What is C:\Documents and settings\username\application data\Adobe\FileBrowser\PhotoshopCS ??
This folder is now over a gigabyte in size on my OS drive.
1) can I simply delete it and if I do what won’t photoshop do? 2) can I move it to another drive? If so, how to tell photoshop where it is now? 3) can I simply delete the largest files to free some space? 4) what is this folder for and why is it in my OS drive?
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Just move it temporarily, then see if you have any thumbs remaining in your Browser. I don’t think you can move it, but you can export the cache for individual folders to those folders. However, I think there may be a gotcha somewhere in that process so I defer to anyone who knows more about it.
Puring the entire cache in the file browser will clear the file (and then rebuild for the current directory).
1) Yes, and it’ll rebuild when you open the FB 2) Not easily, it goes in your user directory 3) sure, and then the FB will have to rebuild the cache for that folder 4) File Browser cache, and because your user directory is on the OS drive
Chris, thanks for the reply. I understand a bit more. But of course, I now have follow-up questions.
Before I knew about this folder, I erroneously thought that all of the FB cache was stored in the the directory where the images were stored. When I "export cache", PS creates 3 files and stores these in the directory where the images are located. But there are also what look to be similar files in the user directory as well. Are they duplicate files with different names?
When I am done with my images in my specific image folder, I can simply delete the folder where my images are stored. I may archive them to DVD or whatever, but once I’m done with them, I do not want their remnants hanging around in my system drive. So how do the corresponding FB files in my user directory get deleted. What it appears is happing is that over time, my user directory has grown to be quite large due to these FB files, most of which I do not need anymore as they refer to folders that are no longer in my active portfolio of images.
I’m not sure of the technical reasons why storing the data associated with a specific image folder is kept on my user data, but it would seem to me to be more appropriate to store this data in my folder where the images are stored. This way, I can properly do disk management on my own. When one reads the PS CS requirements, it lists 280 MB or hard disk space needed. Well, clearly 280 is way too low to run the application over time. I think of the minimum disk space requirement as the necessary space for the program to work for files that I have no control over creating. The FB files in my user directory are automatically created by the application and therefore should be considered in the mini mun disk requirements. I am now over 1.5 GB of hard disk space (280MB + 1.2GB for FB files) required to run the application and this continues to grow. What don’t I understand about the file browser and its files that would convince me that the method of storing large files (some as large as 65MB) in my user directory without the ability to change it within the application preferences is a good design?
I can change scratch disks, why can’t I change where these files are stored?
Why can’t these files be stored where the images are stored so that file management is straightforward?
You might find helpful Ian Lyons’ several responses in the June 9 thread "Purging Cache". Although the cache will rebuild after purging it, data will be added during the rebuild only for folders you activate. Those not used won’t inflate the cache. Purging is about the only way to control the cahe size. Not an ideal solution but better than nothing.
there are some good questions in there. as to why the data’s stored in user’s directory, that’s where the ms spec says it has to go. but the stuff about files no longer residing on the original drive and garbage cleanup is totally relevant.
Why not keep in the approprite files directory (similar to thumbs.db (is this a similar os cache file? Have had it crop up when trying to burn cd’s), this way FB cache would be avilible to other users – if they have acess to that directory, then I see no reason for them not to have acess to the browser cache. Also this way the browser cache would be archived with a directory, negating the need to rebuild the cache (can often take a while with large directorys of images) if you access that directory off cd or copy back onto the system.
Just thoughts – no claim to a great deal of knowledge in these topics so there could be good reasons not to I guess…
If you’re comfortable "playing around" in the Windows Registry, which is generally discouraged, you might try editing the AppData variable found at [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Explorer\Shell Folders]
If you pointed that to another drive location, perhaps that is all that would be necessary to redirect all of your Application Data entries to the other drive, inclusive of the File Browser cache. That’s just a guess on my part however, and I didn’t care to explore it since there are so many applications that use that path. I’m not even certain that the key I provided is the correct one, but I think it is, given that it is in the Windows key area. A safer alternative to tweaking the registry directly would be to download X-Setup from <http://www.x-setup.net> and use it to change the Program Data location found under the System/File Systems/Folders/Data/General Folders #1 entry.
Again, I don’t necessarily recommend trying this unless you feel brave enough to potentially cause some real problems. At the very least, set a system restore point before making such a change (and be aware that if you return to the prior system state, a reactivation of PS CS will likely be required).
When I checked that file, I found it to be 227M, not 1.+G, even though I have some files larger than Morrell’s. I don’t know that the cache size is directly related to the file size.
What I did find facinating is that there are files in there I never put in PSCS, like the images for Atomic Clock Sync (8 bytes, 3 files!) It appears that every image, icon or related visual that has an extension which PS can open is in that file! Since PS can open a pdf, are all pdf’s also cached there?
when you use explorer and view as thumb nail, the thumb nail db is stored in the actual folder.
ah, but explorer IS the os, not an app. I haven’t read that part of the actual spec, I’m going off what chris said. But I know from experience that MS’s os’es are full of "do as I say, not as I do" gotchas.
Thanks for the replies all. I’d like to hear more from Chris on if it would be possible to change the design in the next release of PS. When I looked at PS7’s folder, it had much less girth to it. PS 7 always opened FB faster for me too. I checked my laptop and it had over a gig worth of files in its FB folder too. I shoot 1000 to 2000 images a month open them in the FB. This would account for my FB folder being larger than others who do not go through as many images. For now, I’ve copied the files to another disk and PS CS opens OK. If I need to I can put them back but for now I’ve recovered some needed space on my OS partition. If I had known that PS needed this directory to store image information for the file browser and that the file sizes can be substantial, I would have allowed for more than 10GB on my OS partition! In keeping my documents and anything I created off of my system disk, I never thought that I’d would need more than 10GB. Now I know better. I’ve got about 1.5TB on this system and in hindsight, should have not skimped on my OS size.
If I had known that PS needed this directory to store image information for the file browser and that the file sizes can be substantial, I would have allowed for more than 10GB on my OS partition!
No kidding.
Fact that Adobe needs to kiss MS a** (to get that XP compliant status for PS CS) and force FB cache DEFAULT directory onto C drive I can understand. Why that CANT be user selectable I dont.
I too thought that 9-10GB for OS (and all crap that needs to go there) should be more than plenty until I saw CS File Browser cache growth potential. I had to re configure my OS drive when CS FB cache got into GB territory (with many more image files to follow).
how did you know that the CS FB Cache was stored there?
I didnt.
When I started wholesale caching of my image files, which is the only way to effectively use CS File Browser IMO, I noticed my OS partition free space shrinking rapidly. I started searching for FB cache folder and found it.
Needless to say I was disappointed to learn later that this is fixed directory.
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