Photoshop CS6—many problems. Slow.

[ladri-bici]

I'm hoping someone at Adobe can address the numberous bugs and general slowness in Photoshop CS6.

Before installing (MacBok Pro 2010 Intel i7, 8GB Ram) I whiped my drive and installed OS Lion. So CS6 went on clean.

What I'm finding:

1. General slugishness all around.

Layered PSD files I was using just fine in CS5 are now extremely slow. An examle is a small (20mb) web design file. So it has many layers (maybe 200, not 2,000) mostly comprised of typographic elements—not many layered effects to speak of. Not many image layers, either. Layer folders are slow to move, folders can't be moved using the shift + arrow key consecutive times, making it difficult to move a range of folders xxx pixels to the left, for example.

Things that were pretty snappy before, are now slow. This is very similar to the problems I and many others saw with the initial relase of CS5—in the next version (12.0.1 I think?) Adobe fixed the issue.

2. Problems with type, example keybaord arrow keys stop working many times when toye is selected. Frustrating.

More of a general rant here, but insted of (at least in addition to) a lot of other 'features' like video in PS extended (why not use Premiere?), 3d, etc., it would be really smart for Adobe to make core elements work better: A big complaint among interactive desigers is that type renders so poorly compared to CSS html. Maybe this could be addressed, as photoshop is used for the design of most all websites.

[JJMack]

Noel Carboni wrote:

Sorry, JJ, but the plain and simple fact is that from my perspective Photoshop is better than its predecessor, and that was better than its predecessor.  It's not bug-free, but neither is it impossible to use.  I get a lot of value from it. 

Yes that's my point its YOUR PERSIONAL PERSPECTIVE not shared by others quit frankly I read that too many times.  We hear you.

Other have shown that Photoshop is far from perfect we are not writing we don't want Photoshop we want one that works better for me CS3 works better then CS4, CS5, CS6 that is my perspective.

[Noel Carboni]

Frankly, I read people complaining too many times without doing anything leading toward resolving the problems.

I'd like to help people move toward that resolution.  That's why I respond.

It's no one's responsibility but your own to set up and use your tools to your best advantage.  If someone can do it, someone else can too, and I'd like to think I can help achieve that.  I guarantee you most of the folks here have specific problems that can actually be solved.

Please go get yourself a Starbucks Mocha on me (I'll PayPal you the 4 bucks if you'll PM me your ID) and stop worrying so much about whether I'm diluting the hateful messages to Adobe. 

-Noel

[JJMack]

Noel Carboni wrote:

Frankly, I read people complaining too many times without doing anything leading toward resolving the problems.

Noel do you put me in that group. I have sent hours on the Phone with Adobe sent them everything they need. Demonstrated problems to them over and over.

Adobe perspective is We fixed a total number of 76 core issues in 13.0.1, including:

2 Security fixes  (http://www.adobe.com/go/apsb12-20)

31 Crashing fixes

18 fixes to 3D features

15 fixes to Drawing and Graphics features

My perspective is that 13.0.1 fixed 4 out of 10 Bugs I been tracking how many more bugs are there in CS6.   How did 76 core issues get out the door.  Is this the Music Man show where 76 Trombones lead the big parade.

I make better coffee then Starbucks...

[Noel Carboni]

No, I don't put you into that group.  I was referring to the many ongoing complaints in this thread without accompanying hard information.

There's theory and there's reality.  The reality is that for whatever reason - maybe there are too many pointy-haired bosses running the show, I don't know - Adobe has released software that is both valuable and imperfect at the same time.

The only way to deal with it at our level, since (don't look now) we don't seem to be able to influence how big software companies work, is to work through the problems.

I ask you this:  If someone says "it's broken every time I use it", and no one steps up to say "it's not broken for everyone, let's see why it's broken for you", then what will they think?  That the whole thing is just pants?  They're here because they'd LIKE to have Photoshop work.  I'd like to help them achieve that, because just maybe once it's working for them they'll buy my products too.

-Noel

[JJMack]

Noel Carboni wrote:

There's theory and there's reality.  The reality is

The reality is many have tried very hard. I'm not alone there to report, demonstrate and work with Adobe support to get bugs resolved. Only to be told by Adobe support Yes you have shown us a bug we have logged it. Software Engineers are now working on it. However it will not be fixed in the current release of Photoshop it will be in some future release.

