Maximize Compatibility vs QuickLook in Mac OS X

I found out that QuickLook in Mac OS X doesn't work properly for PSD documents if the file is saved without Maximize Compatibility feature. If you press space bar, only white canvas appears and not the actual document. I don't want to use this feature because I don't need the compatibility and all the files are much smaller without it. However, as I work with a lot of PSD files I am used to use QuickLook a lot. Is there a way to have maximize compatibility disabled and at the same time be able to use previews with QuickLook? Thank you.

samuelg0rd0n wrote:
Is there a way to have maximize compatibility disabled and at the same time be able to use previews with QuickLook?
QL relies on a compatibility image in a layered PSD (a single non-Background layer is still a layered document), although if the PSD contains only the special Background layer then that will be used by QL. Maximize Compatibility results in a compatibility composite in the PSD, otherwise a solid white compatibility image is embedded and that's what you see in QL.

Similar Messages

Maximize compatibility problem

I've been using LR 2.5 and now 2.6 for a while now and am finally prompted to post. From time to time, I have problems importing files. If it's a PSD file, then typically I get the old chestnut about saving with maximize compatibility turned on. Which is something I always do, because the LR installation notes told me to do it. I also have problems importing the occasional JPEG, maybe no more than 1 in a 100. I can barely import TIFF files at all -
more than 50% of the time LR just gives me the familiar gray rectangle and the warning mark. Keep in mind that these TIFF files aren't fancy - they're just boring old 16-bit RBG or sometimes 16-bit grayscale straight from my scanner. I would estimate that I can't import about 80% of my PSD files (I have CS2) in spite of having "maximize compatibility" turned on. I've tried tried re-saving the PDF file. Doesn't work. I've tried adding a layer, then saving. No joy. I've tried SHIFT-CTRL-ALT-e to create a whole new rolled-up layer. No way. On larger files PS even confirms that it's saving a full resolution composite. Do you think it makes any difference to LR? No on your life.
I've put up with this for some time, and now I'd like to know if this is normal. I've almost given up trying to import PSD files, and that doesn't seem right at all. The problems seem to occur more on larger files (say, 100MB+) than on smaller, but that may be my imagination. I've most recently had the problem on a 16-bit greyscale PSD file on which I've made some extensive changes and re-saved (compat mode is ALWAYS on). LR keeps rejecting it. I've just now resorted to creating a 16-bit greyscale, single-layer file in PS (all of 1.5MB) and LR STILL won't import it! Bridge thinks it's fine. Bridge thinks they're all fine.
This is really getting me down. How on earth do photographers with large legacy collections of PS files (i.e. every last one of us) survive? Pity help people with TIFF files, I feel sorry for them. Perhaps it's just some fragility with my system? I'd love to know.
Thanks for any hints or tips. I must be missing something obvious.
Regards,
-darryl

Ed,
There may be a CS2 vs. CS4 difference which is just confusing things.
If you look back my original posting in this thread, you'll see that I had problems importing TIFF files as well. Those problems were fixed by removing my Lightroom preferences file. Since then, importing TIFFs has been fine.
I don't know what "com.apple.Photoshop.plist" is - I'm guessing it's where Photoshop stores preferences on a Mac? I am currently using a Windoze laptop, but am planning to get a Mac, so will soon be educated in the finer things of life!
Regading Photoshop "asking" or not: what I notice is that if I use Photoshop standalone, then it does indeed ask. If I start Photoshop from Lightroom, then it doesn't ask. Some magic must be happening behind the scenes because even from the very beginning, starting Photoshop from Lightroom on an existing image always worked fine (I would have had Maximize Compatibility set to Always in those days). My problems were always with importing pre-existing PSD files which were saved with Maximize Compatibilty set to Never.
I'm glad you managed to make some progress, though. The more I use Lightroom, the more I wonder how I ever survived without it.
Regards,
-darryl

How to change default close maximize and minimize button in mac?

How can I change default close, maximize and minimize button in mac?

no. but you can make resizable.

