Layer masks degrades at each new action

[Imaginerie]

It's been happening for a very long time and I usually just go back in the history, save and open again, but this time it bugged me a bit so I decided to post it as a bug:

It happens at random, sometime I can go without it happening for several months and then it happens again, with completely random files.

Basically you can look at the video and you'll see the mask starts to degrade as ifi it was corrupted file or something similar.

For the amount of time I have seen it happening, I have had 4 computers, both laptops and desktops, countless different Photoshop versions (I try to always be up to date)
Just to state that there will be no point sending a file to someone else to check, as saving it at a state where the mask is correct and open it again solves the issue. If I save at a corrupted state, Photoshop saves the corrupted state and one cannot recover the original state.

I never save the corrupted state as it's client's work, and it didn't happen today so I couldn't share a .psd here, but I will share in a comment if it happens again (and the files are shareable)

To reiterate: it's absolutely random (I honestly think it's been happening for at least 10 years, but difficult to be exact on this)

It never happens with a vector mask.
My GPUs have always been compatible.

I am not too bothered as I have been living with it for quite a long time, but just in case it can get resolved....

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Imaginerie. Thanks for sharing the details and the video.

The randomness of the issue report acts against finding the fix for any unexpected behaviors. I'll still share this with the team for review. 

Thanks!

Sameer K

(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Imaginerie]

THanks @Sameer K 
I will make sure I share an example of a degraded and saved file if I can.
I might have to share privately as it's client work... (or save a copy and replace critical layers with black, I guess it won't affect the masks situation)

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Did you apply anything to the Mask in the Properties Panel (Density, Blur)? 

Does turning off »Use Graphics Processor« in the Performance Preferences (Photoshop > Preferences > Performance > Graphic Processor Settings) and restarting Photoshop have any bearing on the issue? 
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html

[Imaginerie]

I didn't apply anything (apart from a marquee selection followed by fill in with either black, or white)
I didn't turn off graphics processor on this occasion, but I know I did in the past, to no avail.

I can try again, I just need the glitch to happen again (so far so good)

[Imaginerie]

Also the glitch disapears if I close the program and launch it again, so I wouldn't be able to check if the graphic processor toggle solves the issue or not. But that's a good call none the less!

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Also the glitch disapears if I close the program and launch it again, so I wouldn't be able to check if the graphic processor toggle solves the issue or not. But that's a good call none the less!

By Imaginerie

The question is: Does the issue ever happen when GPU usage is turned off? 

If not then it would appear to be GPU-related and you would need to do GPU-specific trouble-shooting. 

[Imaginerie]

It would seem weird to be the case on 4 different computers? None of them with the same GPU and drivers.
I won't test that on longer periods of time as I need that GPU enabled (I use intensive filters like liquify etc)
It won't be practical for me to do that.
I never tested the no GPU over a long period of time. This is my production machine, I really cannot afford to keep it without a GPU enhanced. Also, since when I tested it in the past and it didn't make any difference, I doubt it was the case anyway. But who knows?

All I know is that I prefer the inconvenience of a mask glitch that I can correct over the inconvenience of not being able to perform my client work properly.

If I was a hobbyist, it would be different.

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c.pfaffenbichler wrote:

Also the glitch disapears if I close the program and launch it again, so I wouldn't be able to check if the graphic processor toggle solves the issue or not. But that's a good call none the less!

By Imaginerie

The question is: Does the issue ever happen when GPU usage is turned off? 

If not then it would appear to be GPU-related and you would need to do GPU-specific trouble-shooting. 

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My GPU is NEVER off, and it happens none the less. I used to turn it off in the past and it didn't resolve the issue.

[Imaginerie]

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c.pfaffenbichler wrote:

Also the glitch disapears if I close the program and launch it again, so I wouldn't be able to check if the graphic processor toggle solves the issue or not. But that's a good call none the less!

By Imaginerie

The question is: Does the issue ever happen when GPU usage is turned off? 

If not then it would appear to be GPU-related and you would need to do GPU-specific trouble-shooting. 

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My GPU is NEVER off, and it happens none the less. I used to turn it off in the past and it didn't resolve the issue.

[Imaginerie]

Also, maybe anecdotal since I don't keep track of how many times it happened and when, but it seems to me that it used to happen a lot more in the past than nowadays.

[D Fosse]

Also, maybe anecdotal since I don't keep track of how many times it happened and when, but it seems to me that it used to happen a lot more in the past than nowadays.

By Imaginerie

Unfortunately I don't have a solution for you, but I do have the same impression. I have seen something similar before, but most of the cases many years ago. Both Mac and Windows affected IIRC.

I always assumed it was GPU-related, possibly OpenGL/OpenCL which are now phased out, and in any case as Photoshop's advanced GPU integration improved, the cases dropped.

The only thing you can do is gather as much documentation as possible, and when you have enough, post a bug report.

Another general observation: when a problem happens on several unrelated machines, that actually narrows down the troubleshooting, because you can concentrate on the things they have in common (which is usually a lot more than you think), and ignore all the differences.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

My GPU is NEVER off, and it happens none the less. I used to turn it off in the past and it didn't resolve the issue.

So are you stating that the issue did happen with GPU-usage turned off or that it just didn’t repair damage that had originally occured and saved when GPU-usage was on? 

[c.pfaffenbichler]

My GPU is NEVER off, and it happens none the less. I used to turn it off in the past and it didn't resolve the issue.

[Imaginerie]

Just in case that helps, these are the settings