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Customizing the Way You Work in Photoshop CS3

Jun 1, 2007

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Allocating Memory & Image Cache

The Memory & Image Cache preferences give you control over how much RAM memory is assigned to Photoshop, and how much memory is allocated to screen draws (Image Cache). Photoshop, being a high-performance application, requires a fairly large amount of RAM memory. Adjusting these options can help increase Photoshop’s overall speed performance. Photoshop uses many things that effect RAM memory: History States, Undo, Clipboard, and Cache. When you modify the cache 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 it’s 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.
Click to view larger image

Important

History States impact Photoshop’s performance by holding the History States using a combination of RAM and Scratch Disk space. The more History States used, the more RAM memory is required. Using an extensive number of History States can impact Photoshop’s performance.

See Also

See “Installing Photoshop CS3,” on page 2 for information on RAM and other system needs.

For Your Information: Setting the Cache Levels

Cache Levels are screen redraws. It’s how many versions of the current active document Photoshop saves. When you’re working on large documents, Cache Levels helps speed up the redraw function, and makes image manipulation proceed faster. However, they are held primarily in RAM memory, so the more Cache Levels you select, the less RAM memory is available for other Photoshop functions.
Enter the percentage of RAM used in the Let Photoshop Use box.
Photoshop needs RAM memory to work efficiently (5 times the size of the open document).

Important

Any setting changes made for allocating memory and image caching will take place the next time you start Photoshop. Please see the message at the bottom of the screen.
To override software rendering of 3D layers, select Enable 3D Acceleration check box (Extended) (New!).
Click OK.
Click to view larger image

Important

Never select 100 percent Memory Usage. Selecting 100 percent gives Photoshop your entire available RAM, leaving nothing for the operating system or any other open programs. If you are experiencing more than your usual share of Photoshop crashes, experiment with reducing memory usage.