What is a PSD file - how to open, use and convert

PSD files - how to open, edit and convert this format

PSD file is a document file Adobe photoshop. The best programs for opening and editing PSD files are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements

PSD file is used primarily in Adobe Photoshop as the default format for saving data. Files with this extension are called Adobe Photoshop document files and have their own format developed by Adobe.

While some PSD files contain only one image and nothing more, common use of a PSD file involves much more than just saving the image file. They support multiple images, objects, filters, text, and more, and also use layers, vector paths, shapes, and transparency.

For example, let's say you have five images in one PSD file, each on its own separate layer. Together, the images look like they are on the same flat image, but in reality they are movable and fully editable in their own layers - just as if you were working with separate images. You can open this PSD file as many times as you like and make changes to individual layers without affecting others.

PSD is also an acronym for other technology terms such as Personal Secure Disk, Programmable System Devices, Port Sharing Device, and packet switch design, but none of these are related to the Adobe Photoshop Document file format.

How to open a PSD file

The best programs for opening and editing PSD files are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Photoshop Elements, as well as CorelDRAW and Corel PaintShop Pro.

Other Adobe programs can also use PSD files like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. These programs are mainly used for video or audio editing, not as graphics editors such as Photoshop.

If you are looking for free a program to open PSD files, we recommend. It is an extremely popular and completely free photo editing / creation tool that opens PSD files and other file formats... You can also use GIMP to edit PSD files, but you may have problems recognizing complex layers and other advanced features that Photoshop may have used when creating the file.

Paint.NET(with the Paint.NET PSD plugin) is another free program such as GIMP, which can open PSD files. Other free photo editors also support opening PSD files, and some can also save in PSD format.

If you want to quickly open PSD file without Photoshop We highly recommend Photopea. This is a free online photo editor that runs in your browser and allows you to not only view all the PSD layers, but also perform some editing operations ... although it doesn't look like what Photoshop provides. You can also use Photopea to save files back to your computer in PSD format.

IrfanView, PSD Viewer, and Apple QuickTime Picture Viewer - part of the free QuickTime program - will also open PSD files, but you cannot use them to edit the PSD file. You also won't have any support for layers, because they just act. as a PSD viewer.

Apple Preview included with macOS should open PSD files by default.

How to convert a PSD file

The most common reason for converting a PSD file is probably because you cannot use it like a regular one, such as a file, BMP, or GIF. Thus, you can upload the image online (many sites do not accept PSD files) or send it via e-mail so that it can be opened on computers that don't use PSD editors.

If you have Photoshop on your computer, converting a PSD file to an image file format is easy: use the menu item File → Save as...

If you don't have Photoshop, one of quick ways convert PSD file to PNG, JPEG, SVG (vector), GIF or WEBP - via Filepea File → Export as option.

Most of the above programs that support editing or viewing PSD files can convert PSD to another format using a process similar to Photoshop and Photopea.

You should know that converting PSD file to regular image file flattens or merges all layers into one single layer file. This means that after converting the PSD file, it is not possible to convert it. back in the PSD to use layers again. You can avoid this by keeping the original .PSD file along with your converted versions.

More information on PSD files

PSD files have a maximum height and width of 30,000 pixels, and a maximum size of 2 GB.

A similar PSD format is PSB (Adobe Photoshop Large Document), which supports large images, up to 300,000 pixels, and file sizes up to 4 exabytes (4,000,000,000 GB).

Adobe has some more information about the PSD file format in the Adobe Photoshop File Format Specification document on their website.

Be aware that some file extensions are similar to .PSD but have nothing to do with this image format. WPS, XSD and PPS are just a few examples of this similarity. Double check the file extension to make sure it is a PSD file before concluding that you cannot open the file with PSD editing programs.

All programs in the collection are free. Of course, they cannot be compared with the functionality of Photoshop, but they will cope with simple tasks. At a minimum, you can just open a PSD file as an image, and some of these programs even open layers.

1. GIMP

  • Operating system: Windows, Mac and Linux.
  • Russian language: supported.

