, which would explain the saving laggardness and file save bloat) then we have the answer: PS2023.  And again, Adobe should publically address it, propose a work around, and then fix it.  It would be good to know if CameraRaw 14.2 had 8 bits or 16 bits as a default first.  The settings were so deeply buried that I certainly did not change anything on my own other than what the default was set at in both versions of Camera Raw...

In any case, Adobe should be lookng into this matter already hopefully and let users know..."transparency" is the byword!

[ytsejamnw]

OK, I know it's been ages since this was updated, but just in case... I had been fighting this thing recently and Adobe had completely jacked my workflow with this little "feature". I save embedded RAW files inside PSDs so my color team can pull my initial RAW tweaks and move from there to the proper final work. After searching online I finally gave up and went to hunt and peck mode and discovered "Disable compression of PSD and PSB files" inside Prefs/FileHandling/ I get that I have a pretty specific workflow but once I unchecked that box everything went back to the way it was before. Miracle of miracles!