Why I Can’t Stand Photoshop.

Those who have worked with me might be familiar with my irritation with Adobe Photoshop.  I’d like to lay it all down so there’s no misunderstanding, and try to promote better software.

Alternative titles / subtitles for this article should include: “…for anything but photo editing” or “Photoshop: WTF!?”

• No way to place multiple files into layers.  This blows my fucking mind. (Illustrator equivalent: just drop a bunch of files)
• No shortcut keys for hide or lock layer (Illustrator equivalent: command-3 and -2, respectively)
• Batch automation is painfully limited and poorly designed and implemented.  Doing incredibly simple and extremely common operations like “make all these images fit these dimensions while keeping aspect ratio” takes a disproportionate amount of work to do.  Even piece of shit windoze programs like Irfanview make this incredibly easy while still offering a lot of options.
• Path support is limited and archaic, though it’s better than it used to be.  Even using Smart Objects / Vectors is a pain because….
• No way to group smart objects, or even get a list of them, in case you need to deliver all the files and dependencies together.  Professional software like AutoCAD or many audio DAWs know how important this is and provide logical ways of handling it.
• No way to remember hidden/visible layers when using “show/hide other layers.”  Imagine opening a big complex PSD for a web page.  There are various hidden layers that are either alternate button states or just unused, or for backup.  You want to single out a particular layer so you can see it better / copy it / whatever.  Good luck getting back to where you started from.
• No way to lock/unlock multiple layers!  This is just absolutely mindblowingly stupid.  Jesus.  If I want to unlock 50 layers I have to unlock each of them in turn.  Incredible.
• Layer naming: If you double-click even slightly off the name itself, it opens the layer options dialog (which can sometimes load a bit slowly).  If you double-click on the thumbnail you get another, different dialog.  Come on.
• You can’t delete a group if it contains locked layers.  No feedback, no indication of why you can’t delete the group.  If I’m deleting a group, you can bet I’m willing to override the locks on anything inside.