SET THE PREFERENCES for the way you work

Even if your computer meets the minimum requirements to run Photoshop, you should set up the Preferences to fit the type of tasks you regularly work on. Optimizing Photoshop’s performance not only makes your computer run more efficiently, it also makes working with your projects faster and easier. For example, by default, Photoshop is set to use more than half of the available RAM. You can adjust this setting to fit not only the amount of RAM installed in the computer but also the number of applications you need to run at the same time. You can also set a separate scratch disk to speed up your work. 

Using the Preferences settings, you can customize other default settings such as the colors for the guides and grid so they are distinct from those in your image and designate an additional plug-ins folder to keep third-party items separate from those included with Photoshop. You can also select the Camera Raw Preferences to change those default settings. Each option under the Preferences menu opens different panes to customize so you can make Photoshop work for you.

 

 

1 Click Photoshop (Edit).

2 Click Preferences.

3 Click General.

The General Preferences dialog box appears.

4 Click any of the drop-down menus to change your settings.

Note: For this task, the default Image Interpolation has been changed to Bicubic Sharper.

5 Click to select the options you want, or deselect those you do not want.

Note: For this task, the Beep When Done option is selected.

6 Click Performance in the left pane to continue customizing more settings.

Note: You can optionally click Next to change the settings for the next pane in the list.

 

 

The dialog box changes to the Performance Preferences.

7 Click and drag the slider to adjust the maximum amount of RAM available to Photoshop.

8 Click a different scratch disk.

9 Click the up or down arrow to change the order of scratch disks. 

10 Click Plug-Ins or another preference option in the left pane.

11 Make any other changes that you prefer in the other Preferences panes.

12 Click OK when you have cycled through all the Preferences panes.

13 Click Photoshop (File).

14 Click Quit Photoshop (Exit).

The next time you start the application, your custom settings take effect.

TIPS

Optimize Photoshop Performance! 

• Set the Memory Usage preference to about 70% or stay within the listed ideal range.

• Close other applications and run Photoshop by itself.
 

•  Keep open only files that you are currently working with. Close other open files.

•  Reduce the number of History states.

• Load only the patterns and brush tips you need. Each loaded pattern and tip increases the RAM required to run Photoshop.
 

•  Merge layers that no longer need to be kept separate as you work.

• Add more RAM to your computer.
 

• Use a separate scratch disk and set the Preferences order to use that disk first.

• Defragment your drives regularly.

Did You Know?
 

You can restore the Preferences any time by pressing and holding Ô+Option+Shift (Ctrl+Alt+Shift) as you launch the application.