Unpredictable Cmd Z behaviour in CS5

[AKMac]

When I use Cmd Z in photoshopCS5.1 the undo behaviour is unpredictable. Sometimes it just doesn't do anything - sometimes it jumps back two history states. Sometimes the behaviour is even more bizarre - for example, I attempt to undo a brushstroke with Cmd Z, and the History Palette tells me that the brush state has been undone while the brushstroke is still there visible in the image window.

Can somebody please direct me towards a fix for this problem.

[AKMac]

........Further to the above post, I should add that I am also encountering a problem where the image window is not updated to reflect data entry - for example, reducing the opacity of a layer or changing the values in, say, gaussian blur, sometimes has no effect on the displayed image until I perform a subsequent operation. I think the example in the above post where the brushstroke is still visible after have deleted it from the History Palette is an example of this behaviour.

So in fact I have two bugs - Dodgy Undos and Unrefreshing Displays.

I only upgraded to CS5 a few days ago, and am very pleased with a lot of the new features, but these two problem are a real pain.

Hopefully someone can help.

[lurch]

Reinstall it. Don't forget to de-authorize the current installation first.

[AKMac]

Lurch,


Have you encountered these type of problems or heard of others who have?

[John Wheeler]

Hi AKMac
I knew of another person on another forum that had a similar problem on a Windows machine. CTRL + Z would not work right. His symptoms included that the Edit > Undo would work yet the keyboard shortcut would not. He also found out that the same control sequence for undo on his Office Applications would not work either (so was not specific to PS). He backed up to a previous restore point and the problem went away. He suspected it was system software update that caused the issue. He never posted the final answer. It may be difficult to get to root cause for you since the source could be a lot of different sources.

Other than reinstalling there are several other paths that are shotgun type solutions:
Make sure you are updated to the most recent release of PS5 (there have been several), updating the Mac software, totally resetting preferences, of course total shut down and reboot. You probably have tried all of these. You are being amazingly patient considering you just loaded brand new software. Good luck and let us know if you get it solved since others may experience the same issue and would benefit from what you find out.

[AKMac]

Thanks John,

I have uninstalled, downloaded and reinstalled PS but I am still getting the same behaviour. Up to a week ago I have been using trusty old CS3 and my shortcut habits are as they would work for that version. Maybe something changed during version 4 that I may have missed regarding how I should expect the undo functions to work?

The reinstalled PS which I have just "downloaded" seems to just be a reiteration of the one I had been using, with the same workspace coming up, and all the presets as I had set them. In other words it seems to have simply reactivated rather than replaced the one I was using.

I need to ask you a seemingly stupid question (because I've recently gone freelance and no longer have IT guys to do this for me) What is the easiest way to get the latest upgrade?

[John Wheeler]

No IT support on my end either.

I don't know that getting the latest upgrade will help or not. I run a MAC system and my search for updates is in the toolbar under Help > Updates

For me that opens up the Adobe Application Manager where it looks for updates for all Adobe products that I have on my system. I think functionality comes when you buy a Suite. It may or may not be the same if buying a standalone product. Hope that helps.

Another suggestion is to boot up in safe mode and try it from there. It is still rather unsettling that you could load your software and have some real issues.

Here is a link on how to start a Mac up in safe mode.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455

[John Wheeler]

And here is a link with a variety of tidbits and possible root causes and solutions on the same topic:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3437082

[lurch]

Haven't encountered this particular behavior with this particular program; just going on the observation that Photoshop is a very complex program and susceptible to weird behavior when corrupted.

The reinstalled PS which I have just "downloaded" seems to just be a reiteration of the one I had been using, with the same workspace coming up, and all the presets as I had set them. In other words it seems to have simply reactivated rather than replaced the one I was using.

I had this problem with a recent update of another program. Cured it by removing all evidence of the original program. What I would recommend would be to de-authorize Photoshop, then uninstall it, then empty trash to make 100% sure. THEN download and install another copy. Let us know if this doesn't work. Of course you might want to make sure that the current version, corrupted as it is, is backed up.

[AKMac]

John,
Thanks for your advice and observations, I'll work through the implications tomorrow.
Lurch,
Thanks also.
What is the difference between de-authorisation and uninstallation? This might come across as a daft question but I don't have much experience in these matters.
I bought photoshop CS5.1 as a download, so I don't own the disc. This makes me wary of losing the software if I have to de-authorise and uninstall before re-downloading. I already went through the process of uninstalling and downloading today. I don't want to find myself locked out if I can't use the serial key again.

[John Wheeler]

Lurch has some great advice

I have heard that getting a real clean uninstall sometimes is necessary to get a good install. Usually though I have heard about the problem when using the early beta software.

In any case, Adobe supplies "Clean Scripts" for some of their products. I will provide the link yet I suggest that it would be best to call Adobe support to make sure of the right clean script to run (this one talks about CS5 yet also mentions Adobe Creative Suite as well:

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/829/cpsid_82947.html

I will jump in since I am here on your other question and I am sure Lurch will correct me if I am wrong.

To get beyond just temporary usage of a full product you have to activate or your software. This steps is really an effort on Adobe to prevent software piracy. I believe Photoshop allows two installations/activations of your software only. You need to deactivate (Help > Deactivate) before uninstalling or you could end up not being able to authorize after installation (or at least lose one of your two allowed installations)

If you have not done so, I would contact Adobe support to get some help. That is their job for every paid and legal copy of their software and I am sure they have seen your issue. It may be a fast way to get your problem solved. Just another path to consider.

