How to open (edit) a PSD file without Photoshop. How to Open a PSD File Without Photoshop
PSD format graphic files for maximum compression without memory loss. It was created specifically for Adobe programs Photoshop.
This format delivers not only images, but also graphic layers, text, masks and other information from Photoshop. He supports monochrome pictures and color systems RGB And CMYK.
These pictures can be opened in several ways. The most common applications are the ones listed below.
We use Adobe Photoshop
This is a full-fledged multifunctional graphics editor developed by Adobe System. This application is designed for professional processing images and creation of graphic files. An indispensable assistant in web design and creating layouts and sketches.
To get started with PSD in Adobe Photoshop need to run the program, then click " File" in the upper right corner. 
Next " Open». 
Then find document and press Enter or " Open" If there are several pictures, then highlight right click: 
This method of working with documents is only suitable for licensed version editor, the cost of which is high. If it is not possible to purchase a license, you can use other photo editors or convert the necessary images.
Paint.NET + PSD Plugin Application 
Most simple photo editing software developed by the .NET Framework company. Runs on Windows OS. For working with graphic images, the software's capabilities are minimal. In addition you can install PSD Plugin, for processing documents of this format.
GIMP Editor 
Free analogue of Adobe Photoshop. Possesses open source source data. This allows the user to make changes to documents. An excellent service for creating website templates, posters and photo collages. User-friendly interface, which everyone can understand.
Using InfanView 
Program for viewing graphic files, audio recordings and video files on the computer. Can view with high quality any digital image. Works with Windows and ReactOS. Works with many formats, including Photoshop images. Distributed on the Internet for free.
Open with Go2convert 
Free service for converting documents. It works with images formats PSD, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WMF, TIFF, TGA. The file transformer does not have separate program, which can be downloaded. You can only use its services online.
Personally, we love the PSD file format used in Adobe Photoshop. This best way save everything that happens in graphic editor at a specific point in time, so you can safely set aside your work and come back to it later or make some changes to already completed files without having to start the whole process all over again.
However, many people, including graphic artists, are unwilling or simply not ready to spend money on this expensive graphics editor.
If your friend sends you important files in PSD format or you just downloaded them from the Internet, then you may have a real problem opening them, especially if you don't have your own copy of Adobe Photoshop.
Fortunately, there are several free tools, which allow you to bypass the artificial limitation and work with this type of file. These are free, capable of viewing and editing PSD files in a familiar editing environment.
Paint.NET + PSD Plugin
Paint.NET is simple, free editor images. It's certainly not Photoshop, but it's still very useful and has a ton of image editing tools. However, you may have noticed that it lacks the ability to work with PSD files. This is where a special .NET PSD can come to our aid.
After downloading, copy the “PhotoShop.dll” file to the “FileTypes” folder, which is located in the Paint.NET directory and the next time you use the *.PSD format, the Paint.NET program will open it like any other file.
GIMP
GIMP is a free image editor with open source source code. They say that it comes closest to Photoshop in terms of functionality. It is more difficult to learn than Paint.NET and requires a longer learning curve to get it working.
Like Paint.NET, GIMP supports installing extensions. However, to read the PSD format, you do not need to install a plugin. GIMP supports PSD by default, and you can view files right after installing the editor.
IrfanView
If you only need Photoshop PSD, then there is no need to install a full-fledged image editor. Instead, take a closer look at IrfanView.
You may have heard about IrfanView before or even used it.
Sure, the program's interface may look like a relic of a bygone era, but as an image viewer it's certainly not outdated.
It is incredibly compact and universal utility, which, as a rule, can with an image of any format. The same is true for PSD files, which IrfanView opens by default.
Go2convert
If you just accidentally found a PSD file in your folders that you need to open, but you don’t have any of the above-listed viewers at hand, then you can use online service Go2convert, which offers to convert Photoshop PSD files on the fly.
To get started, simply upload the PSD file to the site (no registration required). Then choose one format from the incredible number presented on the resource. Click Cover Now. Thus, you will give green the beginning of an operation on a file.
For your convenience, an archive will be created that will contain all the individual layers and one combined image.
Images in PSD format have already gained considerable popularity. However, it is not surprising, because this extension is used in the well-known graphics editor Photoshop. But even despite this, many users still do not know how to open PSD file, if it suddenly gets onto their computer.
In fact, there are many options for working with “Photoshop” images, and this article will list the most popular of them. So, you will learn what a PSD file is, what program to open PSD, and what to do if desired application not at hand.
