Ask Tim Grey

Today’s Question: Recently this [Contextual Task Bar] appeared on my Photoshop screen for every image that I open in Photoshop. I never asked for this and I can’t seem to get rid of it. Do you have ideas on how to eliminate this from Photoshop altogether?

Tim’s Quick Answer: The floating toolbar referred to in today’s question is the Contextual Task Bar in the public beta version of Photoshop. It can be hidden (or revealed) by choosing Window > Contextual Task Bar from the menu.

More Detail: The Contextual Task Bar is a new interface element in the public beta version of Photoshop, which can be used to test out features that haven’t yet been finalized, such as the new AI-based Generative Fill feature. By default the Contextual Task Bar appears as a floating toolbar on every image you open in this version of Photoshop.

If you don’t want to keep the Contextual Task Bar open, you can choose Window > Contextual Task Bar from the menu. The same command will reveal the task bar if it had previously been hidden. You can also hide the bar by clicking the “more” button (the three dots) on the bar and choosing “Hide bar” from the popup menu.

While the Contextual Task Bar can certainly be a convenient way to access certain features, it can also be a bit of a distraction. It is worth noting that the features you can access on the bar can also be accessed elsewhere. For example, if you want to test out the Generative Fill command in the public beta version of Photoshop you can create a selection and choose Edit > Generative Fill from the menu to access the feature without using the Contextual Task Bar.

Today’s Question: I understand that with the new Apple processor it is not possible to dual boot into Windows. Is there no longer a way to run Windows apps on a Macintosh computer?

Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can use emulation software to run Windows (and Windows applications) even on the latest Macintosh computers that feature the Apple M1 and M2 processors.

More Detail: The latest computers with the Apple M1 and M2 processors are not able to dual boot into Windows. However, you can run Windows in a software emulator such as Parallels (https://www.parallels.com), which enables you to run Windows applications.

Through the use of emulation software, you can think of the Windows operating system as running like an application on Macintosh. Within Windows via the emulator software, you can run any applications as though you were using a computer that runs Windows natively.

I actually find this approach far more streamlined than having to boot the computer into one operating system or the other, because it enables you to switch back and forth fluidly between Macintosh applications and Windows applications. My testing has shown that the performance is excellent, even when running applications that require considerable system resources.

You can learn more about Parallels software here:

https://www.parallels.com

Today’s Question: In Lightroom Mobile I want to edit a DNG and export a smaller JPEG. I do not want to synchronize to the cloud, because in some situations my internet connection will be very slow while traveling. Rather, I want to edit and save locally on my tablet. Can this be done?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can export copies of photos from the Lightroom mobile app, and if you keep your device offline then photos add to the device won’t synchronize. However, cloud-based synchronization is at the core of how Lightroom mobile functions and can’t be disabled.

More Detail: For many photographers, the way photos get to the Lightroom mobile app in the first place is by being synchronized from the Adobe Creative Cloud service. However, you can also capture photos with the Lightroom mobile app or import photos from a media card or other connected device.

If you were using your mobile device without a cellular or WiFi connection, you could still capture photos with the Lightroom mobile app and import photos from another device. Those photos would not synchronize to the cloud under those circumstances, but as soon as your device was once again connected to the internet the synchronization would start. You can’t disable the synchronization feature in the Lightroom mobile app.

You can still edit photos that are on your device in the Lightroom mobile app, and you can save copies to your device or export copies via the sharing feature, such as to use AirDrop to send a photo from Lightroom on an iOS device to another device or a Macintosh computer.

In other words, you can make use of many of the core features of the Lightroom mobile app even if you’re not able to synchronize because of the lack of an internet connection. You can also disable the cellular antenna and WiFi on your device when you don’t want synchronization to be active. However, as soon as you’re back online the synchronization will resume, because that is a core feature of the Lightroom mobile app. And, of course, if you prevent the device from getting online to stop Lightroom synchronization, that also means other apps won’t be online, such as email and other online features.

Today’s Question: As a follow up to [yesterday’s] question about changing the capture time for photos in Adobe Bridge, if you selected multiple photos and used the “change to a specific date and time” option would all photos get the exact same capture time?

Tim’s Quick Answer: No, with the “Change to a specific date and time” option you’re only specifying the date and time for the photo shown in the dialog. All other photos will be adjusted based on how their original capture time differed from the displayed photo.

More Detail: Admittedly, the “Change to a specific date and time” option for changing capture time in Adobe Bridge is a bit confusing. The same option goes by the name “Adjust to a specified date and time” in Lightroom Classic.

