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[Nymphae]

I use the Adobe suite of software everyday for work, mainly Illustrator and Photoshop. I don't really have a huge rant here, but I wanted to say that it drives me crazy how shitty they are at fixing bugs and implementing basic features that the community of paying users is asking for.

It's hard to think of all the specific examples I've come across over the years, but in general it just seems like every time I have a question about Adobe software, and look online, several other users have asked the same question at an Adobe forum, and get no answer.

Like today I was curious why Illustrator's right click context menu is so shitty - I want Cut, Paste, Lock, Unlock, in there, it would speed up my workflows and be more comfortable for me. You can't customize it. I went online to look for info, and find another user asking for the same feature on Adobe's forum. The first answer is top rated or whatever , and literally just says "there are many right click menus in illustrator, all controlled by Adobe," Yeah no shit man. How is this getting top rated at an official forum, the guy completely missed the point of the OP's question.

Further down, and in other question threads asking the same thing, you see many users all agreeing and saying they want the feature too. I've seen this with several features and bug fixes. Years go by, no official answer, more people just add to the threads, or give up asking.

These guys need some competition because they have absolutely no incentive to make the experience better for the users when you can't use anything else. There are basic ass bug fixes I have been waiting like a decade for that I'm just never going to see because Adobe is working on who the fuck knows what.

 

[hivsteak]

Creating software sucks. They’re working on bugs and features requested by the largest accounts if anything and there is minimal customization to likely cut down on technical support.

Rip the bandaid off and start using GIMP and Inkscape.

 

[Nymphae]

Rip the bandaid off and start using GIMP and Inkscape.

If it were just me, I would have a long time ago. My work uses other software integrated with Adobe stuff and I have no other options.

 

[Chittagong]

Wait till you work with a team and one person saves his file in IDD2019 and you haven’t moved up from IDD2018. You took care and made sure you had the IDD file on your travel laptop locally, because you have a shitty dial up on a small island, and the file is 25MB.

You’ll be delighted to find that on that small island that old file you have on your computer opens insanely slow. Like, several hours to open the file, a day even. Turns out that files from a previous version of IDD are parsed in the cloud. So that file needs to travel through potato internet to america and back before you can have it open.

* Actually happened to me

 

[Tapioca]

Their programs have barely changed over 10 years

 

[Kadayi]

Wait till you work with a team and one person saves his file in IDD2019 and you haven’t moved up from IDD2018. You took care and made sure you had the IDD file on your travel laptop locally, because you have a shitty dial up on a small island, and the file is 25MB.

You’ll be delighted to find that on that small island that old file you have on your computer opens insanely slow. Like, several hours to open the file, a day even. Turns out that files from a previous version of IDD are parsed in the cloud. So that file needs to travel through potato internet to america and back before you can have it open.

* Actually happened to me

When they packaged it did they not make an IDML exchange file as well?

 

[Chittagong]

When they packaged it did they not make an IDML exchange file as well?

The scenario literally never crossed anyones mind. We had opened cross version files before in the studio, and while a bit slower than opening a correct version, the speed never made us suspect that the conversion happens in the cloud. Naturally went IDML ever since.

 

[Pagusas]

Their programs have barely changed over 10 years

Lol no. I work in Premier, After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop everyday for my job with my team. If you were to revert us 10 years into the past, our lives would be absolutely misserable. So many QoL changes have happened in the last few years that people are taking for granted as they are used to them now.

 

[Kadayi]

I kind of feel that both Photoshop and Illustrator could both really do with a back to formula rethink from the ground up, in a similar fashion to how Adobe kicked Pagemaker to the kerb and came up with Indesign. I suspect that the sheer complexity of the software plus the legacy of existing PSDs and AI files means that's unlikely to ever happen unfortunately.

 

[Tapioca]

Lol no. I work in Premier, After Effects, Illustrator and Photoshop everyday for my job with my team. If you were to revert us 10 years into the past, our lives would be absolutely misserable. So many QoL changes have happened in the last few years that people are taking for granted as they are used to them now.

I must have a bad memory then. I work with them everyday as well. It is the same program with minor upgrades. They haven't innovated in over a decade.

