Optimizing Performance in the Photoshop Environment

The performance of Adobe Photoshop is affected mostly by the availability of the Random-Access Memory (RAM) and by the speed of the computer's CPU. Other factors, such as the options you select, the system's configuration, and the built-in limitations of Photoshop, can also affect its performance.

Photoshop supports a maximum file size of 2 GB and a maximum dimension of 300,000 x 300,000 pixels per image. In addition, Photoshop can access 2 GB of installed physical RAM. In order to work within these limitations and optimize the performance of Photoshop when working with uImage, apply the following recommendations.

Fore more information, see http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/optimize-performance-photoshop-cs4-cs5.html.

Allocating Memory (RAM) to Photoshop

The available RAM and the ideal range of RAM (a percentage of the total available RAM) are displayed in the Photoshop's Performance preferences.

To set the memory (RAM) usage to Photoshop:

  1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Performance.

  2. In the Memory Usage section, enter the amount of RAM you want to allocate to Photoshop in the Let Photoshop Use text box.

    Alternatively, drag the meter slider left to decrease the amount, or right to increase it.

  3. Click OK and restart Photoshop, for the changes to take effect.

It is recommended to increase the amount of memory by 10% in order to test the production speed performance and according to the result, decide whether to increase the memory by an additional 10% or to keep the existing settings.

Assigning Scratch Disks

The Photoshop scratch disk has the same functionality as the virtual memory. By default, Photoshop uses the hard drive on which the operating system is installed as the primary scratch disk. However, it is recommended that you set the primary scratch disk to a different hard disk than the one used by Windows for its virtual memory. For optimal performance, set the scratch disk to a de-fragmented hard disk that has plenty of free space and a fast read/write speed (rather than a network drive or a removable media such as a Zip drive).

To set the scratch disk:

  1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Performance.

  2. In the Scratch Disks section, select the drive that has the largest amount of free space by selecting the Active check box.

  3. Click OK and restart Photoshop, for the changes to take effect.

When more partitions are available, it is recommended to enable more scratch disks to be used when the primary disk is full.

Decreasing the Number of History States to Minimum

When applying a change to an image, the new state of that image is added to the History panel.

The History states are useful when a person works interactively with Photoshop. However, when working with uImage the History states are not useful. Therefore, it is recommended to set the amount of History States, which are displayed in the History panel, to 1.

To set the amount of states the History panel displays:

  1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Performance.

  2. In the History && Cache section, enter the value 1 in the History States text box.

  3. Click OK and restart Photoshop, for the changes to take effect.

Disabling the Image Cache

Photoshop uses image caching to redraw high-resolution images faster. With image caching, Photoshop uses low-resolution versions of an image to quickly update the image on-screen as you work. In Photoshop, the default Image Cache setting is 4. A high amount of image versions in the Photoshop cache slows down the ability of Photoshop to open image files. Therefore, it is recommended to set the Image Cache to 1, thus disabling the image caching.

To disable the Image Cache setting:

  1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Performance.

  2. In the History & Cache section, enter the value 1 in the Cache Levels text box.

  3. Click OK and restart Photoshop, for the changes to take effect.

Disabling Preview Thumbnails

Photoshop displays preview thumbnails in the Layers, Channels, and Paths panels. It updates the preview thumbnails while making changes to an image.

Photoshop requires additional memory in order to display preview thumbnails. The more preview thumbnails Photoshop displays, and the bigger their selected size is, the more memory it requires to draw and update preview thumbnails. Therefore, it is recommended to disable the preview thumbnails.

This procedure should be repeated separately in each panel: Layers, Channels and Paths.

To disable the Preview Thumbnails setting:

  1. In the relevant panel (Layers, Channels or Paths), display the menu and select Panel Options.

  2. In the Thumbnail Size section, select None.

  3. Click OK.

Disabling the Detect Watermark Plug-In

Photoshop uses the Embed Watermark (Digisign.8bf) and the Read Watermark (Digiread.8bf) digital watermarking plug-ins, created by Digimarc Corporation. The Read Watermark plug-in scans each image file you open for a digital watermark, thus increasing the time it takes for Photoshop to open the file. When the plug-in detects a watermark, it places a copyright symbol on the image window's title bar.

It is recommended to disable the Detect Watermark plug-in, in order to decrease the duration of time needed to open a file.

To view the source of the image, go to Filter > Digimarc > Read Watermark.

To disable the Detect Watermark plug-in:

  1. Locate the Digimarc folder in the Photoshop/Plug-Ins folder.

  2. Add a tilde (~) at the beginning of the folder name: ~Digimarc.

Disabling Photoshop System Popup Messages

Displayed popup messages that originate from the Photoshop system, whether they are a Welcome Screen that is displayed when Photoshop is launched or a new online update that was found, interrupt the uImage production and cause the job to fail. Therefore, it is recommended to disable automatic checks for Adobe updates and to hide the Welcome Screen.

To install the latest Adobe updates and disable automatic Adobe updates:

  1. Go to Help > Updates.

  2. If new updates were found, click the Download and Install button in order to install the latest Adobe updates (If not, continue to step 3).

    The Adobe Updater window appears.

    Once Adobe Updater finishes downloading and upgrading your Adobe applications, click Quit.

  3. In the Adobe Updater window, click Preferences, deselect the Automatically check for Adobe updates check box and click OK.

    The Adobe Updater window appears, checking for updates.

  4. Click the Cancel button to cancel the check.

To hide the Welcome screen in Photoshop:

  1. Launch Photoshop.

    By default, the Welcome screen is displayed.

  2. Select Don't show again and close the window.