The wording for these options seems to suggest that if you had selected multiple photos and used the “specific time” setting that all photos would be adjusted to the exact same capture time. That is not the case.

Rather, the photo shown in the preview within the dialog will be adjusted to the specific date and time you enter. The other photos will be adjusted based on how their capture time differs from the previewed photo.

For example, let’s assume you have photos captured at 1:01, 1:02, and 1:03, but that those are the wrong capture times based on an incorrect time zone setting. Let’s further assume that the correct time was one hour and thirty minutes later. You select the three photos, with the first photo being the active photo that is shown in the preview. You select the “specific time” setting, and enter “2:31” as the new time, which is one hour and thirty minutes later than the original time for the first photo. The new capture times for the photo would then be 2:31, 2:32, and 2:33.

Today’s Question: Regarding your answer about the various dates and times for photos, is it possible to update the capture time for photos in Adobe Bridge, such as when I forget to update the time zone on my camera?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You can update the capture time for a batch of photos in Adobe Bridge by selecting the photos and choosing Edit > Edit Capture Time from the menu. It is also possible to update the capture time for a single photo using the “Date Time Original” field in the Camera Data section of metadata.

More Detail: If you neglect to update the time zone on your camera the capture time in metadata for the photos captured with the wrong setting will obviously be off by a particular number of hours. It is very easy to update the capture time in this scenario using Adobe Bridge.

The first step is to select the photos you need to update the capture time for. Then from the menu choose Edit > Edit Capture Time. Under the “Type of Adjustment” heading in the Edit Capture Time dialog, select “Shift by hours, minutes and seconds”. Then select Add if you need to adjust to a later time, or Subtract if you need to shift to an earlier time. You can then enter values for the Hours and Minutes fields as applicable. In most cases this will only require that you enter the number for Hours, but there are time zones in some areas that are off by thirty minutes compared to the neighboring time zone.

Once you’ve configured the settings for the capture time correction for the selected photos, click the Change button. This will update the values for Date Created and Date Time Original in metadata for the selected photos.

Note that you can also directly edit the capture date and time for an individual photo with the “Date Time Original” field in the Camera Data section of the Metadata tab in Adobe Bridge. This field is fully editable, so you can simply click in the field and make any changes you’d like. You can also click the calendar icon to the right of the field to bring up the Edit Capture Time dialog outlined above, so you can use that dialog rather than a direct editing of the metadata field.

Today’s Question: I’m finding that a small percentage of my photos end up with the date they were moved as their ‘created’ date. I know the image date is incorrect, in some cases by as much as ten years. I know how to input the correct date but how do I stop or prevent that change from happening in the first place?

Tim’s Quick Answer: You should always see the correct capture time in the “Date Time Original” field in Lightroom Classic or Adobe Bridge. The “Date Time” field in Lightroom Classic or the Date File Modified” field in Adobe Bridge will show the date and time the file was moved, such as when moving to a different hard drive.

More Detail: There are several dates shown in metadata in Lightroom Classic and Adobe Bridge, which can certainly lead to confusion when those dates don’t match for a given photo.

The “Date Time Original” field in Lightroom Classic and Adobe Bridge will show you the data the photo was captured, which of course may not match the original value for the date and time of capture if you adjusted the capture time after the fact. This might be the case if you had neglected to update the time zone on your camera, for example, and changed the date of capture for your photos later.

The “Date Time Digitized” field in Lightroom Classic or the “Date Created” field in Adobe Bridge would also match the original time reflected in metadata in the camera at the time the photo was captured. Therefore, this date information can also be depended upon to reflect the original capture time, though without taking into account changes to the capture time applied later in your workflow.

The “Date Time” field in Lightroom Classic or the “Date File Modified” field in Adobe Bridge will reflect the date the file was created in the current hard drive location, which could be a much more recent date than the date of capture if the file had been moved to a different drive. For example, when I copy selections of photos to a different hard drive to use with a demo catalog in Lightroom Classic, the “Date Time” field shows when I copied the files rather than when the photos were captured.

In Lightroom Classic you’ll also find the “Metadata Date” field, which is a reflection of when the metadata was most recently updated. This field might obviously be updated quite often, such as when you assign a star rating or add keywords to the photo, for example.

My recommendation is to refer to the “Date Time Original” field when you want to confirm the date and time of capture, and to generally ignore the other date fields in metadata to avoid confusion, unless you specifically need to review the additional information contained in those other fields.

