How to open .PSD files (Photoshop documents) on Android, Windows and Linux

A designer sends you poster_final.psd to check, or you’ve downloaded a template, and you don’t have Photoshop. On a phone there’s usually nothing at all that will show it; on a computer the file may just sit there with a generic icon.

Folders opens PSD files on Android, Windows and Linux and shows the finished, flattened picture, so you can check a design, share it or make a PNG or JPG from it, without Photoshop and for free. It doesn’t edit layers; the editors that do are listed below.

What is a .PSD file?

PSD stands for Photoshop Document, the native file format of Adobe Photoshop. Where a JPG or PNG holds one finished picture, a PSD keeps the whole working document so the designer can carry on later:

• Layers, with their order, opacity and blending modes.
• Masks, adjustment layers (curves, levels and the like applied on top) and layer effects such as shadows, strokes and glows.
• Text layers that stay editable, as long as the fonts are installed.
• Smart objects: embedded images or other documents that can be swapped or resized without loss.
• Channels, paths, guides and colour profiles, in RGB, CMYK and other colour modes, at 8, 16 or 32 bits per channel.

A PSD can be up to 30,000 pixels on each side and 2 GB in size. Bigger documents use PSB, Photoshop’s large document format.

Alongside the layers, Photoshop normally stores a merged image: a flattened copy of the whole design as it looked when saved. That copy is what most other programs show, and whether it’s stored properly depends on Photoshop’s Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility setting.

How to open a .PSD file with Folders

Android

1. Install Folders from the download page and allow access to files.
2. Find the PSD: email attachments and downloads go to Download; files from cloud storage apps are wherever you saved them.
3. Tap it. Large PSDs take a moment to decode. If the file is in your email or a chat app, use Open with → Folders.

Windows and Linux

1. Open Folders, go to the PSD and double-click it.
2. On Windows, right-click a PSD in File Explorer and choose Open with → Folders; the installer adds it to that menu.

What you can do with a PSD in Folders

• See the finished design. Folders decodes the PSD itself and shows its merged image, the whole picture with every layer combined. Zoom in to check details, and step through a folder of PSDs with swipes or the arrow keys.
• Check Details, Share the file, or Open with another app to pass it to an editor.
• Make PNG or JPG copies on Windows and Linux. Select one or many PSDs and choose Convert to ▸ PNG for a lossless copy, or JPEG for a small one to send round for approval. WebP, AVIF, HEIC, TIFF, BMP, GIF, ICO and TGA are on the same menu, and Resize… makes smaller previews. The PSD itself isn’t changed.

What Folders doesn’t do: show or hide individual layers, edit text, or save back to PSD. It’s a viewer for the finished result.

Other ways to open .PSD files

• Adobe Photoshop, the program that makes them (paid).
• Photopea, a free editor that runs in a web browser and opens PSDs with their layers.
• GIMP (free, Windows and Linux) opens the layers, with limited support for adjustment layers, smart objects and effects.
• Krita (free) also opens layered PSDs, with similar limits.

Problems opening a .PSD file?

It shows white, blank or a message instead of the design. The PSD was saved with Maximize compatibility turned off, so it has no real merged image, and viewers that rely on it, Folders included, have nothing to show. Ask the sender to re-save with the option on, or open it in Photopea or GIMP, which rebuild the picture from the layers.

Colours look different from Photoshop. CMYK documents and files with unusual colour profiles can look duller or shifted outside Photoshop. For screen use, ask for an RGB export.

It’s a .psb. That’s Photoshop’s large document format, not a PSD, and Folders only opens .psd. Use Photoshop or Photopea.

It’s very slow or won’t open on a phone. Huge PSDs, hundreds of megabytes with many layers, need a lot of memory to decode. Try a computer, or ask for a flattened PNG or JPG.

Questions people ask

Can I open a PSD file without Photoshop? Yes. Folders shows the finished image for free on Android, Windows and Linux; Photopea, GIMP and Krita let you work with the layers.

Can I open a .PSD file on Android? Yes, to view it. Folders decodes PSD on the phone itself, with no upload and no account.

How do I convert PSD to PNG? On Windows or Linux, select the PSD in Folders and choose Convert to ▸ PNG. You get the flattened image; the layers stay in the original PSD.

PSD vs PSB: what’s the difference? Same idea, different limits. PSD stops at 30,000 pixels a side and 2 GB, while PSB goes far beyond that for huge posters and panoramas.

Other design files, such as Illustrator’s, show their saved preview in Folders: see the AI guide. For layered paintings from Krita, read the KRA guide, or browse all 382 file types Folders opens.