Font compatibility with Office (for Mac and Windows)

Hi,
Despite extensive searching, I'm struggling with a font compatibility issue between my Mac and my colleagues' PCs. The main points in order:
The fonts work correctly on both my Mac and other PCs.
The font in question is HelveticaNeueLT Std, rolled up into which are several different weights. The files are OTF files. The same files install without any problems on all the computers in question (and show up in Font Book). And the font can be used successfully:
- in Keynote, I select Helvetica Neue LT Std, and underneath choose whichever weight I want
- on PCs, the font and weight can be selected from the drop-down list in MS Office.
- in Office for Mac 2016 (Preview), I cannot select the font from the drop-down list, but can hit Cmd+T, and then select the appropriate font and weight under 'Latin text font'. What is odd is that in the dropdown list, only a particular weight/typeface is shown:
As this is a preview version, I wouldn't expect Office to work perfectly just yet...
When a file is created on a PC, it works fine on my Mac.
Every file I have attempted to open that was created on a PC, and using these fonts, works fine. The fonts display correctly (i.e. including the correct weights), and I can work with the document without any problems. The only odd bit: sometimes in the dropdown box on my Mac it then says (null):
Whereas at other times, the font name shows correctly:
Both of those examples were created using the 'Thin' weight of HelveticaNeueLt Std. I can't see any pattern as to what causes this inconstency.
The problem is that what I create on my Mac shows incorrectly on a PC.
If I create anything using Office 2016 or Keynote, selecting the preferred weight as described above, it shows just fine on my Mac. But when I send the PPTX file to a PC, all weights look identical (it looks as though the PC has just displayed everything in a standard weight). This is the problem I am trying to solve.
To try to get around this, I tried the process of removing the Helvetica/Helvetica Neue .dfont files that come with the Mac - but this didn't work and caused several other problems. Besides, the font I'm trying to get to use as intended has a different name.
All help would be greatly appreciated - my thanks in advance.
John

Thanks Kappy and apologies if it is inappropriate - but just to clarify, my main question is whether fonts used in Keynote should be compatible with other software (in this case Office running on Windows). The Office for Mac Preview is a bit of a red herring but I thought it should be mentioned.
I tried to clarify my first post, but it didn't work. What I wanted to add was simply whether Keynote handles fonts in a way that other pieces of software struggle to read - despite the font itself working perfectly in both environments.

PS CS2 lens correction causes "Maximize Compatibility" issue in LR

Question: why does PS CS2/3 convert the layer "Background" to "Layer 0"?
This is the problem (and solution):
I encountered the widely discussed "Maximize Compatiblity" issue with a bunch of PSD files (slide scans) that contained only one layer. Puzzled as I was that the layer thing apparently could not cause the problem, I reopened some of those files in PS CS3 and I noticed that each of them had had a lens correction. Just to make sure I was on the right track I applied a lens correction to a file that had been already imported into LR successfully and used the SaveAs command and unchecked the Maximize Compatibility option. The new file could not be imported into LR. So no more lens corrections? - I thought.
A closer look on the troublesome files made me learn the (only) layer had been renamed from "Background" to "Layer 0" after the lens correction was made. I used the "Flatten Image" command and this turned it back into "Background". After this, the file could be imported into LR without a problem.
I can now apply this trick to all troublesome files that have had lens corrections and thus avoid the huge increase in file size (130MB is a lot already).
Now I write this for those of you who have the same problem and are still puzzled (to help out) but I also would like to have some insight into why PS CS2/3 lens corrections mess with the layers.
Thanks.

>My conclusion would be that LR can only import PSD files that meet the following requirements:
>1. must contain only one layer
>2. that layer must be called "Background"
Your conclusion is only partially correct.
Lightroom will import multi-layered PSD files that have been saved with the preference for "Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility" set to On. This is clearly stated in the Release Notes and Help documents:
>Photoshop format (PSD)
>Photoshop format (PSD) is the standard Photoshop file format. To import and work with a multi-layered PSD file in Lightroom, the file must have been saved in Photoshop with the Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility preference turned on. Youll find the option in the Photoshop file handling preferences. Lightroom saves PSD files with a bit depth or 8 bits or 16 bits per channel.
As to the original point -
PS CS2 lens correction causes "Maximize Compatibility" issue in LR.
Photoshop renaming Background Layer to Layer 0 is a Photoshop issue, not Lightroom. When it occurs the files effectively becomes a multi-layered file, even if there is only one layer (i.e layer 0). Why using the Lens Correction filter causes the background layer to be renamed is currently unclear, but I have raised it in the "appropriate" place. In the meantime, I recommend that you set the Maximise Compatibility preference to
Always. Doing so will save non layered files as normal and multi-layered will have the
necessary* composite preview. You can continue to use the flatten command to fix the errant files.
*Enabling the Maximise Compatibility preference ensures that Photoshop creates a composite preview of multi-layered images. It is intended to enable applications that can't read layers to preview the images. Lightroom cannot read multi-layered files, therefore the composite preview MUST be present in such files.
>Has anyone noticed different behaviour with the Lr v2 beta? I'd hate to double the size of all my multilayer PSDs just so they can load into Lr(?)
Lr 2.0 will function as per Lr1.x; i.e. not using Maximize Compatibility when saving multi-layered files will mean that they are not compatible with Lr2.0.