Today’s Question: I have an old Windows PC with a copy of Lightroom Classic on it. I don’t use that computer anymore as I have a new PC with my second copy of Lightroom Classic on it. How should I remove my first copy of Lightroom Classic from my old PC before getting rid of it? I want to be able to retain the rights to have two copies of Lightroom Classic installed.

Tim’s Quick Answer: All you need to do is sign out of the Creative Cloud application on your old computer, so that you’ll then be able to sign in using another computer.

More Detail: The applications included with an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription plan are limited to having two active copies at a time. Therefore, if you’re using Lightroom Classic on two computers, you won’t be able to activate the software on a third computer unless you sign out of your account on one of the other computers.

Fortunately, simply signing out of the Creative Cloud application (which is the same application where you install updates to Creative Cloud applications) will deactivate the applications on that computer. That in turn will make it possible to then sign in on another computer, with a total of two active computers at any time signed in for your Creative Cloud subscription.

To sign out of Creative Cloud on one of your computers, start by bringing up the Creative Cloud application. You can launch the application directly like any other installed application, but you should also see an icon for Creative Cloud on the taskbar on Windows or the dock on Macintosh. Click that icon to bring up the Creative Cloud application. Then, at the top-right corner of the Creative Cloud window click on the icon representing your user account and choose “Sign out” from the popup menu.

Today’s Question: I have for several years used a 200 GB external SSD for my Lightroom Classic catalog and a 2 TB regular external drive for my photos. My total used space for those is about 900 GB. Since a 2 TB SSD is now pretty reasonably priced, is there any advantage in having separate drives for the catalog and the pics or will one new 2 TB SSD work as well or better?

Tim’s Quick Answer: If you’re going to store the Lightroom Classic catalog on an external drive there’s no need to keep the catalog on a separate hard drive from the photos. In general, with this approach I recommend keeping both on the same drive for convenience in terms of backing up and easily having access to both the catalog and photos without having to connect two drives.

More Detail: If performance is your priority, then it is generally best to keep the Lightroom Classic catalog on an internal hard drive. You can still keep the photos on an external hard drive if you prefer, such as if you don’t have adequate internal storage. However, if you’re going to keep the catalog on an external hard drive, I recommend keeping the catalog and photos on the same drive.

Having the catalog and photos on the same drive means you’ll always have access to your photos whenever you have access to your catalog. That is convenient, and also makes it easier to maintain a backup of both the catalog and photos with a single overall workflow.

So, in general I would say it is best to keep the catalog on an internal hard drive for performance reasons. But if you want to keep the catalog on an external drive, such as to enable you to move the catalog between computers, I recommend keeping the catalog on the same drive as the photos.

Today’s Question: I often apply many adjustment layers to an image, and I am wondering if that diminishes image quality. For example, I might increase contrast using Curves or Levels and then if I later decide I want more contrast, rather than tweaking the first contrast layer, I often add a second Curves or Levels layer to get the additional contrast. That way if I don’t like the additional contrast, rather than trying to get back to what I had originally, I can just delete the second layer I used to add more contrast. But is doing it this way a bad idea?

Tim’s Quick Answer: There is a minor risk of image degradation with this approach, but that risk isn’t so high that I would encourage you to avoid adding a duplicative adjustment layer.

More Detail: As noted in yesterday’s answer, using an adjustment layer rather than multiple direct adjustments to a pixel layer can help maintain greater image quality because you aren’t compounding the loss of detail from multiple adjustments. Each adjustment layer counts as only a single adjustment, no matter how many times you’ve refined the settings for the adjustment layer.

If you add more than one adjustment layer of the same type, of course, that counts as more than one adjustment. This creates the risk of a minor degradation in image quality, but as long as the adjustments aren’t extreme this would really be a very minor issue.

While I consider it a best practice to use only a single adjustment layer of a given type, there are reasons you may prefer to use more than one layer of the same type. As noted in today’s question, adding another adjustment layer rather than modifying an existing layer provides the flexibility of more easily returning to previous settings if you decide the additional adjustment layer isn’t providing the benefit you were looking for.

In addition, you may want to add multiple adjustment layers of the same type if you are applying targeted adjustments with a layer mask. You might have a Curves adjustment layer that is applying a global adjustment to the image, for example, and then add another Curves adjustment layer that is masked to only affect the sky. You might even add a third Curves adjustment layer with a mask to adjust only the foreground in the image.

So, while I consider it best to only use a single adjustment layer of a given type, there are certainly other considerations that may cause you to want to have duplicate adjustment layers. The risk of image degradation from this approach is quite modest as long as the adjustments aren’t extreme, so I wouldn’t give up other benefits just to avoid having duplicate adjustment layers.