Menu problems with Photoshop 2021

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

Anyone else run into frustrating menu issues with Photoshop 2021 (v22) that makes it unusable?

On my Windows 10 machine with all video drivers up to take, I can't properly select options in menus.  When I click a menu item (say, Filter) and attempt to click an option under that menu, Photoshop instead jumps to a menu list to the left.  It's impossible to select anything under the Help menu, for instance.

I've recorded a video of this behavior.

A few more notes:

• Closing down and restarting Photoshop does not solve the problem.
• Rebooting makes no difference.
• The menu system works fine with Photoshop 21.2.4, Lightroom, Premiere and every other software.

This is specific to Photoshop 22.  This behavior reminds of sketchy beta software -- not software that has presumably been through a thorough beta process.  😡

[davescm]

Reading this thread and the feedback thread, the issue so far is that Adobe could not reproduce your issue. I cannot reproduce it here either on three separate systems. Adobe developers cannot fix what they cannot reproduce.

Did you take the advice of Jeffrey Tranberry and contact support directly so that they can look at your individual system?

Dave

[J453]

Here is fine for working on this issue. We've never been able to reproduce the problem which leads me to believe it's a system specific issue (some setting or conflict on systems where customers are seeing this). 

One of customers on the thread says that running in safe mode fixed it for them. This bypasses non-default system extensions and drivers. So that's a good clue.

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

I already spent a lot time on this over the last few months.  All the information is here for someone at Adobe to investigate and fix the problem.

As you can clearly see, I'm not the only one having the issue.

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

Saying "we can't fix this because we can't reproduce it" is a cop out.  It shouldn't be up to customers to have to keep poking a software vendor to fix an ongoing problem.

I don't make my living doing a dance to try to troubleshot issues with Adobe software, so yeah, I'm annoyed at this and the fact that no one at Adobe has reached out to solve this.  I've posted the issue, I've recorded video, I've tried all the trouble shooting steps that have been recommended and the issue still persists.

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

Also have a look at this related thread:  https://feedback.photoshop.com/conversations/photoshop/photoshop-22-when-i-click-a-menu-and-attempt-....  

[J453]

This is the thread I'm referring to. I've looked at your video and I can see the problem, and I know others are seeing it as well. However we haven't been able to figure out what's different about the settings on the handful of customers that are seeing this issue. There are millions of customers running Photoshop, so if this was a problem for every customer we'd have thousands of reports.

I suspect it has something to do with the scaling settings, but to present, haven't been able to figure it out.

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

This is the thread I'm referring to. I've looked at your video and I can see the problem, and I know others are seeing it as well. However we haven't been able to figure out what's different about the settings on the handful of customers that are seeing this issue. There are millions of customers running Photoshop, so if this was a problem for every customer we'd have thousands of reports.

I suspect it has something to do with the scaling settings, but to present, haven't been able to figure it out.

By @J453

Then wouldn't it be helpful for someone at Adobe to take ownership and reach out to each of us who have reported this problem for system information or other details to narrow down the issue?

No one said every Photoshop user is having this problem.  But it's clear that I'm not the only one.

It's been ten months since I originally reported the issue.  I'm not trying to sound hot-headed, but it's disappointing that no one at Adobe has stepped up and said "there's an issue, let's fix it."  In ten months I would hope someone there would pay attention.

[PECourtejoie]

@FrostyOfTheNorth Do you have multiple screens with different scaling settings? Does the issues happen on all screens? I've seen a user report a smiliar issue: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/scaling-issue-in-photoshop-2021-v22-5... but only when he edits an image from Lightroom.

[davescm]

@FrostyOfTheNorth 

I'll take your answer to my question of did you contact customer support directly as a no then.

Whilst you may think you have given sufficient info, and you are undoubtably experiencing a problem, if it cannot be reproduced it can't be fixed or even isolated to a system component be that Adobe or other. I would recommend you try them and let them see your system directly.

Dave

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

@FrostyOfTheNorth 

I'll take your answer to my question of did you contact customer support directly as a no then.

Whilst you may think you have given sufficient info, and you are undoubtably experiencing a problem, if it cannot be reproduced it can't be fixed or even isolated to a system component be that Adobe or other. I would recommend you try them and let them see your system directly.

Dave

By @davescm

No, I have not contacted support.  As I pointed out, I and others in these two threads have already spent a great deal of time documenting the issue.  I don't make my living helping Adobe troubleshoot their software.  (I used to when I was an IT consultant.)  I don't like the prospect of spending a few hours with support answering questions like "have you tried rebooting your computer"? 

It's all documented here for someone at Adobe to take ownership of this.

[J453]

Try the solution from @AllezzammazzellA below and let me know if that corrects it for you, too.

[PECourtejoie]

Hi, could you post the contents of help/System info?

for Adobe to reproduce your peculiar issue, they might need more information...

What are the scaling settings in Photoshop's preferences/Interface?

In windows? Does the GPU driver also offer a scaling setting.

Do you have a peculiar monitor/setup? (I have a 5120*1440 px monitor for instance, but do not run into the issue)

Do you still only experience it when " I open an image through Lightroom's Edit In Photoshop function"

[PECourtejoie]

I see on the feedback thread that some only experience it when opeing Ps an external editor from Irfan...

Some fixed it with the hiDPI settings...

[J453 · Accepted solution]

Try this:

1. Quit Photoshop.
2. In Windows File Explorer, navigate to the Photoshop installation folder.
3. Right-click Photoshop.exe in the installation directory and select Properties.
4. Switch to the Compatibility tab in the dialog that appears.
5. Deselect Override High DPI Scaling Behavior in the Settings group.
6. Click Apply and then click OK.
7. Relaunch Photoshop.

Photoshop doesn't support overriding High DPI scaling behavior on Windows versions 10 or greater. Users who override this setting might experience difficulty interacting with the Photoshop user interface. Possible issues include:

• The Start Screen, Library panel, and other extension panels don't scale correctly (appear too small and offset)
• Menu dropdowns don't align to the top menu bar
• The cursor consistently shows spinning loading circle next to cursor
• Canvas isn't centered in the document window and doesn't align to rulers

[jane-e]

---

@J453 wrote:

Photoshop doesn't support overriding High DPI scaling behavior on Windows versions 10 or greater. Users who override this setting might experience difficulty interacting with the Photoshop user interface. Possible issues include:

Good info, Jeffrey — is this on an FAQ or help page where we can find it again easily?

Jane

[J453]

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/high-dpi-scaling.html 

[jimscanoe]

With a few more steps (I'm using Windows 11), this worked for me—thank you so much.

My steps included:

1. Right-click Adobe Creative Cloud icon on desktop.

2. Select the Compatibility tab.

3. Click on Change Settings for All Users.

4. Click on Change High DPI Settings.

5. Deselect Override High DPI Scaling Behavior.

6. OK.

7. Apply.

8. OK.

9. OK.

10. Restart computer and enjoy :  )

As an old geezer who was having difficulty with the Adobe Photoshop font, I was trying anything and everything and that's when I created the problem. Again, thank you so much for your help.

[AllezzammazzellA · Accepted solution]

[AllezzammazzellA · Accepted solution]

I was able to work around the issue by changing these compatibility settings in the photoshop icon

try it and good luck

[J453]

@FrostyOfTheNorth have you tried this? ^^

[FrostyOfTheNorth]

I use keyboard shortcuts daily.  How does that address or resolve the issue with Photoshop?  Thanks, but this problem is not a keyboard shortcut problem.