Large Photoshop files with lots of layers can take a *long* time to save -- I've had files that take over half an hour to save. This can be a real pain when you want to make intermediate saves of your work as it brings your work to a standstill or, even worse, you don't save your work and you risk losing it. There is a way to get Photoshop to save files quicker though.

When you save a file in Photoshop, it preview of the layered image and an icon for use on desktops. As it turns out, for very large files, creating these images takes the bulk of the time used during a save. While these are useful things to have in your final saved file, they are not needed for intermediate saves. So if you are working with large, multi-layered files, go to your preferences and that control the building of preview elements and turn them all off. You can then save your work fairly quickly as you are working on it. When you are ready to save the final version, turn the preview elements back on, and make one final save.