Photoshop displaying half size (retina issue)

[FangRock]

I know this has come up before, I did have a solution, but it's no longer working.

This problem is driving me crackers. I do quite a lot of design work in photoshop. I like to design an 100% so i can judge text size for web ads.

However, photoshop shows 100% (cmd+1) differently to every other app. The examples below show the same file on the same monitor in photoshop, preview and safari. Even quicklook shows what I am expecting to see.

How do i get 100% in photoshop to match the other apps?

 

[arw]

For this exact reason I created a Photoshop Action to set the zoom level to 200%. This is what you need to compensate for the (2x) retina scaling.
IMHO it's impossible to properly evaluate the sharpness of an image if using a non-integer retina scaling so I assume you have that covered (a.e. looks like 2560x1440 on a 5K 5120x2880 screen).
Then an Apple Script to execute said Photoshop Action:

tell application "Adobe Photoshop 2022"
    set action_folder_name to "Custom_Actions"
    set action_name to "Zoom_200%"
    do action action_name from action_folder_name
end tell

With BetterTouchTool I bound this Apple Script to 'cmd+1' if Photoshop is the active application.

Here's how to bound the script to 'cmd+shift+1' with an Automator service that only gets executed if Photoshop is the currently active application:

 

[FangRock]

For this exact reason I created a Photoshop Action to set the zoom level to 200%. This is what you need to compensate for the (2x) retina scaling.
IMHO it's impossible to properly evaluate the sharpness of an image if using a non-integer retina scaling so I assume you have that covered (a.e. looks like 2560x1440 on a 5K 5120x2880 screen).
Then an Apple Script to execute said Photoshop Action:

tell application "Adobe Photoshop 2022"
    set action_folder_name to "Custom_Actions"
    set action_name to "Zoom_200%"
    do action action_name from action_folder_name
end tell

With BetterTouchTool I bound this Apple Script to 'cmd+1' if Photoshop is the active application.

Here's how to bound the script to 'cmd+shift+1' with an Automator service that only gets executed if Photoshop is the currently active application:

Wow. Amazing. Thanks so much. So many people on the adobe forum say this is expected behaviour- but I don’t think it is. Especially with inconsistencies across apps. Thanks again.

 

[arw]

At 100% Photoshop displays images pixel-perfect to the screen (assuming integer 'retina' scaling).
You actually see a 'retina' image (can't discern individual pixels).
The "100%" in Preview.app and most other image viewers already account for the 2x 'retina' scaling and internally zoom by 200%.
This results in the same presented size as on a non-retina screen but that's the problem, the shown image is not 'retina' anymore because it's zoomed by 200%. An actual 'retina' image at the same shown size would be sharper as it contains 4 times the pixels.
I'm no expert, but web pages expect the normal or 2x retina images. So if you want your images to be sharp and detailed even on 'retina' devices, you must work at 100% in Photoshop.

As example, look at the brake cable of your chopper image. It is pixelated in Preview.app and perfectly smooth/sharp in Photoshop.

edit: I hope it is somewhat clear what I’m getting at. I’m no web designer and therefore lack the correct terms. I can only assume that 'retina' images are identified by double the ppi.

 

[MacGizmo]

You probably don't have the correct ppi setting in Photoshop's preferences. You have to set it to the actual ppi resolution of your display based on the physical size of the screen and the resolution you have it set to.

In my case, I have a 34" display set to 5120x2160 resolution. So my ppi is 163.433. You can figure out your ppi setting here.

 

[arw]

While this is a good hint because it is relevant for the resulting canvas size in inch/cm (like for printing, export, etc.), Photoshop is pixel based, not vector based. (unlike CorelDRAW as example)
So no matter if you have set 10 ppi or 1000 ppi in Photoshop, on your screen, 100% is always 1 image pixel per 1 display pixel.

 

[MacGizmo]

While this is a good hint because it is relevant for the resulting canvas size in inch/cm (like for printing, export, etc.), Photoshop is pixel based, not vector based. (unlike CorelDRAW as example)
So no matter if you have set 10 ppi or 1000 ppi in Photoshop, on your screen, 100% is always 1 image pixel per 1 display pixel.

LMAO. Ok, you keep believing that.

 

[arw]

LMAO. Ok, you keep believing that.

