How to open a psd file, what is 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:
A standard image viewer will most likely not be able to open such a file; a specialized tool will be required to view or modify it. The choice of a graphic editor for psd files is influenced by several factors at once:
Consider the features of popular programs for working with *.psd, taking into account these nuances.
The famous raster graphics editor supports Windows (including 7 and 8 versions), it also works with OS X. This professional environment for processing photos and images created from scratch is equipped with the widest toolkit. 
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 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 image processing features and is compatible with other editors' formats and tools. 
If you just need to open a psd file or make small changes to it, use this simple image viewer instead of the heavyweight 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.
What if you need to open a PSD standard file, and Photoshop program you just don't have it installed? Let's look at seven ways to do this.
The problem is that the PSD format is not open, as is the case with PNG, JPG or BMP. It was developed by Adobe as an image editing project. Once you open such a file, you can always continue editing from where you left off earlier. However, if you do not want to pay for a subscription to Adobe applications, then you have to look for an alternative. In terms of functionality, free analogues will be noticeably inferior to the Photoshop monster, moreover, some will only be able to open the PSD file for viewing. However, this is often enough.
First free app worth a try for Opening PSD file, this is GIMP. And not only because the rich functionality of this graphic editor is close to Photoshop and even can, but rather due to its availability on all platforms, be it Windows, Mac or Linux. Once familiarized with the application, you can then use it on other devices.
To open a PSD file in GIMP application no additional plugins or extensions needed. Just use the menu "File - Open", select the PSD file and click "Open".
The project will open not just as a static picture. The available layers will be displayed, on which you can perform certain operations. However, it should be remembered that when making changes and then saving the file, in the future it may have problems opening in native Photoshop. So you can work with the file, but you shouldn't make edits for a designer who uses software from Adobe in this way.
Free graphics editor Gimp, if desired, can be very similar to Photoshop and even inherit its hotcases.
A much more advanced graphics editor than the standard Microsoft Paint, and at the same time not as intimidating with an abundance of functionality as GIMP or Photoshop. Simple and functional.
However, to open PSD files for the Paint.NET application, you will need to install a special plugin. Download the contents of the plugin, open the archive and copy the PhotoShop.dll library to the directory with established editor(most often this is C:/Program Files/paint.net), and more specifically in the FileTypes subdirectory. After that, launch the application itself.
If you did everything right, then PSD files should open smoothly in Paint.NET. Like GIMP, the layers of the project will be displayed, but Paint.NET does not support all the features of Photoshop, so some layers may not be available or even give errors when opening the file.
If you have not heard about Photopea before, then the project will be a pleasant discovery for you. Not the most famous online editor, of course, is inferior in functionality to Photoshop and GIMP, but it is difficult to expect something similar from browser-based editors. Nevertheless, Photopea is really worthy of attention.
When you open the site of an online editor, it’s not even immediately believed that this is not separate application. There is a familiar menu through which you can open files from your computer. Therefore, click "File - Open" and specify the path to the PSD file.
Photopea successfully works with individual layers, which is very cool for an online editor. Thus, it becomes possible to edit PSD files wherever you are - from any computer.
The free image organizer allows you to view and organize your images in various ways. It can also be used for basic editing - applying filters, effects, changing the position of the picture, and so on.
XnView is able to work with over 500 formats and export to 70 different formats. Therefore, the application will be useful not only for viewing images, but also for converting them.
During installation, the application will offer three options - minimal, standard and advanced. At the same time, the minimum is quite enough to open PSD files, so there is no need to litter the disk with an extended version. And yes, none additional extensions and plugins also do not need to be installed.
After buying a new computer or laptop, the question invariably arises of what programs to install on it in the first place.
Another image browser that also works as a converter. IrfanView does not support this a large number formats like XnView, but works with the most common ones. Isn't that what we were aiming for?
IrfanView easily opens PSD files. Yes, he cannot edit them, but converting them to another format is easy.
This application is convenient to use as the default photo browser. Most likely, he will never disappoint you, unlike standard application Windows. IrfanView does not take up much space and is not demanding on resources.
