How to Make Global Change to Embedded Color Profile

[nygal77]

Hi,

In previous versions of PS, I was able to establish a global change to mark my color profile so that the color profile remained consistent whether in Bridge or ACR or PS.  With the newest PS version (2024), I can't seem to find out how to do this.  For every image that I open in Photoshop (coming from Bridge then ACR), I get the popup message "This document has an embedded color profile that does not match the current RGB working space".  

Embedded:  Adobe RGB (1998)

Working:  Monitor RGB - BenQ

What would I like to do?  I always choose "Use the Embedded Profile".

This happens for every image I open into PS.  Is there a way to avoid this constant popup?  Do I need to change a setting in my monitor color profile?

Many thanks,

Ruth

Also, am I using the correct Embedded color profile?  Is there a big different between Adobe RGB and Adobe RGB (1998)?

[D Fosse]

You have turned off all color management by setting your working RGB to your monitor profile. Never do that! No wonder you get confused by inconsistent colors.

Color management policies should always be set to "Preserve Embedded Profiles". Then the embedded profile will always override the working RGB, as it should. This is how modern color management is intended to work.

Normally the working space isn't all that important - except if you set it to Monitor RGB. Then the implication is to disable all color management, so the policies setting will be automatically changed to "Off". The embedded profile is stripped.

Reset your Color Settings to default by picking one of the General Purpose presets. Default settings are safe settings. Don't change anything until you know why you want to change it.

BTW - the message about not matching the working space is completely pointless and can just be disabled. There is no reason whasoever the embedded profile needs to match the working space. This message is a relic from the past before color management became widely implemented.

[nygal77]

Is there a setting in my monitor I need to reset?

[D Fosse]

This isn't about the monitor. This is about the embedded document profile, and the conversion from that into your monitor profile. This is the dsplay color management chain, and this is what you have broken by setting the working RGB to the monitor profile.

The monitor profile is set up in your operating system, not Photoshop. If you're using a calibrator, it will do that for you, automatically. You just run the calibration software, done. Don't do anything more.

When Photoshop starts up, it loads the monitor profile it gets from the operating system. It then converts from the document profile into the monitor profile, and those remapped/recalculated numbers are sent to screen. This way, the file is correctly represented on screen.

All color management requires two profiles, a source and a destination. Don't get them mixed up.

The way you have it set now, this conversion doesn't happen. The RGB numbers in the file are just sent directly to screen, without any correction for the monitor's characteristics. That is the definition of no color management.

[nygal77]

I appreciate the time you have spent educating me on this matter, but I didn't intentionally set the color settings to create a "no color management" profile.  I have a new PC, a new monitor, a new monitor calibrator, and a new version of PS.  All of these new items have been challenging to work in harmony, and while I try and read as much as I can, sometimes issues get overwhelming.  I checked Color Settings in Bridge and Monitor Color sits at the top of the list, so I guess, by default it set the motion in progress.  I didn't look there at first, and when I did,  I had more questions than answers.  I have since set the Color Setting to North American General Purpose 2.  I use color profile of Adobe RGB throughout my editing process, and my images now go into PS with the same profile, no popups, no mismatches.

Thanks.

[D Fosse]

Excellent, thanks for reporting back.

I apologize for the education, which I know isn't always what posters ask for. But I always make it a point to explain the whys as well the hows, for the benefit of everyone else reading. These threads are read by a lot of people. When I started out many years ago, the Photoshop forum was a major education for me, so I just try to pay back 🙂

[Per Berntsen]

Is there a big different between Adobe RGB and Adobe RGB (1998)?

By @nygal77

They are the same profile. The official name is Adobe RGB (1998), but it's commonly referred to as Adobe RGB.