- Optimizing Photoshop
- Setting General Preferences
- Modifying File Handling Preferences
- Working with Interface Preferences
- Working with Cursors Preferences
- Controlling Transparency & Gamut Preferences
- Working with Units & Rulers
- Working with Guides, Grid & Slices
- Selecting Plug-Ins
- Selecting Scratch Disks
- Allocating Memory & Image Cache
- Working with Type
- Managing Libraries with the Preset Manager
- Customizing the Workspace
- Defining Shortcut Keys
- Creating a Customized User Interface
- Using Drawing Tablets
Allocating Memory & Image Cache
The Memory Usage and History & Cache preferences give you control over how much RAM is assigned to Photoshop, and how much memory is allocated to screen redraws (Image Cache). Photoshop, being a high-performance application, requires a fairly large amount of RAM. Adjusting these options can help increase Photoshop’s overall speed performance. Photoshop uses many operations that affect RAM: History States, Undo, Clipboard, and Cache. When you modify the Memory Usage settings, you are increasing or decreasing the amount of RAM Photoshop uses for various tasks. Experimentation is the key here. Try different settings and record Photoshop’s performance. By fine-tuning Photoshop’s engine, you increase its overall speed, and you’ll get more design miles to the gallon.
Allocate Memory & Image Cache Options
Click the Edit (Win) or Photoshop (Mac) menu, and then point to Preferences.
Click Performance.
Select the History & Cache options you want to use:
-
Cache Levels. Select a number from 1 to 8.
-
History States. Enter the amount of History States steps you want to keep as undos; you can enter up to 1,000.
-
Enter the percentage of RAM used in the Let Photoshop Use box.
Photoshop needs about 5 times the size of the open document of unused RAM to operate efficiently.
GPU Settings (New!). If you have a video card installed with a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), the name of your video card will appear under Detected Video Card. Check Enable OpenGL Drawing (GL stands for Graphics Library) to make the enhanced speed and smoothness of CS4 graphic rendering and navigation available to you.
Click OK.