A bit weird to use cloud service from Google as a file browser, but it is quite capable of opening a wide variety of formats. In particular, you can see the contents of the PSD file uploaded to the online Disk.
The latter method will not allow you to open or even edit the PSD file, but it can easily convert given format to a more common one. If you just want PNG or JPG output, then you don't need to install any application.
Just visit the Go2Convert website, upload your PSD project and select the format you want the image to be in. You can also resize it and give it some extra compression. Simple and clear. Nothing extra.
Many specialized programs use their own formats for working with data, in particular, the most famous are Microsoft Office and graphic editors from Adobe. Today we will talk about how to open the files created in them, namely, what programs exist for PSD Viewer-files without having to install Photoshop.
A free application that can open PSD files for viewing, as well as resave them in free formats such as JPEG and PNG. Available basic operations with images: rotate, scale and change quality (optimization), etc.
Download program
An excellent image viewer and cataloger that understands almost all graphic files, including all common formats. In addition to the ability to view PSD, it is worth noting here the ability to view RAW images taken on SLR cameras. The Russian interface and extensive editing options make this program just a great free alternative to commercial counterparts.
Download Link
This graphic editor is mainly used Linux users, being for them a great alternative to Photoshop. It is possible to work with layers, image correction and many other gadgets. And, of course, the ability to view PSD files.
Another viewer that can work with a large number of graphic formats, including PSD. You can read more about the capabilities of the program, there is also a download link.
You can find quite a few PSD viewers and we have listed only a few of them. In fact, free alternatives commercial software is more than enough.
STDU Explorer- free program, focused on viewing e-books and graphics. Allows you to view PSD files from Adobe software Photoshop. In addition to viewing, STDU Explorer will help you manage a large collection of electronic documents in a convenient way. The program interface supports Russian.
The most important option of the program is that the program shows thumbnails DjVu files, PSD, EBUB, PDF, etc. as images, not as labels as the standard windows explorer, as well as an enlarged image of the same files in the preview area.
This is what a folder with PSD, EBUB and PDF files looks like in standard Windows Explorer:
Folder with PSD, EBUB and PDF files, files displayed as icons.
And here is how the same files look in STDU Explorer. Please note that the file is displayed on the left in the preview window. reflection in glasses.psd(I used this file in the tutorial "Replacing the Reflection in Sunglasses with Your Own ".
Thumbnails of files in the form of pictures. PSDs show all visible layers, EBUB and PDFs show header pages.
In the left window of the interface, not only a preview of a file can be shown, but also a folder tree or the contents of a file:
The figure shows an active file e-book EBUB format. In the right window there is a preview with a picture of the title page, in the left window - the table of contents of the book.
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 the very least, you can just open a PSD file as an image, and some of these programs even open layers.
This is one of the most interesting free alternatives to Photoshop. GIMP reads PSD files without installing additional plugins, so you can open the file the same way you open a regular image: File → Open.
GIMP opens the layers of the PSD document for editing. But there are some pitfalls here: the program does not read all layers, some need to be rasterized. Also, GIMP may not correctly save changes to the PSD. After that, the file may not open in Photoshop. The latter should not bother you if you opened the file for minor edits and saved the picture as a JPEG.
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:
Photopea is an online service that has an interface similar to Photoshop or GIMP. Its advantage is that you don't need to install anything. The program will open in a browser on any device. But online apps are often not as practical as installable programs. Photopea is no exception, but it allows you to work with layers in a PSD document.
XnView is a kind of graphical organizer in which you can open and organize collections of images on your PC. XnView has primitive editing functions: you can change color palette, add a filter or effect.
The program is unpopular, but in vain: it is able to open images in more than 500 formats and resave them in another 70. So install it as a primitive editor for PSD or converter.
The basic version only supports English, French and German.
IrfanView, like XnView, is designed to view and convert graphic files. But IrfanView supports fewer formats. The program opens the PSD as an image. Layers cannot be edited, but a regular image can. To get more processing options, the PSD file must first be converted to another format.
IrfanView is fast and lightweight ( setup files occupy a little more than 3 MB).
If none of the options suits you, you can convert PSD to JPG using Go2Convert or any other converter. You can also open the PSD as an image in Google Drive.
