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nolank32168966
nolank32168966
Participant
November 7, 2022
Question

Blending Modes not Working in Photoshop 2023

  • November 7, 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 13679 views

So I've been struggling with blending modes in Photoshop. I've had this issue for a while both with PS 2022 and 2023. There's another forum post explaining the same issue and how they uninstalled and reinstalled photoshop. This didn't work for me. I also tried resetting preferences and even checked to make sure the preferences file was deleted - this didn't work for me either. I'm currently on MAC OS Ventura 13.0 (2021 16 inch MacBook Pro M1 Max 32gb Ram)

 

If anybody knows of a different solution that would be a huge help!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    4 replies

    @mj
    Community Expert
    @mjCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 14, 2023

    Hi,

    Per @D Fosse, please share some screenshots or screen recording.

    It's difficult to try and assist without context

    Best

    mj

    D
    defaultv7hk4q491vff
    Participant
    September 7, 2023

    My blending modes, specifically the "lighten" section and specifically "screen" is not working either. I have tried the suggestions from @Jeff Arola - thank you, but it didn't make a difference :-(.

    My screen shot is below. I want to use the light rays in screen mode. the dark branches and tree stems are all on that layer and should not be visible in screen.

    Not good with the technical stuff. I am working on an old Macbook Pro ... whatever that means for you guys 🙂

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 7, 2023

    Could you please post screenshots taken at View > 100% with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Options Bar, …) visible of

    • background without screen-Layer

    • screen-Layer alone 

    • both combined

    ? 

    C
    cambriacombusts
    Participant
    July 14, 2023

    Same problem for me. This is incredibly annoying!

    Blending options work for some files, and some layers, but not in others. Right now, I'm working within a smart object, where a layer will not show any blending options, but the document the smart object is in, has blending options working fine. Kind of a critical tool in photoshop mockups of products .... 

     

    On M2 pro 14", pshop23

     

    Adobe please fix this basic and necessary tool!

    Trevor.Dennis
    Community Expert
    Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 14, 2023

    I feel like I need to add my voice to the 'exactly what do you think is the problem?' posts.  Especially when (possibly nested) Smart Objects are involved.  The posts do seem to all come from Mac users, so it could well be a bug, but even so, you guys still need to show full res screen shots of your workspace and image with layers panel and problem layer selected.  You need to tell us what the hardware is (i.e. Mac M1) and what OS version?  

     

    I have not seen any mention of the Known Issues help pages, so let's put that right.

    https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-and-macos-ventura.html

     

     

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 15, 2023

      Indeed. It could be a layer compositing bug. That happens, altough not very often. To rule that out, "Deactivate Native Canvas" is the first thing to try, and a few more checkboxes have also turned up in Preferences:  "Multithreaded Compositing" and "GPU compositing". Try them all (not at my workstation right now to check).

       

      But most often, it's the user's expectations. A blend mode is the interaction between two layers. It's not a property of a single layer. In other words, it's not a thing, it's a relationship.

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 7, 2022

      Exactly how don't they work? Give us something to go on. Screenshots including the layers panel would help.

        H
        Hamo_G4m3r
        Participating Frequently
        August 3, 2023

        i have the same problem and as u can see it dont apply the change
        and i have another problem which is : if i did any change it dont apply it directly while i have to release the hold of the click , like if i keep holding the bar it dont apply any this thing happens in any change not blend mode only

        @mj
        Community Expert
        @mjCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        August 9, 2023

        Hi @Hamo_G4m3r 

        Your screengrab shows you are trying to apply a blend mode to the bottom-most layer.

        Remember that blend modes need layers below to give you a blend.

        Try it on any of the layers above your coffee background.

        It should work fine because the blend mode has pixels to interact with.

         

        Please explain what you are trying to achieve with the background layer and we'l try and guide you along.

        Let us know how oyu go.

        Best

        mj 

        Jeff Arola
        Community Expert
        Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        November 7, 2022

        Three things you can try:

         

        1. Reset the photoshop preferences by going to Photoshop>Preferences>General, clicking

            Reset Preferences On Quit and restarting photoshop

         

        2. If that doesn't work, go to Photoshop>Preferences>Technology Previews, check

            Deactivate Native Canvas, then restart photoshop.

         

        3. If that doesn't work uncheck Deactivate Native Canvas and go to Photoshop>Preferences>Performance

            and uncheck Multithreaded Compositing and then restart photoshop.

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