why the new gradient tool is terrible, and what it tells us about adobe

[getho]

After an update the gradient tool reverted to its new implementation

I spent a few weeks trying to use it - I gave it a shot.

This is why it doesnt work for me:
I use it on masks. Thats pretty much it, but I use it a lot.  I rarely use just one, by default I have it set to screen, I create a black mask and add gradients to it.  

I failed to find a graceful way to add more than one gradient to a mask with the new tool.  If there is a way, it is not at all obvious or intuitive.

The problem isn't just with this tool though, its with the overwhelming feeling of total pointlessness I feel in writing this, and the culture that creates in the community.  How many people just give up trying to give feedback.  There's only so many years you can try to point things out, report bugs that go unresolved (one for premiere is now 7 or 8 years old).  Do you have people testing this stuff that have been using photoshop for 30 years? I'm pretty sure that I wouldnt be the only photographer that will be using masks in this way. All of us waiting for deprecated features like the old gradient tool to be removed completely.  Do you listen to these testers?  The software feels more and more like it is insular, and designed by engineers.  Lightroom's recent implementation of the healing/remove tools is a fantastic example. (You paint a section to be replaced,  find you're on the wrong tool, and have to repaint it).  

Something else will come along and those of us that have been yelling into the void for literally decades will leave in droves.  I dont see any sign that the culture in Adobe is even open to taking a look at itself.  

[davescm]

In answer to the specific comment on masks. You can still use the newer gradient tool to add multiple gradients to a single mask. The screenshots below are from Photoshop 26.7

Just click on the mask, then pull out a gradient on the canvas as you did before (the blend mode is screen in the example below):

Adjust it as required, then click elswehere on the canvas and pull out a second gradient (again the blend mode is screen)



etc

Dave

[getho]

this is the behaviour i see in windows on PS25. on PS26 on mac, there is nothing I can do to make it create a new gradient.  Everytime i try it simply grabs the end of the existing gradient.  The modifier keys do nothing, clicking anywhere ditto, & hitting enter.  

[Conrad_C]

First off all, you’re right that there are still some issues with the new gradient tool. However…

How many people just give up trying to give feedback.

By @getho

That would be too bad if they gave up, because the public release notes for Photoshop link directly to the publicly submitted bug reports/feature requests in the Bugs and Ideas sections of this community, so anyone can track what things got fixed and added after requests. And in those original posts you can see the votes and the discussions, which sometimes include replies and explanations from Adobe staff. Sure, there are a lot of bugs/requests still not resolved even after many years (including some of my pet peeves) but a lot of other companies don’t come close to this kind of trackable transparency.

And they do seem to get around to fixing some long-standing issues eventually. For example, after Adobe removed QuickShare from Photoshop, there was a huge and vocal backlash to this day, publicly documented in an epic 11-page thread here that includes Adobe responses. Well, Adobe just announced that they are finally putting back QuickShare in the latest Photoshop beta, and it looks like they took the time to make it more capable and flexible than the original version.

Do you have people testing this stuff that have been using photoshop for 30 years?

By @getho

Yeah, I think I’ve been using it since version 2 or so (around 34 years ago). But I was extremely happy to see the new gradient tool. The old gradient tool, being un-editable after applying and highly dependent on old nested modal dialog boxes, was rapidly falling behind the capabilities of gradient tools you can find in competing graphics apps. Now, like the competition, the new gradient tool in Photoshop is more flexible with much more accessible controls (in the Properties panel and directly on canvas).

So the answer is not to throw out the new gradient tool, but make it work right. Because the old gradient tool was simply not competitive with what else is out there now.

Lightroom's recent implementation of the healing/remove tools is a fantastic example. (You paint a section to be replaced,  find you're on the wrong tool, and have to repaint it).  

By @getho

That is not how I’ve been using it. If I paint a heal/remove spot and I want to change my mind about it, I leave the spot selected, and simply choose the Fill mode that should work better, click the Refresh button, and that spot updates with my new settings without having to repaint anything. This makes it easy for me to try out the different Fill modes to see what works best for that spot. 

Heck, I can even open an image I edited 3 weeks ago, select a heal/remove spot, change its Fill mode long after the original edit, and it changes. No problem.

Again, I’m not saying things are wonderful and perfect. Just that they are (mostly) legitimate improvements. They just need to clean up some of the inconveniences that you still see.

[getho]

select an area with the generative ai remove tool selected.  Now you have the option to add or subtract.  With 2 buttons - cancel or remove.  If you decide at this point that you want the healing tool - you have to cancel the selection or wait for it to complete a generative ai removal that you dont need.  

Here is an adobe bug that I wasted days of my life trying to resolve.  I did similar with lightroom, bridge and photoshop over the years.  Including a bug that was nenver resolved, and that someone thankfully wrote an script as a workaround. 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-bugs/p-nested-sequence-time-remapping-bug/idi-p/9493724#...

[Fantigua11]

I agee totally.  The gradient tool used to be simple to use and did exactly what you needed.  Now i have no idea what it's trying to do.  I need a simple horz gradient that fades on top and bottom with a 2" solid bar in the middle.  I get an 1/8" bar in the middle and 4 inches of faded grad on top and bottom.  No matter what i do it doesn't get any better or closer to what i need.