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Comparing The Palette UI In Photoshop CS3 vs. CS4

Earlier this month John Nack from Adobe described some interface changes in the works for the next version of Photoshop, most likely called CS4. (There has been some chatter about whether CS4 is the real name or not, but for the sake of this entry, we’ll call it CS4). Nack’s blog is fantastic if you’re interested in future versions of Adobe products and this entry was no exception.

Recently a full-sized screenshot of a new Photoshop CS4 interface hit the tubes and it sparked some nice debate about where the interface for Photoshop was heading. Here’s a link to the large-sized screenshot referenced in a recent Mac Rumors article.

There are many things to notice in this screenshot:

1. Single window interface. John Nack has said this is an application Preference and you don’t have to use the new look.
2. Multi-image view with tabbing. This is fantastic.
3. Non-destructive image rotation. Not on a pixel level but on a document level, pretty cool.
4. Cleaner palette design.

The 4th item on the list is what intrigued me the most because there are some serious improvements happening here. I’ve put together a screenshot comparing the CS4 palette design with the current CS3 design:

You’ll notice that the sub-palette tabs are much larger and clickable in CS4 which really is a big deal when you’re in Photoshop all day long, switching views around. They’re closer to the Safari-style tabs that Mac users are used to which is a plus, mainly as it makes the app look more Mac-like. The previous tabs were tiny and had far less padding around the tab title than the CS4 tabs have, which increases the height and the scanability if you’re searching for a palette on a screen full of windows. Also, the inactive palettes have tabs that blend into the bar more than on CS3 and this is a big improvement.

Adobe engineers are really paying great attention to detail in CS4 and it’s exciting to see how things are progressing. I’m really looking forward to the next version of Creative Suite, more-so than the CS2 to CS3 transition.