Remove 'Maximize Compatibility' on pre-existing PSDs...

Preferably via a batch function, since I have 50 or 60 files... maybe more, that I've been saving with maximized compatibility. I don't need the feature and never did, but used it because I was being ignorant and 'better safe than sorry'-minded.
Anyone have any ideas?
I tried disabling 'Maximize Compatibility' and re-saving the files, but this didn't result in reduced file sizes as far as I can tell.

Set your file handling preference for Maximise Compatibility to "Never". Record an Action of "Save As" with any file - the name and location will be overriden when using the Batch setup in the screenshot that follows the Action screenshot. It definitely works with CS6 on OS X 10.6.8, at least.

Using actions and batch processing to maximize compatibility on old psd files

My apologies if this has been answered -- in my search I saw that it was asked multiple times, but not answered.
My goal is to be able to import 5 years of PSD files into Lightroom that were originally saved with maximize compatibility turned off. These files are in shoot folders within year folders.
I have been trying to do this with an action and batch processing through Bridge (Tools>PS>Batch). After switching preferences to MC=always, I have tried an action with a Save command, but that doesn't switch the file to max compat on. Save As does, but it also fixes the destination of the save in the action to a specific folder. I want to be able to overwrite the existing PSD file, leaving it where it is.
Has anyone successfully tackled this issue? I know I can handle it folder by folder, with an action for each folder, but that just wouldn't be cool.
Thank you

L Show - Yes, I found a way and did just that.
Everything as you wrote, using the save-as option. Yes, it will put the folder name into the action BUT it will override it when you run your batch from bridge IF you check in the box "override action save-as command" (and destination: save and close).
Works like a charm (although slow - not utilizing the multiple cores :( )

Maximize Compatibility vs Storage Optimization

I'm working on a new project that will require me to store thousands of PS files. I have noticed that the maximum compatibility option affects the end files size significantly. For example the original autogenerated PS file starts at 32 MB, and jumps to 57 MB when saved to maximize compatibility and shrinks to 21 MB when the option is not selected. What exactly am I losing by not maximizing compatibility? If it is just the file preview image and the ability to use on very old builds of PS, it might be worth the savings on storage space. The PS files don’t contain any new features where backsaving will be an issue. I was able to open the non-max comp file in CS2 with all its layers. I've attached a link to the example file I'm referring to. Thanks for the help.
https://app.box.com/s/35ssi02qaiz48jxgaten
-Brennan

Nothing more than you mentioned comes to mind.
Only thing about the composite previews (that won't be generated/saved) is that non-Adobe software may rely upon them. That said, many 3rd party programs now can see into .psd files and deal with the contents. The FastPictureViewer codec pack is one such example - it can thumbnail even .psd files not saved with Max Compat.
For what it's worth, I switched to Maximize Compatibility: Never quite a while ago, and I have had no problems. I don't share my .psd files with others much.
-Noel

"Maximize Compatibility in PS" message when trying to open PSD in Lightroom

Upon importing a PSD saved image into Lightroom, I get this message: "The files could not be read. Please re-open the files in Photoshop and save them with the 'maximize Compatibility' preference enabled." I then opened the file in PS, went into preferences, changed "Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility" to "Always", and re-saved the image. I get the same message upon trying to import the image again into Lightroom. Help! Regina

Hi Jeff,
I just did a 'save as' with the new preferences, and, because I could not re-save it back to the DVD where it came from, I saved it to my document folder and was not prompted to save over the existing file. I just tried again to re-import it into LR, and I was successful (on 2 occasions). I am not sure what I did differently the first time(s). I am positive that this situation is going to be a big pain in the heiney, though, on future imports. Can you fill me in on what I can do to prevent this from occurring?
Thanks!
Regina

When I maximize my screen on my Mac it hides the menu bar and the typed tool bar at the top of the screen - how do i fix this

When I maximize the screen on my Mac Book Pro it hides the menu bar and the typed tool bar at the top of the screen as well. How do I undo this?

10.7 "Full Screen" is a feature imported from IOS, the land of tiny screens.
To use a larger window on a REAL computer, adjust the Window's size to suit your needs. Do not use "Full Screen".

I have an older apple keyboard, either a M2452 or a M7803. Do these have compatibility issues with 2012 Mac Minis?

