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How Do I Empty My Scratch Disk Without Opening Photoshop Mac?

Last updated on September 23, 2022 @ 9:30 pm

When you’re working with Photoshop, you may have noticed that there’s a Scratch Disk option in the Preferences menu. This is where Photoshop stores information that it needs to access quickly while you’re working.

Over time, the Scratch Disk can fill up and slow down your Photoshop performance. So, how do you empty the Scratch Disk without opening Photoshop?

The first thing you need to do is to quit Photoshop if it’s open. Then, open the Finder and go to the Applications folder.

From here, locate and open the Utilities folder. Inside the Utilities folder, you will find the Activity Monitor application.

Launch Activity Monitor and select the Memory tab at the top of the window. You should see a list of all the applications that are currently running on your computer, including Photoshop. Select Photoshop from the list and click on the Quit Process button at the top of the window.

PRO TIP: If you are considering emptying your scratch disk without opening Photoshop, be aware that this could lead to data loss. Photoshop uses the scratch disk to store temporary files, and if these files are deleted, Photoshop may not be able to recover them.

Now that Photoshop is no longer running, you can safely delete its Scratch Disk files. To do this, open a new Finder window and go to your home folder. Inside your home folder, there is a hidden folder called Library.

To show hidden folders in Finder, simply press Command+Shift+Dot (.). This will reveal all of the hidden folders on your computer, including Library.

Open Library and then open the Preferences folder inside it. Locate and delete the com.adobe.Photoshop CS6 Settings.psd file.

With this file deleted, Photoshop will create a new Scratch Disk file next time you launch it.

Conclusion: How Do I Empty My Scratch Disk Without Opening Photoshop Mac?

To empty your scratch disk without opening Photoshop, simply quit Photoshop if it’s open, launch Activity Monitor, select Photoshop from the list of running applications, and click on the Quit Process button. Then, open a new Finder window, go to your home folder, press Command+Shift+Dot (.), locate and delete com.psd file from inside the Preferences folder.

Drew Clemente

Drew Clemente

Devops & Sysadmin engineer. I basically build infrastructure online.