 

[Shifty]

I use the Adobe suite of software everyday for work, mainly Illustrator and Photoshop. I don't really have a huge rant here, but I wanted to say that it drives me crazy how shitty they are at fixing bugs and implementing basic features that the community of paying users is asking for.

I got two words for ya kid:
Professional-tier Software

Shit's a joke, and it seems to be a theme across many high-end software packages: Astronomical 'enterprise' price tag, and developers that are more concerned with implementing big-ticket new features than taking some time to fix their damn bugs.

Photoshop, Unity, Unreal Engine 4, Maya, various offline 3D renderers... It's rampant. I blame it on this 'the show must go on' attitude that drives so many production industries. No time to focus on stability when there's money money money to be made

 

[Nymphae]

Another example. Apparently they've completely reversed the behaviour of holding shift to proportionally modify the size of something. If you want a box larger but the same proportions, you previously held shift and used the corner handles to pull it larger. If you didn't hold shift, it would just expand however you dragged it non-proportionally.

The have literally reversed this now. If it ain't broke, don't fucking fix it.

People have been using this software for decades and have become very accustomed to these rather logical shortcuts. But throw that out the window because first year design student Becky can't remember to hold shift for scaling. This did not need to be changed at all, but from what I've read they changed this specifically because holding shift was not easy for newbies (give me a motherfucking break)

 

[Kadayi]

Another example. Apparently they've completely reversed the behaviour of holding shift to proportionally modify the size of something. If you want a box larger but the same proportions, you previously held shift and used the corner handles to pull it larger. If you didn't hold shift, it would just expand however you dragged it non-proportionally.

The have literally reversed this now. If it ain't broke, don't fucking fix it.

People have been using this software for decades and have become very accustomed to these rather logical shortcuts. But throw that out the window because first year design student Becky can't remember to hold shift for scaling. This did not need to be changed at all, but from what I've read they changed this specifically because holding shift was not easy for newbies (give me a motherfucking break)

That's been there for a while TBH. It was to bring PS inline in with how it works in AI & ID. I hear you though, it was a bit 'really?' for a while

 

[Tesseract]

it's w/e for me at this point, knee deep in a history of bugs

 

[navii]

When I first started designing I was using Corel software. When I wanted to turn pro I had to start using Adobe. I remember thinking, this Adobe software is so shitty and lazy. I'm used to it now, or maybe they got better, but regardless every new version introduces new bugs.

I had to downgrade my Premiere Pro because it would crash when opening one of my projects. And I'm just discovering new bugs in the latest updates from yesterday.

 

[GAMETA]

My problem with Adobe is the pricing. Maybe it's a decent value for 1st world people but here in the 3rd the costs are completely prohibitive. You won't have to look much to see even studios using pirated software.

If they at least allowed users to pick which software they want for the lower tiers, but no... If you're working with motion graphics and graphic design you're fucked, it's full Creative Cloud or nothing...

When I started freelancing I signed for a year but the next year they basically doubled the price, had to cancel.

 

[Rentahamster]

Another example. Apparently they've completely reversed the behaviour of holding shift to proportionally modify the size of something. If you want a box larger but the same proportions, you previously held shift and used the corner handles to pull it larger. If you didn't hold shift, it would just expand however you dragged it non-proportionally.

The have literally reversed this now. If it ain't broke, don't fucking fix it.

People have been using this software for decades and have become very accustomed to these rather logical shortcuts. But throw that out the window because first year design student Becky can't remember to hold shift for scaling. This did not need to be changed at all, but from what I've read they changed this specifically because holding shift was not easy for newbies (give me a motherfucking break)

You can revert it back to the old behavior in the options.

 

[Nymphae]

You can revert it back to the old behavior in the options.

Still makes zero sense to change this decades old industry standard default setting because people new to the program are...new to the program.

 

[ScarletSpider]

.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I ditched Adobe's creative studio subscription for Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer, never ending price increases and Adobe ditched support for Fireworks that handled most of the "quick" work I/we need to do. As for Acrobat I've replaced it with Wondershare's PDF Element software. I've ditched 4 licenses for my guys altogether, fuck Adobe.

