Why does Photoshop need to preview a change in image size?

[Jonathan Lipkin]

Not really a question, just venting. If I'm changing the size of an image, it's just going look like the same image, only smaller. Why spend time and resources to show me a thumbnail version of a smaller verion of the file? 

To make matters worse, Photoshop just crashed while "preparing to build preview"

Very annoying

PS, this is v 25.12. I've found the most recent version too buggy and crash-prone to run.

[D Fosse]

This isn't normally something you wait for. I have instant Image Size previews here, even on big and complex files.

Crashing is nearly always GPU-related. Submit a crash report to Adobe so the engineers have something to go by.

[Johnny25569555zbm1]

Yes this is rediculous. I deal with very large files for entertainment clients (20GB+ is common) and whenever I am in a situation where I have to resize an image, the "Preparing to Build Preview" just gets in the way and eats up time while I wait for it to process. If it's helpful for some, then give me the option to disable!

[Trevor.Dennis]

Are you sure it is not showing the preview at the same time it is resizing the image?  Is there another significant delay after you hit OK?  I have not tested, but I always assumed they were simultaneous.

[Johnny25569555zbm1]

Hi Trevor! Unfortunatetly the preview processing completely hijacks the modal window. It's a spinning wheel for eternity....

[Stephen Marsh]

Depending on image content and pixel dimensions, the resampling/interpolation algorithm can make a visual difference, so that is why it's there.

A checkbox to disable would be appreciated by some users.

You can use a script that I created to resize without a preview:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/image-preview-in-resize-dialog/m-p/15...

[Johnny25569555zbm1]

Hi Stephen! We wound up writing something similar, though yours is admittedly a bit more polished 🙂

Thanks for sharing - and this is the solution for now.

[Conrad_C]

I think Stephen might be right. Although you don’t need a preview to know that an image is going to be bigger or smaller, a preview can be very practical and useful if you are trying to anticipate whether the details in your 50% enlargement are going to look their best depending on whether you choose Automatic, Preserve Details, Bicubic, or Nearest Neighbor resampling (that isn’t even all the options). And there will certainly be a visual difference between those options.

[KillerRabbit]

I've been dealing with this for a month or so now. Very annoying. Large file I want to shrink and now I'll have to lose my work (maybe) and somehow change the size another way on current file. Waiting to see if the spinning rainbow will stop. I have an older mac, but this is the only issue I've had in 9 years up until the last few months.

There should be a disable "Preview" on Image Size Wondow. No need and have never needed to see what it will look like whether shrink or enlarge an image.

[KillerRabbit]

[KillerRabbit]

When I forced quit PS and restarted I was able to get the recovered file. At this point I saved it as a large PSB instead of PSD. Now I was able to resize it in Image Size without a problem. Perhaps one of the issues is that the file goes over some kind of PSD threshold and needs to be worked as a PSB. The reasons for this is probably obvious to the programmers. I have worked similarly for years and hardly ever saved as a PSB, but seems like I"m doing that these days. 

I have an Intel Mac 2015 and works great. This is the only issue I have faced so far. Also I'm less likely to update Photoshop these days because ultimately it won't update my computer anymore.

[ExUSA]

That's a relatively large file and if you are short of scratch disk space or the file is stored on a network drive, it will likely be slow.

Adobe uses PSB format for files over 2GB on disk.

And a 2015 Mac is really aging, I sold my 2015 MacBook Pro with Radeon card and bought an M3 MacBook Air which is MUCH faster. A new MacBook Air can be had for around US$1000 or an M4 Mac mini starts at US$600.

Finally, that 2015 machine is out of support and can't be upgraded past macOS Monterey which is not getting security updates. Adobe no longer supports Monterey either.

[Johnny25569555zbm1]

I work in an entertainment produciton environment where, unfortunately, files are only getting larger and larger. 15GB+ files are now the norm. I can tell you, the probem is in how Photoshop manages these previews. No amount of scratch disk space or RAM has solved this problem for us. We finally created a script that allows us to resize documents without the preview window, and it's been a life-saver. The Photoshop team needs to make previews *optional* so they can be turned off if unneeded.