This is one of the most interesting free Photoshop counterparts. GIMP reads PSD files without installing additional plugins, so you can open the file in the same way as for regular images: File → Open.

The GIMP opens the layers of the PSD document for editing. But there are some underwater rocks: the program does not read all layers, some need to be rasterized. Also, the GIMP may not save changes to the PSD correctly. After that, the file may not open in Photoshop. The latter shouldn't bother you if you've opened the file for minor edits and saved the image as a JPEG.

  • Operating system: starting with Windows 7.
  • Russian language: supported.

Paint.NET is better standard Microsoft Paint, but as clear and easy to use as possible. If you don't know what to do with a file in GIMP, open Paint.NET.

The program reads the PSD, but only after installing the appropriate plugin. For this:

  • Download the plugin.
  • Extract the files from the downloaded archive.
  • Copy the PhotoShop.dll file.
  • Go to your Paint.NET installation folder (e.g. C: \ Program Files \ paint.net).
  • Paste the PhotoShop.dll file into the FileTypes folder.
  • Start Paint.NET.

  • Operating system: any, as the application opens in a browser.
  • Russian language: supported.

Photopea is an online service whose interface resembles Photoshop or GIMP. Its advantage is that you do not need to install anything. The program will open in a browser on any device. But online applications are often not as practical as the software they install. Photopea is no exception, but it allows you to work with layers in a PSD document.

  • Operating system: Windows (there is a version for Linux and macOS).
  • Russian language: supported only in Standard and Extended versions.

XnView is a kind of graphic organizer in which you can open and organize collections of images on your PC. XnView has primitive editing functions: you can change the color palette, add a filter or effect.

The program is unpopular, but in vain: it can open images in more than 500 formats and resave them in 70 more. So set it up as a primitive PSD editor or converter.

The basic version only supports English, French and German.

  • Operating system: Windows.
  • Russian language: supported.

IrfanView, like XnView, is designed to view and convert graphic files. But IrfanView supports fewer formats. The program opens the PSD as a picture. You cannot edit layers, but you can do a regular image. To get more processing options, the PSD file must first be converted to another format.

IrfanView is fast and lightweight (installation files are just over 3MB).

If none of the options work for you, you can convert PSD to JPG using Go2Convert or any other converter. You can also open the PSD as a picture in Google Drive.

You can fully work with PSD files only in Photoshop. But there are several free programs that can open PSD files and even layers.

All programs in the collection are free. Of course, they cannot be compared with the functionality of Photoshop, but they will cope with simple tasks.

At a minimum, you can just open a PSD file as an image, and some of these programs even open layers.

1. GIMP

  • Operating system: Windows, Mac and Linux.
  • Russian language: supported.

This is one of the most interesting free Photoshop counterparts. GIMP reads PSD files without installing additional plugins, so you can open the file in the same way as for regular images: File → Open.

The GIMP opens the layers of the PSD document for editing. But there are pitfalls here: the program does not read all layers, some need to be rasterized. Also, the GIMP may not save changes to the PSD correctly. After that, the file may not open in Photoshop. The latter shouldn't bother you if you've opened the file for minor edits and saved the image as a JPEG.

  • Operating system: starting with Windows 7.
  • Russian language: supported.

Paint.NET is better than the standard Microsoft Paint, but it is as clear and simple to use as possible. If you don't know what to do with a file in GIMP, open Paint.NET.

The program reads the PSD, but only after installing the appropriate plugin. For this:

  • Download the plugin.
  • Extract the files from the downloaded archive.
  • Copy the PhotoShop.dll file.
  • Go to your Paint.NET installation folder (e.g. C: \ Program Files \ paint.net).
  • Paste the PhotoShop.dll file into the FileTypes folder.
  • Start Paint.NET.

  • Operating system: any, as the application opens in a browser.
  • Russian language: supported.

Photopea is an online service whose interface resembles Photoshop or GIMP. Its advantage is that you do not need to install anything. The program will open in a browser on any device. But online applications are often not as practical as the software they install. Photopea is no exception, but it allows you to work with layers in a PSD document.