[AKMac]

Thanks John,
I think I will contact Adobe support and hopefully be able to resolve the problem that way. I have to admit that I was tempted just to get used to the "idiosyncrasy" (trying to be philosophical) but I am now finding other problems re. layer visibility, and this makes me suspect that there are probably other bugs lurking in the background.
Is it realistic to hope that I can actually communicate with Adobe support at a higher level than box ticking?

[John Wheeler]

I have not called Adobe Support recently yet in the link that I provided there is the way to contact Adobe. Part of the page that opens is for a chat sessions yet if you expand the phone numbers part on the right here is what you get:

Screen shot 2011-10-02 at 6.43.20 PM.png

Note that it is not 24 hour phone support.

I would start with the one about installation and indicate that it did not install properly obviously because of all the functionality that is not working correctly. They of course are going to want your serial number with the product and there is a link on that same page indicating how to find it if you do not know how.

As with any support help I would document when you make your calls, who you talked with, a summary of what you covered and get the case number that gets applied to your call (you can reference that number on future calls). Sometimes the first level of support cannot solve the problem in a timely fashion and it needs to be escalated. Having a history of your calls and the amount of time already spent on the phone with Adobe (or anyone actually) goes a long way for getting higher level help when needed. Let us know how it goes.

[lurch]

John, you were spot on about the authorization/activation question. Good explanation.

AKMac, You shouldn't have to worry about losing your downloaded copy of Photoshop. Adobe has a fully functional trial for all their CS5 products. You should be able to add your serial number to any download of the same product (register it, that is). Just remember to deactivate (thanks, John, for the correct term) your existing copy of Photoshop before you delete it. Your serial number will be in the web receipt you got from Adobe or in the confirmation email you received from them, IIRC, or both. Can't remember exactly, because I'm working on a different computer than the one I used when I bought my CS5.

[AKMac]

I'm going to try to contact Adobe now. Hopefully it won't be too much of a headache (FLW).
I will post you re. the outcome. Thanks to both of you for your help.

[AKMac]

I contacted Adobe by phone and eventually was put through to a very nice chap in India who took over my screen (uncanny?), ditched the preferences file, did a couple of other things invisibly, and told me it was fixed.......
which it wasn't.
I got back to them later in the day, with my case number, and spoke to a very nice bloke in the Philippines who took over my screen (spooky?), ditched the preferences, did a couple of things invisibly and told me it was fixed........
which it still isn't.
My case has been kept open for a few days. I will probably try again tomorrow.

[Siciliana]

What kind of machine are you using? How much memory? I have not had the problems you describe but I have had problems with brushes not working. When this happens, I save and usually this fixes it, and other times I have to restart photoshop. It only happens intermittently, but I also have problems with the type tool, runs really slow and can even crash. This type problem seems to be related to my graphics card. I've been meaning to get a new card, more ram(I have 6 gigs), and a SS drive for scratch disk. I think this will resolve my problems. In the meantime, I was able to improve performance by turning off OpenGL drawing in the performance panel of the preferences. Also, make sure you have memory allocation turned up. I turned up the cache level, and have the tile size set to 1028, which may have something to do with the brush problems I experience. I read that large tile size is not as good for very small operations. I usually experience the brush problems when doing small dodge and burn. Like I said, saving usually fixes that.

It could be that your problems probably have more to do with some kind of performance optimization needed with your system rather than a bad install.

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/404/kb404439.html

[John Wheeler]

Just a suggestion. You have now done due diligence with the first line "techs" on the problem. Depending on your patience level, I suggest it is time to have it escalated to the next level of techs. With your next call and case number in hand, you can say politely of course "Thanks for you help yet it is already clear after two calls at the first level of tech support that it has been unsuccessful despite both being confident the problem was fixed. Both of our times is valuable. I have paid X dollars (assuming this is not a trial version) to improve my productivity with Adobe software. It has not and in fact my productivity is now at zero (or whatever it is for you) and all that I am looking for is what is fair and reasonable. I consider what is fair and reasonable is to escalate this issue to the next level of tech support since two attempts at first level support have already failed. Let's be efficient of both or our times and have this issue escalated."

Note that they are encouraged to solve the problem at their level and not escalate. Escalating an issue they should have solved at their level is frowned upon. When a customer has done due diligence at the first level and is insistent on escalation, that usually does the trick. Just a thought.

[AKMac]

Thanks. I have more or less done as you have suggested, John, and am awaiting a response which I should get within 24 business hours.
Re Siciliana's comments- I'm pretty sure I don't have any performance issues, and that the problem is Photoshop specific.

[Siciliana]

What a pain! Sorry you are having so much trouble with it. I hate tech problems.

[AKMac]

Just to bring this up to date - I got a message from an Adobe technician who advised me to do the following:-

Photoshop Preferences > Performance > uncheck Enable Open GL Drawing

this has solved my problem.

For the record:-

The problem was that image redraw was failing to update after certain operations,
particularly Undos with Cmd Z, layer visibility changes and dialog slider values.

The setup in question was:-
Photoshop CS5.1 running on MacBookPro8,1 - Intel Core i5
Processor speed 2.3 Ghz
RAM 8Gb

Turning off the Enable Open GL Drawing option has solved the redraw issue, but eliminates the Animated Zoom and Flick Panning functions which, although arguable cosmetic, are very nice features.