Format Description
The acronym PSD is short for Photoshop Document. This raster format, in which it is stored graphic information. In this case, to create such files it is used special technology, allowing you to compress them without losing quality.
The advantages of the format include the ability to work with layers, set transparency, add various vector graphic elements and much more. In addition, using the same Photoshop, you can easily convert PSD into almost any popular extension.
As for the disadvantages, the only thing that can be mentioned here is the large file size. However, considering the amount of available space on hard drives modern computers, this is not a serious problem.
Adobe Photoshop
The first and most obvious option for how to open a PSD file on your computer is to use Adobe Photoshop. Only Photoshop will allow you to take full advantage of all the tools provided for image editing.
Once you install the app, it automatically associates itself with all PSD files. Simply put, you can open them by double click mouse, which adds ease of use.
The disadvantage of Photoshop is that the program is distributed on a paid basis. Here it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth shelling out a round sum or looking for alternative options, which, by the way, will be discussed below.
GIMP
If you're wondering how to open a PSD file without Photoshop, then you should definitely pay attention to the GIMP program. The application has almost all the same tools as its more famous counterpart, but is free. It is not surprising that many experienced users They consider this program to be the main competitor of Photoshop.
In GIMP, you can work with existing layers of a PSD image and overlay new ones, adjust colors, use masks, apply all kinds of drawing tools, and so on. The developers, in turn, regularly release updates for their brainchild, so that the range of functions available in the program is constantly increasing.
Artweaver
Artweaver is another option for opening a PSD file. The program, again, is distributed free of charge, so even if you don't like it, you won't lose anything from it.
The application does not claim laurels professional editor images, but all the important tools are present. Layers, brushes, including those created by you personally, color correction function - all this is already in the basic version of Artweaver. Moreover, the program supports plugins, so you can customize it for yourself if necessary.
Paint.NET
It's likely that you're already familiar with Paint.NET, but you didn't even know about it. hidden possibilities. So, the application is quite capable of working with the PSD format, but to gain access to this function, you will need to perform some simple manipulations:
- Find and download a plugin called PSD Plugin for Paint.NET.
- Unzip the PhotoShop.dll file and copy it to the File Types folder located in the Paint.NET directory.
You will need to wait for some time before opening the PSD file. If done correctly, Paint.NET will automatically detect the plugin and be able to read the PSD format.
IrfanView
The IrfanView program can only open a PSD file, which, of course, is inferior to the applications listed earlier. Essentially the utility will do you if you just want to view the image rather than edit it.
The advantages of the program include its small size, high speed work, as well as compatibility with all popular operating systems. At the same time, IrfanView is free application, anyone can try it.
Online editors
If you still haven’t decided which program to open the PSD file, you can even use one of the online editors. For example, you can upload an image to PhotoPea and then start editing it. At the same time, you will have access to many useful features, including the same layers, visual effects, brushes and so on.
Another useful service, which works on the same principle as PhotoPea, is called Pixlr Editor. Its advantages include a simple, unloaded interface, as well as support for the Russian language, which is not so common in online editors.
Which of these two services to choose is up to you. PhotoPea has more tools, while Pixlr Editor is much easier to learn. However, no one is stopping you from trying out both of these editors, and only then making your choice.
Conversion
And finally, you don’t have to bother at all and convert PSD to any format convenient for you. The Go2convert service, which works online, is perfect for this.
Just go to the converter's website, specify the path to the PSD file, select the format you need (you can also specify the quality) and click the Convert Now button. After that, wait just a minute, and then download the edited image to your computer (Download button).
Please note that the file will automatically be archived, so you will need to extract it before viewing it.
PSD extension- the default format used to save data in Adobe Photoshop. The abbreviation in the name is deciphered accordingly - PhotoShop Document.
Although some PSD files contain only one image, the purpose of creating them is not just to store photos. The PSD extension supports storing multiple images, objects, filters, text, etc., as well as using layers and vector tracks.
How to open a .PSD file
The best programs for opening and editing PSD files are Adobe Photoshop And Adobe Photoshop Elements. Popular alternatives to the standard are CorelDRAW And Corel's PaintShop Pro.
Other programs from Adobe Systems can also use PSD files, such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. However, these applications are mainly used for editing video or audio, not image files like Photoshop.
Other ways to open .PSD files
For those looking for a free program to open PSD files, it is recommended to install GIMP. This is very popular and completely free tool to edit/create images which will also open PSD files. You can also use GIMP to edit PSD files, but you may encounter problems because the program does not recognize the complex layers and other advanced features that were used in Photoshop when creating the file.