Once off payment prices, I got 50% off both Affinity products through a promotion and I haven't missed anything from Adobe whatsoever. Also GIMP sucks donkey dick, what a terrible UX, that reminds me I need to uninstall that piece of shit.

Affinity is simple but powerful with brilliant tutorials and extensions available. If you're a serious pro Adobe user or forced into their formats for compatibility then my recommendations may not be for you but I'm able to handle all client/professional/marketplace files and work with them just fine as well as my day to day needs for PDF, graphic design, vector/raster needs and output everything to the web or PDF as I require. Save a fortune and no monthly costs at all. I find these products outperform their Adobe counterparts in speed and customisation as well.

 

[Chittagong]

We are dumping Illustrator, InDesign, Sketch and Invision for Figma in the studio.

It is just insane how good it is. They figured out smart guides, something Illustrator still struggles with. They did proper grid tools, something you’d think would be a given in InDesign. Pasting in high res links doesn’t slow things at all, unlike in InDesign, and the list goes on... not to even mention prototyping or collaboration.

It is truly mind boggling how Adobe has dropped the ball so hard.

Figma is still missing some things like page numbers, bullets, document masters, gradient direction controls and optical kerning, but they will no doubt get there soon.

 

[Halo is Back]

I don't know much about their other programs but Adobe premier is the best video editing software I have used.

 

[ILoveGTR]

Didnt read but i agree

 

[Stiflers Mom]

It took me years to switch over to GIMP, but I am happy I managed it.
Unlearning all these shortcuts and things you are used to in Photoshop is horrible.

 

[Cunth]

You guys work with computers or something?

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Subscription model = who cares if it works or not we’ve got your money.

 

[Nymphae]

You guys work with computers or something?

Yeah I use one of those cookie jar Mac Pros at work. The new one looks like a cheese grater

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

I remember years ago dealing with an issue where acrobat would crash everytime you would try and edit a pdf unless you saved it as a different file name. After troubleshooting it for HOURS I got in contact with one of their reps and they basically said yeah, just save as a different file name.

Fuckers

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I hate this company being the leading art and design software provider, I hate the damn monthly fees, they are worse than shady porn sites and charge you for shit you did not ask for.

 

[Burger]

I'm fascinated by the low effort Adobe puts into Illustrator. Basic tools that haven't changed in a decade.

Some of the issues on this site are still valid (last updated 2014) but it goes to show they just didn't give a shit with their 'professional' software.

Adobe Gripes

Me moaning about shoddy UI inconsistencies and mistakes in Adobe products and how they get shittier...

adobegripes.tumblr.com

I think this problem happens to a lot of professional software. When it's so long in the tooth, built upon so many legacy ideas then all you can do is hack on some more features. Another favourite of mine is Autodesk Flame, so many legacy modules and hacks there are some important parts of the software that are from the 90's. It's just too much of a project to start again. The whole thing becomes an unstable wobbly house of selotaped cards.

Adobe are the worst, with Autodesk not far behind them.

 

[ROMhack]

Another example. Apparently they've completely reversed the behaviour of holding shift to proportionally modify the size of something. If you want a box larger but the same proportions, you previously held shift and used the corner handles to pull it larger. If you didn't hold shift, it would just expand however you dragged it non-proportionally.

The have literally reversed this now. If it ain't broke, don't fucking fix it.

People have been using this software for decades and have become very accustomed to these rather logical shortcuts. But throw that out the window because first year design student Becky can't remember to hold shift for scaling. This did not need to be changed at all, but from what I've read they changed this specifically because holding shift was not easy for newbies (give me a motherfucking break)

Okay fair, that's ridic.

 

[Nymphae]

Another example, working in the Library panel. The fact that I can make groups didn't need to be a reminder baked into the panel background, but here's what the panel looks like now:

Like 90% of my panel real estate is a fucking ad for a feature I'm well aware of. I don't want groups or my entries auto grouped by software, so I want to get rid of this insane waste of screen real estate.

You can't dismiss this, so I click create a group, and it adds a new useless group to the top for me to delete.

