To identify files by operating systems, as well as their owners, the most commonly used concept is the extension. It is always displayed after the name and is represented as several characters separated by a dot. For example: "answer.txt", as already seen from the name, is a kind of text file. Therefore, it should be opened using the appropriate editor.
Paying attention to the extension again, the user will understand that this file is encoded in the most universal and at the same time simple format - txt. The latter greatly expands the list of available editors in which you can work with the information contained in this file.
In addition, the extension allows the operating system itself to quickly understand exactly how and with which application it is better to open the specified file. And this, in turn, speeds up the work - the user is offered an already prepared list of available programs.
PSD extension
There are many types of file extensions that can be divided into several categories depending on the content. These are images, text, media files, tables and charts, and other types of information. Among the images, the expansion of psd raster graphics gained particular popularity. It has a complex structure and support for image layers, masks, adjustment layers, etc. Such a file, like any other, has a “native” program in which it was created. It’s best to review and make changes using it.
How to open a PSD?
Despite its high popularity, this format can cause difficulties for novice PC users. This problem is mainly due to the fact that people do not know how to open psd so that it displays correctly. It is even more difficult to solve this issue when you need to not only view the file, but also make changes to it. In any case, you will first need to find out with what program the image was created.
Here it’s enough to enter a name in any search engine to get an answer: Adobe Photoshop, one of the most popular graphic editors at present, is used. And only it allows you to fully edit such files. Much easier is the case if you need only one eye to look at the contents. Here there is the opportunity to use third-party programs. About them and will be discussed below.
How to open psd if there is no Photoshop?
PSD Viewer
If you want to familiarize yourself with the contents of an unfamiliar file, but you don’t have the right Photoshop at hand, then you can use the services of this small utility. It is distributed completely free of charge, and finding a program on the Internet will not be difficult. You can recommend PSD Viewer to anyone who does not want to install Photoshop, but wants the computer to recognize and easily open files with the psd extension. The only drawback of the utility is that it does not allow editing the contents.
Nevertheless, PSD Viewer supports some basic features, such as image rotation, reduction or enlargement of its size without loss of quality, as well as conversion to other, simpler formats. You should be careful with the latter, since all masks and layers are lost, merging into a single image, which can no longer be edited in the same way, even if you acquired by that time the "native" editor of Adobe Photoshop.
Paint.net
An alternative answer to the question of how to open psd may seem even simpler. For lack of other options it is recommended to use the good old Paint. The undoubted advantage of the program is that it is also a graphical editor, which means that it allows you to make changes to the image. True, in order to fully work with raster graphics, you will have to download and connect a special module that slightly expands the capabilities of this application. It is called "PSD Plugin." After downloading the module, you will need to unzip it to the Paint folder called “File Types”.