Please elaborate which statement you disagree with! Of course I do not want to spread misinformation.
Below two pictures and Adobe quotes my "believes" are based on.

ppi in Photoshop make no difference at 100%. No matter if set in the document or in the system settings.
Only the resulting size in inch/cm changes.

This doesn't mean you can't work with vector shapes and transform paths nevertheless.

edit:

View images

In Adobe Photoshop, learn how to view images, rotate the view, zoom in and out, and more.

helpx.adobe.com

 

[Herbert123]

LMAO. Ok, you keep believing that.

@arw is actually correct. The PPI setting in the preferences is only used to match "real-world" measurements, i.e. when a ruler is held up against the screen a cm on your ruler matches a cm (more or less) on your screen. In your @MacGizmo case: 1 inch equates to ~163px on your screen.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the way how images are displayed in Photoshop.

As a matter of fact, PPI/DPI is useless as a measurement for screen and pixel work. It's only relevant for the final printed matter. As is demonstrated by @arw 's screenshot: a 100px^2@ 1ppi image will display the same as a 100px^2@1 million ppi image.

But these same pixels will be interpreted very differently when both images are printed!

 

[FangRock]

I used to do 'get info', 'open in low reslution'. That was a perfect solution for me but it's no longer there in Ventura, I wonder if there is a terminal hack?

 

[MacGizmo]

This problem is driving me crackers. I do quite a lot of design work in photoshop. I like to design an 100% so i can judge text size for web ads.

This whole discussion is largely irrelevant because you don't know what size/resolution the end viewer has set on their display. If they're using a 5k resolution it will appear much smaller than one set to 1920x1080. Text that is perfectly readable on a 4k at that lower resolution could be absolutely unreadable at the 5k resolution.

 

[FangRock]

This whole discussion is largely irrelevant because you don't know what size/resolution the end viewer has set on their display. If they're using a 5k resolution it will appear much smaller than one set to 1920x1080. Text that is perfectly readable on a 4k at that lower resolution could be absolutely unreadable at the 5k resolution.

It’s not irrelevant to me. All I want is consistency across the monitor I’m using. Same file, same monitor, same Mac, same eyes - photoshop stands out as it displays differently to Preview, Safari, chrome, quicklook etc.

If all the other apps are displaying incorrectly, I want Photoshop to be wrong too please.

 

[MacGizmo]

It’s not irrelevant to me. All I want is consistency across the monitor I’m using. Same file, same monitor, same Mac, same eyes - photoshop stands out as it displays differently to Preview, Safari, chrome, quicklook etc.

If all the other apps are displaying incorrectly, I want Photoshop to be wrong too please.

What I meant by "irrelevant" is that to the end-user (not you), the size is completely dependent on the size of their screen and the resolution they have it set at. There's nothing you can do about that part. Perhaps I mistakenly assumed you were more interested in if that was an issue.

But if all you're wanting is for the image to appear correctly to YOU on YOUR screen, then adjusting the PPI in Photoshop should do the trick. For example, with my PPI as noted in post #5 above, you can see that my test image created in Photoshop (then saved as a PNG at 72dpi), renders in Preview and Safari at exactly the same size when viewed at 100% (see screenshot below).

 

[FangRock]

What I meant by "irrelevant" is that to the end-user (not you), the size is completely dependent on the size of their screen and the resolution they have it set at. There's nothing you can do about that part. Perhaps I mistakenly assumed you were more interested in if that was an issue.

But if all you're wanting is for the image to appear correctly to YOU on YOUR screen, then adjusting the PPI in Photoshop should do the trick. For example, with my PPI as noted in post #5 above, you can see that my test image created in Photoshop (then saved as a PNG at 72dpi), renders in Preview and Safari at exactly the same size when viewed at 100% (see screenshot below).

View attachment 2220174

Thanks @MacGizmo - yes, I understand about the end user. This is 100% about me!

The PPI setting works if using an external monitor, but not using an internal MacBook 'retina' screen.

Using an internal display, the setting above doesn't make any difference to me.

 

[MacGizmo]

The PPI setting works if using an external monitor, but not using an internal MacBook 'retina' screen.
Using an internal display, the setting above doesn't make any difference to me.