  • Operating system: Windows (there is a version for Linux and macOS).
  • Russian language: supported only in Standard and Extended versions.

XnView is a kind of graphic organizer in which you can open and organize collections of images on your PC. XnView has primitive editing functions: you can change the color palette, add a filter or effect.

The program is unpopular, but in vain: it can open images in more than 500 formats and resave them in 70 more. So set it up as a primitive PSD editor or converter.

The basic version only supports English, French and German.

  • Operating system: Windows.
  • Russian language: supported.

IrfanView, like XnView, is designed to view and convert graphic files. But IrfanView supports fewer formats. The program opens the PSD as a picture. You cannot edit layers, but you can do a regular image. To get more processing options, the PSD file must first be converted to another format.

IrfanView is fast and lightweight (installation files are just over 3MB).

If none of the options work for you, you can convert PSD to JPG using Go2Convert or any other converter. You can also open the PSD as a picture in Google Drive.

How to open a psd file, what is hidden behind this extension, and are there free programs to work with it?

The name Photoshop Document (PSD) means a file made in Photoshop. It differs from the more common graphic formats (jpeg, gif and png) by the following features:

  • contains a raster image consisting of multi-colored or transparent points (as opposed to a vector image, which is a series of geometric shapes);
  • uses quality-preserving compression and usually has a large file size;
  • stores in itself and allows you to edit separate layers with parts of the image or special effects;
  • supports fully and partially transparent areas;
  • may contain editable lettering in various fonts, geometric shapes and other editable vector elements.

Programs for viewing and editing psd files

A standard program for viewing images will most likely fail to open such a file; a specialized tool is required to view or change it. Several factors affect the choice of a graphic editor for psd files:

  • the need for serious professional work or light processing at an amateur level;
  • the operating system you have installed;
  • the ability to spend a certain amount on the purchase of software.

Let's consider the features of popular programs for working with * .psd, taking into account these nuances.

Adobe Photoshop is a professional photo editing environment

The famous editor for raster graphics supports Windows (including 7 and 8 versions), it works with OS X. This is a professional environment for processing photos and images created from scratch is equipped with the widest range of tools.


But you will have to pay for the functionality - the program is distributed by subscription, you can get only a trial version for free.

GIMP is a free and free graphic editor

GIMP works with all popular operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, Linux) and is only slightly inferior to its commercial counterpart. GIMP is good for home use: It has a set of basic functions for image processing and is compatible with formats and tools of other editors.

IrfanView - image viewer

If you just need to open the psd file or make small changes to it, use this simple image viewer instead of the heavy editors described above. IrfanView allows you to get basic information about files, display them in different modes and apply simple effects to them.

It runs on Windows and has free version for home use.


The PSD format is used in graphic design. It allows you to work with images using layers - add and remove various effects and filters, actually change the picture.

Picture 1. Appearance file shortcut with psd extension

You can open and edit objects of this type in different versions Photoshop and related programs. They are drafts and are needed for layer-by-layer image editing. They can be adapted into a more common form - jpeg, gif, png without preserving the native structure.

Let's look at the main ways to read this data.

Open psd file online

If you don't want to install a separate program- you can open the psd file online. To do this, you will need to go to one of the resources listed below.

    Online Photoshop... Features and tools are identical to a full-fledged Adobe product. The same hotkeys and layer support.

    Photopea... Allows you to view and carry out the simplest actions on the document, shows its structure. The toolbox is limited (Figure 2).

    Zamzar... It works on the principle of a converter, after downloading and converting the image to another format, you can view the result.

    Rollapp... The free period is 14 days. In the pop-up windows, you can choose one of the reading applications. First, you need to upload the data to the dropbox and connect the cloud to the resource.

    Various viewers, including DocsPal Viewer... A simple viewer with no editing capabilities.

    Dropbox... A well-known cloud storage that opens the extension after downloading. Yandex Disk and Google Disk are also suitable for viewing.