Delete that group? Back to the first screenshot. Like holy shit man these guys are the only professional game in town and they don't seem to understand basic things about how people use their software

 

[missiles]

The heartbreaking thing is that Photoshop used to be such an elegant, focussed and reliable application. I've been using it since version 3.0 (first version with layers, one undo, I am old) and despite its limitations back then you could get work done without having your workflow brickwalled by showstopping bugs and features that just get in your way. The very worst issue for me, and I've been complaining directly to Adobe about this for years, is the brush tool lag when using a Wacom tablet. Roll back to any version pre-CS6 and the brush tools are super smooth, perfect for painting, masking or retouching. Now they're a laggy, stop-start mess with endless workarounds (none of which work) suggested to make them run smoothly again. Adobe blame Apple blame Wacom. And begin again. This has gone on for years but Adobe are seemingly unable to restore the brushes to their former efficiency. But whenever I hop into, say, Zbrush, Substance or Painter the brush tools there are silky smooth and share none of the erratic behaviour of Photoshop's brushes. There is something underlying that's broken in Photoshop's brush engine. Delete your preferences, reinstall Photoshop they say. That is the best their support can offer.

Always online web-based tools also have an impact on speed and contribute to Photoshop's sludgey, tired, swimming through bricks feel. Going back to a previous version like CS6 feels like having a new computer, it's just so much more responsive than the current version, whatever that may be. I've stopped updating, but of course I need to pay my £600+ every year to prevent the old versions that still work locking me out. Cheers, Adobe.

Bottom line is they need to rewrite it from the ground up for modern systems and prune out all the junk that no one wants or needs in an image editor, like the frankly embarrassing 3D tools (does any one really use these? thought not) and laughable video editing features. Re-focus Photoshop on editing images again, hand off the 3D/video/web features to the apps in the suite that actually do that stuff well, and at least give us a version that's competitive with Affinity Photo. Because right now Affinity are embarrassing Adobe into irrelevance.

 

[Karunamon]

My problem with Adobe is the pricing. Maybe it's a decent value for 1st world people but here in the 3rd the costs are completely prohibitive. You won't have to look much to see even studios using pirated software.

If they at least allowed users to pick which software they want for the lower tiers, but no... If you're working with motion graphics and graphic design you're fucked, it's full Creative Cloud or nothing...

When I started freelancing I signed for a year but the next year they basically doubled the price, had to cancel.

For whatever it's worth, it's pretty easy to get Creative Cloud for about $30/month with a little effort. Their "first time" discount is tied to email address, and once your year is up you can write in and indicate that you want to cancel because of the price increase, and they'll renew the discount for another year.

 

[Nymphae]

Yeah they should have better mix and match options for people who don't want the whole suite

 

[chimpsteaks]

I have my work PC override our Adobe PDF to instead open PDFs in a web browser because Adobes shit is so slow

 

[GamesAreFun]

Rip the bandaid off and start using GIMP and Inkscape.

It's great that GIMP & Inkscape are free, but they're poor substitutes. Last time I checked, GIMP still doesn't support non-destructive editing. And Inkscape is very slow with an outdated UI. Krita is superior to GIMP for some purposes, dunno why it gets less attention.

Or just buy Affinity Photo & Designer if you don't care about Open Source, they're a bargain.

 

[Mikado]

Hot Takes Inbound:

I hate Adobe as much as the next guy but by god...

GIMP is the worst "We have Paint Program At Home / Paint Program at Home" substitute I have ever seen and my arms literally go numb with rage whenever anyone suggests it as a viable solution for anyone who needs to get actual work done, as opposed to someone who just wants to bodge together a shitty Paint-tier Tuxford mascot for their Linux tech blog. I was willing to try Inkscape for a project years ago but I absolutely needed to be working in CMYK which wasn't a thing (not to mention handling other print considerations like trapping). So in effect, they designed a vector illustration program that is literally useless for print which is the only reason I ever use vectors. GJ.

The constant tablet brush behaviour-breaking in Adobe is totally unacceptable though. There is literally one industry-standard professional tablet provider on the planet. You'd think it would be straightforward to work out whatever the beef between Adobe and Wacom is and just solve the damn issue. I realize Microsoft is part of the problem as well since their Windows Ink bullshit breaks everything with every forced update.

Edit:
Krita's cool though, for what it is.