Ah. I see the dilemma. Unfortunately, the PPI setting in Photoshop is universal to Photoshop itself on whatever display it's on when you edit the PPI setting itself.

In other words, it works for the display you set it for, but not others. So if you set it based on your internal MB screen it works great, but when you view the image on any other external monitor it won't work (unless of course, those external displays are the exact same size/resolution as the MacBook – which is highly unlikely) because those external monitors are different sizes and resolutions.

You could possibly set up a "Dummy" display with a third-party app that forces your external monitor(s) to appear to be the same size/resolution as the MacBook - but I suspect you'll not be happy with the results because then even a larger external monitor will appear to be the same size as the MacBook display (leaving little room for panels, etc.).

You're in a tough spot here, and I'm not sure what the solution is that will work for you.

 

[okkibs]

There is no solution other than knowing the background and accepting that you actually want 200% and setting it to 200%.

Consider what you are actually asking for: If scaling affected not just the UI in Photoshop, then could never get a pixel perfect 100%, even if you then set it to 50% there would be some interpolating magic happening that processes the photo to show it on your monitor. Since MacOS runs interpolating calculations on the image the quality on the screen would be degraded. Whether or not that can be seen with the naked eye depends on the photo specs and its contents, but with how widely Photoshop is used it would certainly be a problem for lots of people.

The way Photoshop works is to your advantage, because you get to use the UI in the 200% scaling without affecting the photo quality! And this is how all image and video editing programs are supposed to work. Photoshop is telling MacOS to scale the UI but to leave the image alone for best quality. That's what you want.

I know you want 200% to appear as 100%, but that would still mean that the photo is zoomed to 200%, 100% in Photoshop is actual 100%, it's not Photoshop that is wrong, it's the other apps that "blow it up" to the scaled resolution and by doing so they run it through the scaling code of MacOS. As perfect as it might come out, it's still a processed photo that is no longer 1:1 the same.

Photoshop even lets you use a non-integer scaling just fine since it only affects the UI. Imagine if Photoshop let images run through the scaling no matter what...

And sure, people who just want to look at photos in Preview and other apps don't care about that, they'd too be annoyed by how much smaller photos look. But they aren't professionals editing these imagines and they don't need the last few percent of image quality.

If you click "open in low resoluation" all you do is remove Photoshop's ability to show your images 1:1 pixel accurate. How does this help you? At worst the images will look blurry when they actually aren't.

 

[FangRock]

There is no solution other than knowing the background and accepting that you actually want 200% and setting it to 200%.

Consider what you are actually asking for: If scaling affected not just the UI in Photoshop, then could never get a pixel perfect 100%, even if you then set it to 50% there would be some interpolating magic happening that processes the photo to show it on your monitor. Since MacOS runs interpolating calculations on the image the quality on the screen would be degraded. Whether or not that can be seen with the naked eye depends on the photo specs and its contents, but with how widely Photoshop is used it would certainly be a problem for lots of people.

The way Photoshop works is to your advantage, because you get to use the UI in the 200% scaling without affecting the photo quality! And this is how all image and video editing programs are supposed to work. Photoshop is telling MacOS to scale the UI but to leave the image alone for best quality. That's what you want.

I know you want 200% to appear as 100%, but that would still mean that the photo is zoomed to 200%, 100% in Photoshop is actual 100%, it's not Photoshop that is wrong, it's the other apps that "blow it up" to the scaled resolution and by doing so they run it through the scaling code of MacOS. As perfect as it might come out, it's still a processed photo that is no longer 1:1 the same.

Photoshop even lets you use a non-integer scaling just fine since it only affects the UI. Imagine if Photoshop let images run through the scaling no matter what...

And sure, people who just want to look at photos in Preview and other apps don't care about that, they'd too be annoyed by how much smaller photos look. But they aren't professionals editing these imagines and they don't need the last few percent of image quality.

If you click "open in low resoluation" all you do is remove Photoshop's ability to show your images 1:1 pixel accurate. How does this help you? At worst the images will look blurry when they actually aren't.

Thanks @okkibs - I think at this point it's just a psychological thing. I've worked in 100% for so long - and still do on an external monitor. It's just remembering to switch my brain when using internal.

My brain also struggles with inconsistency, especially when the majority of apps (outside of photoshop) are the ones who are 'wrong'!