Retrieving Lost Photoshop File

[Geobop]

I have a couple Photoshop files that are pretty big, so big that they force me to close a few programs. (I'm on a Mac.)

Photoshop is often stalled, so I have to force close it. The problem is that when I reopen Photoshop, I get a blank slate, whereas it used to reopen with the files I was working on when I force closed it.

Even worse, when I choose "Open Recent Files," I don't the files I was working on last listed. Nor have I been able to track down the file I was working on in my folders.

So my first question is this: If you force close Photoshop, can it delete files you're working on? Second, why does Photoshop no longer open with the files I was last working on?

Thanks.

[Geobop]

I just found my "missing" file. But I'm still interested in knowing why it didn't appear in "Open Recent Files" - and why all the tabs I had open are gone when I restart Photoshop.

[Test Screen Name]

Recent files lists may be updated only on a normal close. Having to force close is a big disaster; sugges you focus on fixing this rather than accepting it as normal.

[Barbara Ash · Accepted solution]

There was a problem with some recent files not showing, but that should have been fixed in one of the updates. Make sure you are using the most current version of Photoshop.

In Preferences you can turn on 'Automatically Save Recovery Information' so that if Photoshop crashes you can recover work.

[D Fosse]

I absolutely agree with that.

Photoshop is often stalled, so I have to force close it. The problem is that when I reopen Photoshop

It's the other way round - the latter is not the problem here; the former most certainly is.

Nor have I been able to track down the file I was working on in my folders.

The very expression "track down" sounds like a problem in itself here. If you don't know exactly where your files are, and have to rely on "recent files" to find them, you should really start organizing your work in a logical folder tree.

The "fishtank" principle is fairly popular in the Lightroom crowd, but that only works because they have other reliable tools to organize, like keywords and collections. Even then it's advised to have a folder structure to fall back on.