All we want is that release to get here....

[AnnShelbourne]

Just my personal experience:

I have had zero problems with CS6 and I am using it heavily for a major part of each day.

Stability and speed are excellent on my Mac Pro running on OSX 10.6.8 with fonts being managed by Font Agent Pro.

I am coming to the conclusion that it is foolish to expect CS6 to run optimally without installing at least 8 GB DRAM and one of the supported video cards with 1 GB VRAM.

I also am quite sure that unless you have a separate HD for Scratch, you will experience sluggish performance.

None of the bugs which apparently worry JJ Mack so much have any impact on the way that I work — and I haven't found any bugs so far which do!

One VERY happy customer here!

[JJMack]

So your outlook is All we should do is buy good hardware install a good OS to run Photoshop optimally with all of its bugs so they can bite us optimally.  Because the subset of Photoshop you use doen't seem to be infected. If Adobe continues on its current course some day you subset will be infected then your tune may change.

[Noel Carboni]

My "tune" is complex.  You've been around here long enough to see that I also report issues.  I even sometimes get irritated about it.  But that doesn't change the fact that I get value from Photoshop.

What's your point, that I shouldn't be positive at all?

Stop trying to make things black and white.  We've moved on from 1 bit/pixel.

-Noel

[AnnShelbourne]

When I actually get bitten by a Bug, I report it: but I am simply not getting bitten in CS6 with the work that I am doing and the set-up that I am using.

I can't comment on the significance of Bugs which I am not running into.

Also, I am using very few third party Plug-ins and any Actions and Custom Panels which I do use and were found to need editing for this version have been duly edited.

[JJMack]

When you get bitten and then deal with Adobe support you will see why others here have reportted they have given up on Adobe Support.  Some day I my give up to. Been two years now and two versions of Photoshop the second CS6 worse then CS5. How much longer  can I continue to report problems when Adobe does not seem to care to fix them. Its very frustrating.

The majority of Actions I use are mine and most of the Scripts I use are written by me.  Adobe has been braking these.  Personally I can bypass the problems.  However that is not a good solution.  For if othere use my actions they might not relize they should never use this ot that Photoshop option for doing so will cause actions to fail. Or they must change Photoshop default preference for if the don't some script will fault with an internal Photoshop error

[AnnShelbourne]

I really don't see how anyone can expect Actions or Scripts written for a particular version of Photoshop, and on a particular platform and OS, to work for other Users who may be using totally different equipment and long-outdated versions of Photoshop.

Tools have changed and the old recipes used in old Actions simply do not relate to the new ingredients which are being used in today's menu!

If you want to sell Actions and Scripts, I think that you have to create and list them in separate categories for different versions of Photoshop.

If your Actions and Scripts depend on the way that a User sets their Preferences, you probably would need to start your Action with a step to reset those Prefs. which might well infuriate your Customers?!

[JJMack]

CameraAnn wrote:

I really don't see how anyone can expect Actions or Scripts written for a particular version of Photoshop, and on a particular platform and OS, to work for other Users who may be using totally different equipment and long-outdated versions of Photoshop.

So I should expect Action and script written for CS6 to work with CS6. The problem is some will only work if some Photoshop Option are set to their default values and some scripts will only work if a Photoshop Preference is changed from its default Adobe setting. Even Noel knows if you want to record a save for web step with a custom jpeg name. You need to use CS5 and move the action to CS6 for there is a bug in the CS6 action recorder. There are other Bugs In the CS6 action Player you can not get around. 

CameraAnne every time you install a new version of your Operating system do you toss your applaction and start over or do you not expect you old programs like Photoshop to work.  I'll bet you expect your new OS to be compatable with older application software.  Why should Photoshop not be compatable with software developed for Photoshop.  There are Bug waiting to bite you.

[AnnShelbourne]

I'll bet you expect your new OS to be compatable with older application software.

I don't … because it isn't!

I have old plug-ins and Apps which go back nearly 20 years. Many of them can only work on a computer which can run Classic on a Mac OS of an ancient vintage and I no longer have  a computer of that kind!

I do still have a GS5 which has nothing wrong with it except that it can't run CS 5, CS 5.5 or CS 6. For those Apps, I needed to purchase a new computer.

