Maximize PSD and PSD File Compatibility

[animationlife]

Hello Everyone.

It looks like having this feature on, the file size is going to be Huge. I do have many Hard Drive space. Do you recommend Turning this feature On/Off?

What is the Benefit of this feature

Thanks.

[Conrad_C · Accepted solution]

When the option is enabled, a layered Photoshop document includes a composite version of the document. That’s the technical explanation and does not seem important on its own. But the practical implications can be significant.

The reason it says “compatibility” is some other applications don’t know how to render a layered Photoshop file. Many applications claiming Photoshop compatiblity can do it only by reading that composite. If you disable that option, the composite will not be there, so Photoshop documents will appear blank or be unable to be imported or previewed using some other applications, including Lightroom Classic.

If you really only open Photoshop documents in Photoshop, or if you use other applications that can read layered Photoshop files with compatibility disabled, then it’s OK to disable the compatibility option. But if you do need other applications to be able to work with, preview, or catalog layered Photoshop documents, then yes, it is a difficult tradeoff: If you must be able to use those Photoshop documents in other applications, then you must enable the option and plan for much larger Photoshop files. But, if you are so low on storage space that you must disable the compatibility composite, you must give up compatibility.

What many would recommend is to always buy enough storage that it is not a problem to have that option enabled.

Trying to use Photoshop documents with compatibility disabled in…

…Adobe Lightroom Classic…

…and Adobe InDesign

[animationlife]

Dear Conrad.

I have a fairly Strong Computer.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz 3.60 GHz, 64.0 GB RAM.

I did this test. I opened a very Large High Res Image and added many Adjustment Layers to that Image. Inside the File Handling-  Maximum PSD and PSB file Compatibility, I choose: Never. Closed Photoshop and Opened Photoshop. When I opened the file, It did open very fast. I only open PSD Files inside Photoshop only, and sometimes very rarely I may open it Inside After Effects. Since I have enough space, I am going to leave it on Always.

Thank you very much.

[Semaphoric]

Within Photoshop itself, the composite is needed  when the file is used as a Displacement Map.

[Rob_Cullen]

My reply deleted, See answer from @Conrad_C 

[jane-e]

It looks like having this feature on, the file size is going to be Huge.

By @animationlife

Try this test: save twice, once with the feature on and once with it off. What is the actual difference in size?

I leave it on because when it's off, I get an error message when I try to place the psd in Illustrator or InDesign.

Jane