Change default for "Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility"

[Chain83]

When someone first installs Photoshop, and try to save a Photoshop document they will be presentet with a dialog asking if they want to "Maximize Compatibility".

New users have no idea what this means, and it is extremely rare that a user would benefit from unchecking this option. 

For Experienced users it's just a minor nuisance, and they can check "Don't show again" to get rid of the dialog box.

The setting is controlled from Preferences > File Handling > File Compatibility, and I propose simply changing this default from "Ask" to "Always". A simple change, that removes an annoying and unnesscessary dialog when saving, resulting in a better/smoother experience for new (and experienced) users, while still allowing users with special needs to go into Preferences to change it.

[Kukurykus]

For many years each time it popped up I changed it to Always. But later I've found it makes file size sometimes much bigger, so I changed it to Never. Maybe 10 years ago that had sense to have default Always, but now when old Photoshops and other apps are deprecated I would like it to be changed as default not to Always, but Never, especially for modern Photoshop Beta. Kind of not big deal, but not for those who care of size of their files.

[Chain83]

It does increase file size (as it will include raster copies of layers and composite image), but this is usually a minor concern for a PSD that is quite often hundreds of megabytes anyway. The PSD will usually not be uploaded or shared online, but rather stored locally.

The downsides are that other versions of Photoshop (not only OLD versions, but also FUTURE versions) might be unable to preserve the appearance of the file, and other programs will be unable to view/preview the image. Not even Bridge!

My proposed change does not remove the option for the occasional professional user who prefers to change this setting and is aware of the consequences. It chooses the safest option as default.

[Kukurykus]

I would vote for this idea if that had to be changed to Never, but Always makes no difference for me, as like when it's Ask I would have to change it too.

For few psd's that might not be problem, but when producing hundreds or thousand each day then sticking to useless part of past is not what I want to be kept. Additionally the saving process lasts longer by those data.

From 2 years Adobe doesn't let to download their older applications, that is subscribe for other than newest, so no risk to have a issue with compatibility because of .psd files structure from over 20 years

I use Never item from long to create files and did not encounter any surprises, also when sharing them with others, so I guess there are no any 'future' applications (incl. Bridge I use) which implement deprecated system. And all the more PSD is Abode format, so those other non-Adobe applications should adjust their applications to read 'new' Photoshop structure. I assume they did for 2 decades, or if not there was much time for. And again I had no problem to open 'Never' .psd in other programs, unless we talk about 15 years old ones that stopped to be updated.

[Chain83]

I'm not saying remove the option to use "Never", just to not ask new users about this with a popup every time they save. New users are not in a good position to evaluate this. And most users won't notice if their PSD files are 10% larger or something. Experienced users who have 1000's of PSD files and want to save a bit of space can still turn it off. It should be a preference.

Most new users in my experience just click away the dialoge without understanding it. It is just an extra click and a nuisance to be asked every time you save. It is unexpected an "in the way" of what they want to do, and in the end it's bad UX. I teach Photoshop, so I see a lot of new users interacting with the software.

*For an experienced user this is not really a big deal; an experienced user will make their choice and choose "don't show again".

If removing the popup and choosing a default, the default should be "Maximize compatibility" like it is today (the box being ticked). I'm just saying they should remove it as a popup (by default). It is better that new users have a smooth experience with as few problems and interruptions as possible rather than that they might save 10% (or whatever) on their PSD file size.

If you find "Never" to be good for you, then you can use that. But if opening it in a Photoshop version (newer or older) that doesn't have the features used, then the layers in question might just disappear (instead of being replaced by a raster version to preserve appearance). In practice the problem is very small as you say, and this is in part due to Adobe rarely removing old features from Photoshop – and you usually have a newer version opening older files (but now for example the 3D features are being removed, so PSDs with 3D layers might run into issues).

[Chain83]

I notice Adobe has improved it so you can actually see PSD files without "maximize compatibility" now. I had not noticed. Not sure if this is an improvement to Bridge or a change to PSD. Would have to check other image viewers (in the past they have never been able to view PSD files if "maximize compatibility" is off).

[Kukurykus]

The Always / Ask / Never was introduced in times when only Always was default option. That would be surely harmful to give only Always & Never items but set it as default to Never. In that time it wouldn't be fair, so from both option the Always would be my choise as well. Anyway, I guess to teach users there is already new .psd format they added also Ask item to highlight this change and slowly make us to get used of Never item.

I agree new users have no idea what this is all about and it confuses them at their beginner level, but I wouldn't like to stick us to the outdated structure. It's much better to announce the change a year before next release so every company that did not made changes to their application so far, could be ready for this move. Same like that was done for Tiffs, with exception the information was not given to public in good time:

Photoshop 23.0 - cannot open TIF files, generated in other programs