The proverbial admonition against "pouring new wine into old bottles" is entirely apposite in this connection!

If you want your Actions to work for a wide range of different Users in different environments, I feel that you simply have to write them to include the re-setting of any basic parameters at the outset; and make the "Saving As" steps more flexible. And you have to be prepared to update your Scripts and Actions for every update of the host Application.

Check out some of Russell Brown's Scripts and Panels and notice how he has posted different versions for the different platforms and the different editions of Photoshop.

[JJMack]

You don't seem to get it there are bugs in CS6 you can not get around with out changing the user environment on them.  My scripts try not change the users environment on them by first retriving the users settings then make changes to the users environment to do thing the way they should  to be done, Then restore the user setting so thing still work the way users or Adobe set them to work.   This normally works but Adobe added a new features to Photoshop but only updated some of the area of Photoshop that needed to be updated to support the new feature. Adobe then set new default setting for one of Photoshop preferences to use the new feature, When my script try to retrieve the users or Adobe setting if the user did not change Adobe's new default from Photoshop new feature Photoshop aborts the script because Photposhop catches it has encountered an internal error.  Photoshop has bugs that terninate scripts because of Adobe bugs and has bugs that will do things incorrectly without informing the user Photoshop did wrong.  You may have been bitten but failed to notice. This feature and bug was addthe CS6. Its the only version of Photoshop with the bug.  Adobe was given all the information before months before the CS6 Update.  It took Adobe five months to fix some of the reported problems by ther count they only fixed 76 core problems. There are many not fixed read the blog http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdotcom/2012/08/photoshop-cs6-13-0-1-update-now-available

Read the reported bugs http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/problems/recent

Adobe has even acknowledged some of them maybe some day the will fix them.

I'm hopeing they do don't you.

[serhioB]

For Mac Pro everything is good . Esteem this machines!

[Noel Carboni]

CameraAnn wrote:

Just my personal experience:

I have had zero problems with CS6 and I am using it heavily for a major part of each day.

Thank you, CameraAnn.  Hearing positive reports can help others maintain optimism that they can get their systems to deliver good results too.

Even better than a separate hard drive for scratch can be the use of a drive array that effectively adds the throughput of the drives together.

-Noel

[JJMack]

Noel Carboni wrote:

Thank you, CameraAnn.  Hearing positive reports can help others maintain optimism that they can get their systems to deliver good results too.

So feedback from the un-bitten is good to hear feedback from the bitten well that something else.

Noel you write you would like to see Adoble more willing to help. I think you sending them the message that what they are doing is acceptable as long as it works for you and can bypass problems any way that is posible. I think your sending the wrong message.

You point out the Adobe get a good price for their software shouldn't  their customers expect support and problem to be fixed.

I would like to see some balance too.

[Noel Carboni]

JJMack wrote:

I think you sending them the message that what they are doing is acceptable as long as it works for you and can bypass problems any way that is posible. I think your sending the wrong message.

You're entitled to your opinion, and thank you for sharing it.

-Noel

[JJMack]

Chris Cox wrote:

>> I think all anyone contributing here want is for Adobe to make a reliable Photoshop like they use to before CS4.

It's been getting more reliable with every release. We have the numbers on crashes, hangs, leaks, etc. -- it's getting better, not worse.

Remember: just because you experience a problem does not mean that everyone else is experiencing the same problem. It may be caused by something specific to your system or your workflow.  And to find and fix it, we'll need to know what those specifics are so we can reproduce the problem.

Here we differ thing are not getting better. Adobe accepted and acknowledge a bug I reported two years ago and deferred fixing it. The bug was added in CS4 which I skipped its still in CS6.  CS6 added Bicubic Automatic as a default but failed to add support for that in scripting that results in internal error if user do not change the default to some setting that script supports.  Others beside Adobe have verified the bugs I have reported. Adobe CS6 is by far the buggiest Photoshop release ever. The first update the took 5 months to come out fixed according to Adobe Blog some seventy plus bugs.  That fixed 4 out of 10 bugs that are acknowledged I been tracking.  Two are big in my book.   We here are all I beleive Photoshop fan boys.  Still the quality of Photoshop for me is not at the level I was use to before CS4. 