Figure 2. Visual interface of the Photopea application for working with psd files

How to open a psd file on a computer

Alternatively, there are free tools that can open and modify the content of an object in their native environment. In addition to Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements, and Adobe InDesign for Windows, these are:

    Corel PaintShop Pro X, Corel Painter (Figure 3);


Figure 3. Example of open psd files in Corel PaintShop Pro X

    ACD Systems ACDSee, ACD Systems Canvas;

    Apple QuickTime Player;

    MAGIX Xara Designer Pro;

    FastPictureViewer Professional.

Step-by-step instruction

Let's take a look at how to open a psd file on a computer.

    If you have installed special program, then find the required element and click "open", or double-click on it with the mouse.

    In the open editor window, select "file" then "open". Enter the name of the required document.

    If it is not displayed, configure the option to display all views by going to the "file type" pop-up menu. Click open again.

    You may have a dialog box offering a choice of format-related options.

    If a warning about a color profile pops up - mark which one you will use as a workspace - an embedded or converted document color, or an existing profile needs to be reversed.

How to open file psd mac

There are several options for answering which program to open the psd file on Mac OS.

    Adobe Applications - Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements, InDesign CS, Illustrator CS.

    Converters like Snap Converter and other viewers.

    Non-specialized software - Corel Painter, Apple Preview.

Instructions

Use all the same command as for Windows OS.

    Click "file" then "open".

    Select the name of the document.

    If it is not visible, adjust the display settings.

    In the pop-up menu, specify enable or "allow".

    Click the open button again.

    If a pop-up window appears, select the options you need.

How to open file psd linux

On Linux, you can use the same tools as on Windows, from under Wine, or go the easy way - install GIMP. It opens psd, although it may distort their original appearance.

The hard way, for advanced users, is to install a special package in Debian or Ubuntu for reading this format directly into the GTK library. Then it will be possible to view the information with any utility for viewing pictures.
Instruction.

The good thing about GIMP is that it doesn't need any special plugins to read the content (Figure 4).


Figure 4. Interface GIMP programs for working with psd files

Opening instructions are similar to working with ordinary images. You need to go to the command - File → Open.

An important point - the editor does not read all layers, some of them need to be rasterized. In addition, the changes may not be saved correctly and then they will not open in

Photoshop. But this is not a problem if minor edits were made to save the image as JPEG.

How to open a psd file in Photoshop

There are several ways how to open a psd file in Photoshop.

    Use the options "recent documents" and "open".

    Run the program, select "file" from the menu, press "open".

    View through Adobe Bridge or Adobe Lightroom.

    Import a picture if it is not displayed in the dialog box by installing a special plug-in for this.

How to open a psd file without photoshop

Note:Photoshop is a universal tool for working with graphics, but its licensed version is distributed exclusively for a fee.

In order to view the data in the extension created by this program, you can use its free counterparts.

Let's look at some examples of how to open a psd file without Photoshop.

    Professional free analogue of the editor;

    Paint.Net - standard graphics editor which is found on almost any PC;

    pixlr.com is an internet resource for online graphics editing.

Programs to open psd file without photoshop

There are many alternative software out there that support the most current image viewing and editing extensions. And the original type is no exception to them.

The gimp

Note: The most popular free psd file opener.

She has an open source, in terms of its functionality, it is closest to the Adobe product. It is more difficult to learn than regular editors and takes time to learn.

It supports the installation of various extensions, but this requires a separate plugin. The data can be viewed immediately after installation on a PC.

PSD Viewer

An easy way to view the contents of a psd. The viewer is limited in functionality, but it is designed directly for opening Adobe Photoshop documents and has a simple interface.

In it, you can not only view the image, but also do some operations with it, for example, convert to another view, change the height and width, scale, rotate, and so on. The extensions JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF and TIFF are offered for saving.

Paint.NET

The tested option is to install Paint.NET. He has a wide range of tools, although this is not always enough for him to fully work with Photoshop data (Figure 5).


Figure 5. The main home screen of the paint.net application

Here you need a special plugin - Paint.NET PSD. Download the add-on to your PC and copy "PhotoShop.dll" to the "FileTypes" folder from the program directory.

Program for psd files: free download

You can download the program for opening psd files on our website or at SourceForge.org or choose one of the ones offered on our website.