Optimize Photoshop CC for Better Performance

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Photoshop CC is creative and enhanced version of Photoshop with additional features and functionalities. However, even application has certain drawbacks. If you find your photoshop lagging, slowing down or freezing, follow the listed methods to optimize your Adobe Photoshop CC effortlessly

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Photoshop Creative Cloud (CC) is the latest Photoshop version on the market.  Adobe Photoshop CC comes in monthly or yearly subscriptions with frequent updates without paying an extra cost. Photoshop CC definitely has an edge over Photoshop CS with respect to features and functions 

However, even the best editing applications come with drawbacks. By following the below-listed tips you can effortlessly optimize your Photoshop CC or any other version of Photoshop. 

How to Optimize Photoshop CC?

  1. Close unnecessary applications and startup items 
  2. Run Disk Cleanup (Windows)
  3. Defragment the hard disk (Windows)
  4. Cache levels
  5. Limit history states
  6. Having sufficient RAM
  7. Optimize Photoshop on macOS

Why is Photoshop CC running so slow?

  1. Overloaded folder on the operating system 
  2. Insufficient RAM
  3. Lack of storage space on the operating system 
  4. Corrupt color profiles or really large preset files can affect the speed of photoshop
  5. Due to not upgrading to the latest version of photoshop
  6. Trying to edit an oversized PSD file. 

Close unnecessary applications and startup items 

It is recommended to close unnecessary applications and startup items to get rid of the lag, and freeze the photoshop application. Since Photoshop requires a certain of amount of RAM to effortlessly functions, it is always best to close the unwanted application and it would increase your PC speed

Run Disk Cleanup

  • Go to the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup from the list of results.
  • Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select OK.
  • Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
  • Select OK.

Defragment the hard disk (Windows)

Note - Disk fragmentation enhances the speed of the overall operating system. 

  1. Go to the taskbar and type Defrag
  2. Go Defragment and Optimize Drives.
  3. Select the disk drive you want to optimize.
  4. Select the Optimize button.

Limit History States

The more space and memory the application will utilize, the slower the overall performance will be. Photoshop can save up to 1,000, history states. To reduce that number for Windows

  1. Menu > Edit > Preference > Performance – choose History & Cache > History States. 
  2. Here, in the drop-down menu drag the number to a lower value. Remember the default number for history states is not higher than 20

Cache levels 

To help the software run more efficiently on your PC, photoshop utilizes cache. Depending on the type of work you carry out you can adjust the two aspects of caches i.e. level and title sizes. Cache levels can be adjusted between 1 – 8. A higher cache level will allow photoshop to run faster during operation but it will also increase the software’s initial startup time. If you are going to work on a large document then set a higher cache level. Otherwise, it is in your better interest to set a low cache level especially if you are regularly working on a small-size document.

Memory Usage RAM: 

The memory setting shows how much RAM is available on your PC. It also shows how much you permit photoshop to use. Generally, photoshop utilizes 70%of your available memory and 30% for non-system processes. If you are going to use photoshop with other things running in the background like listening to music, surfing the web, etc. – consider leaving the memory set at 70%. If you are unsure that your photoshop needs or is taking more memory from your system – check the built-in efficiency meter.

Optimize Photoshop CC on macOS

  • If you are currently using Mac then, all you have to do is go Photoshop CC on the top 
  • Menu bar > Preference > Performance. 
  • When you do this the screen display allows you to adjust a number of settings including how photoshop manages your system’s memory.

Note: If while editing photos in photoshop on your Mac you encounter a corrupt photoshop file, Do Not Panic! Repairing corrupt photoshop file on mac made easy irrespective of the reason for the corrupted file – be it abrupt termination while editing some photos or imperfect up-gradation etc.

About the Author: John Harris

With a decade of experience in data recovery, John Harris, Senior Editor at Remo Software, is your go-to specialist. His focus includes partition management, Windows solutions, and data troubleshooting, delivering insightful content that serves both users and search engines. John's expertise shines through in illuminating blog posts, untangling data loss intricacies across diverse storage platforms.…