Application Preferences

Let's go through some Photoshop preferences

Windows PC

• Go to the Edit menu in the Menu Bar;
• Select Preferences near the bottom, then choose General.

Mac

• Go to the Photoshop menu in the Menu Bar;
• Select Preferences, then choose General.

A quick shortcut for the preferences is Ctrl+K (Windows) / CMD+K (MacOS)

1. Preferences Dialog Box

The Preferences dialog box displays categories on the left. The General category is initially selected, and its options appear in the center.

2. General Preferences

Export Clipboard

• This option, when enabled, exports items in Photoshop's clipboard to your operating system's clipboard, allowing you to paste them into other apps;
• It is enabled by default but can slow down performance due to large file sizes;
• To improve performance, disable this option.

3. Interface Preferences

Color Theme

• Controls the interface color, offering four shades of gray (from lightest to darkest);
• The default theme is a darker shade;
• You can switch to lighter themes by clicking the swatches.

Highlight Color (Photoshop CC)

• Changes the highlight color for selected layers in the Layers panel;
• The default is gray, but you can switch to blue if preferred.

UI Font Size

• Adjusts the text size in the interface;
• Default is Small, but can be set to Medium or Large to reduce eye strain;
• Requires a restart of Photoshop to take effect.

4. Tools Preferences (Photoshop CC)

Show Tooltips

• Displays helpful messages when hovering over tools or options;
• Enabled by default and useful for beginners but can be disabled once familiar with Photoshop.

Use Shift Key for Tool Switch

• Affects tool selection via keyboard shortcuts;
• When enabled, you need to hold Shift and press the shortcut key to cycle through tools sharing the same shortcut;
• Disabling this allows cycling through tools by pressing the shortcut key alone;
• By default, "Use Shift Key for Tool Switch" is enabled.

5. File Handling Preferences

Auto Save

• Automatically saves a backup of your work at intervals;
• Default is every 10 minutes but can be adjusted to 5 minutes for more frequent backups.

Recent File List Contains

• Determines how many recent files Photoshop tracks. Can be accessed from going to the menu bar and choosing File > Open Recent;
• Default is 20 but can be increased to 100 or set to 0 to disable tracking.

6. Performance Preferences

Memory Usage

• Controls the amount of memory allocated to Photoshop;
• Default is 70%, but can be increased for better performance, keeping in mind other apps' memory requirements;
• Requires a restart of Photoshop to take effect.

History States

• Sets the number of steps (number of undo's) Photoshop remembers, impacting performance;
• Default is 50. Adjust based on performance needs and restart Photoshop for changes to take effect. Maximum is 1000, and minimum is 1.

7. Scratch Disks Preferences (Photoshop CC)

Scratch Disks

• Designates hard drives for Photoshop to use as additional memory if system memory runs out;
• Choose a non-Startup disk or the fastest drive for better performance; SSDs are recommended for best performance, even if used as the Startup disk.

Finally, click "OK" to save changes. Some changes will require restarting Photoshop to take effect. Feel free to explore other preferences. Remember to keep your tooltip enabled so that photoshop can give you a brief information when you hover over a certain setting!