I have an older apple keyboard, either a M2452 or a M7803. Do these have compatibility issues with 2012 Mac Minis?

I understand that you can connect any keyboard to a Mac Mini, my concern is that the modern Apple keyboards I have seen seem to have a layout much more similar to their PC counterparts. ie, they no longer have the "apple" key, etc.
Will I be missing functionality (using this older Apple keyboard)?

Maximize Compatibility option to save for earlier versions?

1. Where is the Maximize Compatibility option in CS6 to save to earlier versions?
2. Does this option still exist in CC? If so, how is it enabled?
Thanks.

Ctrl or Cmd k to open your Preferences, go to File Handling, then right at the bottom of this section:

Lenovo Wireless Headset W770 compatibility with Linux and Mac

Hi,
Can someone provide me information on Lenovo Wireless Headset W770 compatibility with Linux and Mac distributions. On the product overview page under Software Requirements, only Windows is mentioned. http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?submit=true&componentID=1343112653906&DocID=PD...
Please let me know if the headset can work with other distributions as well.
Thanks & Regards,
Keya
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I just received W770 and tried it on a PC and it worked. But when I plug the USB receiver in a macbook air (2011 MAC OS 10.6.8), it didn't work. The message I got is that MAC can't recognize the "keyboard" and asked me to press the shift button on the unrecognized keyboard- which I guess meant that the MAC treated the USB dongle as if it were a wireless keyboard of some sort. Anyway, would appreciate it if you could let me know how to make it work on MAC. The previous statement saying that it would work on any Lenovo machine regardless of OS is kinda of unclear - do you mean that it would also work on lenovo running MAC OS (is there any Lenovo running Mac OS?). Thanks.

Bulk save as psd file not saved with Maximize Compatibility selected in preference

I want to do a "bulk save as" for psd files that were not saved with Maximize File Compatibility selected in Preferences. I'm trying to import those files into LR5 but I get an error message. Or is there a work around for resolving this issue? I have both PS CS6 and PS CC. Also Bridge for both. I've just subscribed to LR5.

LR does not support Layers, PSD files may have layers so you may have a problem using LR to do what you want to do.
Set your Photoshop Preferences to always save with Max Compatibility.
Record a save action one step menu File>save.
Then use Adobe Bridge menu Edit>Find to find all your PSD files.
Then select all and use menu Tools>Photoshop>Batch and if your lucky and don't catch an Adobe Bug Photoshop will start and the Batch dialog will open, You can the set the Save Action Set and the Save Action all the PSD selected in the Bridge should open and saved.
I cancelled the search short here the search for all psd files could take a very long time and did not run the batch.
You will have a better chance not catching an Adobe bug if Photoshop is not up and running when you use the here. Bridge may try to start a different version of Photoshop then the one running when you use menu tools>Photoshop>Batch. Bridge CC was updated to start CC 2014 there is no bridge CC 2014.
This site scale image poorly you can scale them if you view them in a new tab or window.

Unix or Linux application compatibility with X11 terminal/Mac OS X

I am an engineer and thinking about upgrading to a MacBook Pro. Most if not all of the applications that I use with respect to my work can be acquired in Linux or Unix flavors. I went to the local Apple store and requested that a "genius" install this software on a MacBook to take it out for a test drive. The "genius" was not able to install the application. Do I assume that the application cannot be installed, or that the "genius" did not know his stuff? I would really like to get the MacBook but want to be sure that my Unix and Linux apps will run on it. What is the compatibility issue here? Will any Linux or Unix app run on the Mac? Will the applications run only as command line or will a GUI be available? I need to hear from someone that knows the OS X.
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8) thinking about purchase
Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I've worked with some pretty smart people, including Nobel laureates, and there are very few people I would say qualify as geniuses. It is unlikely they all work retail at Apple stores.
Anyway, what you are requesting is fairly standard. I made a web page to help you get going.
Briefly, you can run almost anything from Linux, but you have to compile it. There are free downloads for the compilers in Xcode, and X11 comes as a non-default install with the operating system (and the computer you would be buying). You can then either do it all yourself or use a package management system such as Fink or DarwinPorts (MacPorts?) in a similar way to how this is done on Linux.
There are some kernel-interacting linux applications that you might not be able to get to work, but I'd say well over 99% of what you would want will work fine. I use OS X as my primary scientific computing environment.
If you need Linux, you can install that too, and even run it in Parallels (a 3rd-party virtualization software that allows you to install windows, linux, or any other i386 OS).

Maximize Compatibility vs QuickLook in Mac OS X

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for