Many of the bugs are solid easy to demonstrate and easy to fix for they work properly in CS3. Adobe has been given all they need to know. Adobe deferrs bugs the don't think effects many. A Bug is a BUG. Adobe is in implement mode and Adobe seems to do this without creating a  good design and thinking it through.  Adobe added option that can only cause problems for they try and sometimes do change Photoshop historic default behavior that many things Adobe and other count on this in things they have programmed.  They don't record what Adobe default behavior current is for there was no way to change the way Photoshop worked and behaved changing that is a bug. 

Message was edited by: JJMack

[paul campagna]

I read more of Chris's comment and he wants us to tell him more because it's too vague??

- I and others have specified the problems multiple times. Read all of my comments throughout all the threads if you want to know more. - I'm not going to repeat myself, or repeat problems that others are having EXACTLY like mine. If you work for Adobe, do your job and quit asking us to do your job for you. I've been stating for a while "I do not work for Adobe!"  send me money and I can do all kinds of trouble shooting specific to what you need. If you are not going to pay me, then I'm not going to continue to repeat what I've already said and what others have said multiple times. Read the comment and stop asking people to give you more. I for one will not unless I see some cash. I've wasted far too much of my time on PS and Adobe to do anymore trouble shooting or repeatly giving info.

So far for the 4 hours i've been working in PS since the upgrade, I do not see the machine freezing like before and I'm not getting the hanging i was getting before.  MAYBE it fixed my main problems, but i haven't had to do a lot of the things I do in photoshop since the update.

[Chris Cox]

>> Part of that is why video and 3D makes NO SENSE.

Again, you're blaiming things that ARE NOT RELATED.   The addition of 3D and video features did nothing to affect how you use the rest of the application.

>> Photoshop has/had a memory leak that should've been caught before it was released.

Nope, no memory leaks big enough for you to notice, and most of the ones remaining are part of the OS.  Most likely you're just guessing at a cause for your problems (which I notice you haven't actually specified)..

If you want things to improve, stop ranting and provide specific information about what problems you're seeing so we can help you figure out why you see them when other people don't.

[vikki_w]

I have this general sluggishness issue as well, it's insanely frustrating. I upgraded from CS4 to CS6 and I am regretting it at the moment. Photoshop CS6 will produce a spinning beachball for 10-30 seconds when I simply try open a tiny 1.5MB file, or try to save a file. This is stuff that happened without a single bat of an eye in CS4. I even bit the bullet and upgraded my RAM from 4GB to 8GB thinking that might be the issue, but it really hasn't impacted anything. I've played with the performance settings as some on these board suggest (ie. Cache levels are at 4, RAM is at 65% of 8GB, drawing mode is at Basic as I find the Normal setting to make things even more sluggish).

Seriously, I've spent a day and a half in some sort of spinning beach ball limbo over the most trivial files and file sizes - I have the hardware to support this stuff, and it all used to work pretty smoothly in CS4. Why isn't CS6 just working so I can get on with work?!

Specs, for the record: MacBook Pro (model 7.1), 2.4GHZ Intel Core Duo, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics card.

I even checked to see if there are new drivers for my graphics card, but there are not. Any advice on how to get my new snazzy PS6 going smoothly would be grand.

[Adam Jerugim]

Both of you seem to be working with smaller files (size in MB) with lots of layers.  One thing that has changed from CS4/CS5 to CS6 is the default tile size for some systems with multiple processors and a good amount of RAM.  I would suggest going to the Performance preferences and changing the tile size from 1024K to 128K.  This will help speed up opening your files and should make working with those "web" files much better.

[vikki_w]

I will do what you suggest, but 1) my tile size was already set at 132K, and 2) in my most recent spinning beachball case it was just a 1.5MB JPG one-layer photograph that caused the issue. Any other tips? I am really happy there there are Adobe employees on this board adressing these questions by the way. Thanks for looking into this - I'm no software technician, I'm just a grapahic designer! I don't know how the guts of these programs work, or much about the performance levels, etc!

[Chris Cox]

The only general slowdowns we know of are caused by video card drivers, bad anti-virus software (Norton), bad third party plugins, and sometimes corrupt fonts.

The layer thumbnail slowdown is known, and we're investigating (but it is not something simple).