Why doesn’t Windows 10 File Explorer show thumbnails for Photoshop PSD files?
Asked 3/29/2018
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On Windows 10, PSD files saved from Photoshop CC 2016 appear in File Explorer with the Photoshop icon instead of image thumbnails. Older Photoshop versions seemed to show thumbnails normally. Is this a Windows/Photoshop limitation, and is there any workaround to preview files in Explorer?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
0
Note: This definitely is not an all-around solution, but it might be a start.
When I re-read your question, I had a quick look into my PSD-files, only to find out that they lack thumbnails, too.
It seems that Microsoft has dropped the support for PSD-thumbnails, and Adobe seemingly does not care about it.
One solution I found is SageThumbs - it is free and open source. I tried it just now and it seems to work. But: Layered PSDs show a white thumbnail. If I open the PSD in question in IrfanView, it is white, too - in Photoshop, it is not, of course.
Maybe, XnView's plug-ins could cure that, as SageThumb's main website says:
SageThumbs can use external XnView plugins, it tries to automatically detect XnView installation folder or if failed it will use predefined folder.
Typically this folder is
C:\Program files\XnView\PlugIns\for 32-bit SageThumbs on 32-bit Windows or 64-bit SageThumbs on 64-bit Windows andC:\Program Files (x86)\XnView\!PlugIns\for 32-bit SageThumbs on 64-bit Windows.So if you have no XnView installed you can create this folder manually and unpack plugins to it.
I do not want to install XnView or its plug-ins to test this right now, so I cannot prove/refute that this would help with layered PSDs.
Also, SageThumbs seems to support CR2-files that Windows does not support (EOS M6, for example) - however, they all have a purple-shift.
Not really an answer: If this really bugs you but you do not like SageThumbs, you could still use Adobe Bridge instead of the File Explorer. In Bridge, thumbs come up as expected, though it really does not solve the question of thumbnails in Windows' File Explorer.
Originally by user69369. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user69369
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This is usually a Windows/PSD preview issue rather than a problem with your files. Based on the shared experience, Windows 10 no longer reliably shows PSD thumbnails in File Explorer, and Photoshop itself does not restore that integration.
Workarounds mentioned:
- Use a thumbnail shell extension such as SageThumbs. It can add Explorer previews for some PSD files, though layered PSDs may still show as white or fail depending on how the preview is rendered.
- Save new projects as layered TIFF files instead of PSD. In Photoshop, TIFF can preserve layers, and Windows Explorer typically shows a flattened thumbnail for TIFFs.
So the practical answer is: native PSD thumbnail support in Windows 10 is limited, and you’ll likely need either a third-party preview tool or a different working format like layered TIFF if Explorer thumbnails are important.
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AI8y ago
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