The madness of file size, PhotoShop question

Factual Questions
1

I’m using Adobe PhotoShop 5.0 LE on a PC.

I have an image open, and let’s say I’ve just tweaked it and saved. I want to know what it’s saved file size is on my hard disk. Maddeningly, there seems no easy way to discover this from the edit window!

I have to go File > Open and locate the correct directory and file name, then toggle from ‘List’ to 'Details, then drag the colum separator across so I can read the ‘Size’ and ‘Type’ info, and then I can see the file’s size e.g. 49 kb.

Doing this once is okay, but it’s an operation I sometimes need to repeat many times, and it gets to be a major hassle! Is there a quicker way?

Image > Image Size doesn’t work, it doesn’t tell me file size.

The help text says I can put my cursor over the black triangle at the bottom of the Image Window, hold down the mouse button, and read off the ‘Document Size’. Except that this seems to pertain to something else (?) entirely. It reads ‘384k’ when the File Size (verified as above and through Explorer) is actually 49kb.

So I’m stuck. I need a quick way to read the saved file size when I’m editing and re-sizing lots of images. Please help if you can.

2

The feature ‘Save for the web’ began with v 5.5. It addresses everything you need.

I don’t know the best way with versions prior to that but I’m sure it’s every bit as ugly as you’ve suggested. Sorry.

3

> The help text says I can put my cursor over the black triangle at the bottom of
> the Image Window, hold down the mouse button, and read off the ‘Document Size’.
> Except that this seems to pertain to something else (?) entirely. It reads ‘384k’
> when the File Size (verified as above and through Explorer) is actually 49kb.

I’ll have to check to verify, as I’m pulling this out of my hat, but I believe that the ‘Document Size’ value you refer to is uncompressed size in resident memory. In other words, it consists of your original file (49k), but UNCOMPRESSED for editing, plus any layers, masks, changes (stored undo information), and whatnot. Most of these things will not be stored in your final, unlayered, and compressed finished file (PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIF, BMP, whatever).

PSDs, of course, save a lot of this stuff on disk (layers, vector text, masks, layer effects, and so on), are not compressed, and are therefore a much larger filesize.

> So I’m stuck. I need a quick way to read the saved file size when I’m editing and
> re-sizing lots of images. Please help if you can.

In addition to Photoshop, I just keep an extra Explorer / Finder window open, displaying the contents of my saved files. That way, I can simply un-minimize the window and view the contents in real time as I work, when I need.

BTW, Photoshop 7 / Photoshop Elements is a worthwhile upgrade. :slight_smile: As London_Calling stated, ‘Save for Web’ is right up your alley!

4

I use PS all the time, and AFAIK, the only way is to have the file’s directory open all the time, and check its size using Windows.

I second that you should get the upgrade. With later versions you just hit CTRL-SHIFT-ALT-S, and instantly you get a JPG or GIF save dialog, with compression options, actual file size, and loads of other good stuff. Text handling is streets ahead of your current version, and it also comes with ImageReady, which is essentially “Photoshop for the web”, allowing you to automatically generate HTML for complex sliced images, and animate GIFs on the fly (of course you might not be working with web stuff, but if you are, it’s invaluable).

5

Sounds hideous all right. If I go to File > Open, my dialog opens to the last place I navigated to (no fishing around for the correct directory); the last file I opened within that folder will already be highlighted; I get information on the file and up pops a window describing it (including size on disk). (Thank you Default Folder!)

OK, you can’t use Default Folder since you are on a PC, but you can at least use FileBox Extender. A “recently been there” list of folders within your Open/Save dialog boxes (no fishing around…), option to always display Details view (as it should be), and on a PC you can right-click a file and get Properties on it anyhow, yes?

Check it out, O User of Microsoft Operating Systems. Try TUCOWS. You don’t HAVE to put up with lousy Open/Save dialog box characteristics! (and MacOS X users, stuck with the worst of the three, should grab Default Folder X posthaste for similar reasons. ).

6

You are making this sound very complicated when it is not. Just keep a separate window of Windows Explorer oen in the folder you are saving to and you can save and see the size. If you do not like it you can save again and overwrite the file and the new size will show. But let’s not have this nonsense of “I have to laboriously find the file name and then expend great effort in moving my eyeballs to the right and then peform a mathematical calculation to convert Kilobytes to megaparsecs, etc.” Do you need power steering in your mouse too?