Paint.NET(with Paint.NET PSD plugin) - another one free program, which can open PSD files. If you need to quickly open a PSD file without Photoshop, we recommend using Photoopa Photo Editor is a free online photo editor that works in the browser and allows you not only to see all the layers of the PSD, but also to perform basic editing, although up to Photoshop capabilities he is far away. You can also use Photopea to save PSD files on your computer.
In order to identify files in different operating systems, as well as so that users can distinguish different types files, the concept of file extension is applied. For example, you came across a psd file. How to open such a file? You can guess the contents of such a file, but where should you start looking for a utility that will allow you to work with the contents of such a file? Where to start? You always need to start with the file extension - it can be seen at the very end of the name, it is separated from the name by a dot.
In Windows OS, for this you also need to make sure that the option “hide extensions for known file types” is not set in the folder properties.
For example, the file “logo.psd” is some kind of graphic image(with a high degree of probability, raster), accordingly, and look for how to open such a file based on this data. Thus, by paying attention to what extension the file is saved in, you can narrow down the search area for programs that can be used to open this file and work with the contents stored in it.
For the same operating system the extension acts as a pointer to which program should be used to open a file of this type (information about all known file types is stored in system registry as file associations). This greatly speeds up the user's work - there is no need to specify which program to use every time you open a file.
PSD file format
As you probably already know, depending on the content, all files can be divided into categories of different sizes, depending on the frequency of use. For example, text documents, images, audio, video, image files, archives, binary files, executable files and libraries, etc. Some of these formats contain content that is not intended for direct editing, while others include content that is popular among raster graphics PSD, allows through special programs edit content. PSD files have a complex structure that includes image layers, masks, transparency, effects, etc. And, as you probably already guessed, such a complex format must have a program for the purpose of which it was created. When using such a utility, the likelihood of errors will be minimal, and there will be no problems with compatibility and editing of such files. After all, this is precisely why “native” programs are best suited for closed formats in terms of functionality and absence of problems. For this case such a utility is . But before we move on to choosing which program will be better to open the psd file if you don’t want to use professional (and paid) software, let’s consider the pros and cons that you will encounter when working with the PSD format.
What are the benefits of the PSD format?
- Ability to work with layers and layer folders;
- Supports transparency and translucency;
- Allows you to store vector elements and Photoshop layer styles;
- Using RLE compression, you can significantly compress an image without noticeable loss quality;
Disadvantages of PSD extension
- When saved, it takes up quite a large amount of space disk space(which today, taking into account the prices of drives, is not such a big drawback);
- Format specifications are closed - why full support This format cannot be implemented by third-party software manufacturers (including free ones). Accordingly, it is possible to fully work with this format only with the help of the “official” Adobe utilities Photoshop, which costs significantly more to license than is worth spending for home use.
And taking into account the fact that the program has a free competitor - Gimp, which provides wide functionality for working with vector graphics, Photoshop is not used in many organizations.
What program should I use to open PSD?
Since the format is intended primarily for use with professional design software, it is open to regular user may pose another problem. Often people have no idea how to open a psd file in order to display it correctly in viewing mode. Even more confusing is the task when you need to make any changes to the psd file. If display accuracy and the ability to make changes are important to you, you need to use paid Adobe Photoshop.
However, in most cases, you only need to view the contents of such a file (or maybe save any layers stored in the psd file as JPG or PNG in order to work with them in the future with any free editor). Other programs are perfect for these purposes, which we will consider below.
How to open PSD without using Photoshop?
The Gimp
Although the PSD file itself may not be displayed correctly when opened (the layers are often shifted relative to each other), Gimp allows you to view files of this format and, if desired, you can save the necessary layers in any other open format to continue working with them. However, you can try to make changes using this utility.
PSD Viewer
Indispensable for the case when you just need to look at the contents of the desired PSD file, but you don’t want to install professional or semi-professional editing software. Free. However, it cannot act as a psd file editor. However, a number of functions will be available in viewing mode - you can rotate the image, scale it, convert it to other formats. Thus, PSD Viewer is the most suitable option for viewing PSD files.
Please note that when PSD is converted to other formats, all layers will be combined into one, and it will no longer be possible to cancel such a conversion in the resulting file.
Paint.NET
Another option is which program to open the psd file. Since it is a graphics editor, it will be able to make changes to such files. However for full-fledged work You will have to additionally download and connect the application extension module. This plugin is called “PSD Plugin”.
So, today we looked at the main scenarios for working with PSD files - what programs to use if you need to view files of this extension, as well as edit and convert.