A colleague of ours passed his graphic work to us in PSD format, convinced that we had a copy of Photoshop with which we could open this type of file. Too bad that, given the very high license costs, we never got the Adobe program, so now we are unable to open the files generated with it. But we don't have to worry: luckily there are some programs and free apps with which we can open PSD files without Photoshop, so that we can view the graphic design and also apply the necessary changes (within certain limits, given that the format owner only works well with Photoshop). In addition to the free programs and apps we will show you, at the end of the guide, which sites we can use to convert the PSD file to another image file that can be managed with any photo editing program.
READ ALSO: Like Photoshop, but for free, here is Photopea
Programs to open PSD without Photoshop on PC and Mac
In this part of the guide we will show you the free programs that we can use to open Photoshop-generated files without owning it. The programs are compatible for both Windows and Mac, we will only have to download the right version based on our operating system.GIMP (Windows and Mac)
The first program we recommend trying with PSDs is definitely GIMP.
In order to take advantage of this powerful open source program, we download the installer for PC or the dmg file for Mac, then proceed with the installation as with any other program. After installation we search for GIMP from the Windows Start menu or from the Mac Launchpad, click on the top left on File -> Open and select the PSD file that we intend to open. GIMP will open the file maintaining consistency with the layers, texts and color points (essential to be able to faithfully reproduce the images and projects created with Photoshop).
If we want to save the file, we recommend creating a new file in another image format, so as to preserve the information stored in the PSD file; to do this, click on File at the top left, select the Export As item and choose, in the window that will open, the destination folder of the file, the name of the new file and its format (we recommend using BITMAP or PNG, the only ones who retain much of the additional information in PSD files).
IrfanView (Windows)
Another program that we can use to open PSD files without using Photoshop is IrfanView, available for free for Windows.
To open the PSD files, simply install the program (through the special installer, available in both 32-bit and 64-bit format), open it from the Windows Start menu and select the folder icon present at the top left ( Open ). Alternatively we can open the PSD files with IrfanView by going to the top of the File menu and selecting the Open item.
App to open PSD files on Android and iOS
If we have a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) and we want to view a PSD file, we won't even have to use third-party apps, since the Photoshop app is available for free!To be able to open PSD files, all we have to do is download the Adobe Photoshop Express app, available for Android and iOS.
Once installed on our phone or tablet, simply open it, click Open file and select the PSD file that may be saved on the internal memory (obtained via email attachment for example).
Convert PSD files online
If we need to make deep changes to the graphic design made in PSD or if we want to make it compatible with all photo editing programs, we can convert the PSD file using one of the following Internet sites. The conversion is totally free and will take very little time. If we wish to convert offline, we recommend using GIMP, as seen in the chapter dedicated to this program.Convert Documenti.it
The first site we recommend you to use is convert-documents.it, which has a page dedicated to the conversion of PSD files.
Once the site is open, all we have to do is click on the Select file button, load the PSD file to be converted and choose the destination format (basic is JPG), wait for the conversion and download of the converted file, which will take place in the manner of all automatic.
ILoveIMG
Another very convenient site for converting PSD files is ILoveIMG.
To carry out the conversion, simply click on the Select images button, indicate the file to be converted, choose the destination image format and finally carry out the conversion; the converted file will be downloaded through the browser. In addition to the files stored in the computer memory, we can also upload the PSD files stored on the cloud of Google Drive or Dropbox, using the small icons present next to the Select images button seen previously.
PSD Viewer.org
The last site we want to recommend for converting PSD files is PSD Viewer.org.
To load the file to be converted, click on the Choose file button, wait for the end of the upload, then choose the desired image format (among those listed) and click on the Convert button; the file will be downloaded automatically through your browser.
Conclusions
As we have seen, we can use two programs to open PSDs without Photoshop, while on the mobile side the problem does not exist since Photoshop is available for free for everyone.If we are looking for the best Photoshop alternatives, we recommend you read our guide to the best Photoshop alternative graphics programs, free . If, on the other hand, we are looking for online photo editing tools, without having to install anything on the PC, we recommend reading on our guide to Photoshop online and similar apps to retouch photos and edit images .
