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mike331570516n2t
Participant
February 20, 2026
Answered

Unable to save a flattened psd as a bmp. Why?

  • February 20, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 67 views

I have a small, 128 Pixel, Square image (PSD) that will not save as a BMP file.  The image has been flattened.  RGB, 8  bits/channel, and the only channels besides those are a solitary Alpha channel which is necessary for the image to display correctly in the application that I plan to use it in..

 

I’ve been working on similar projects since PS2, and have never had an issue. I’ve googled all the Help articles, and checked to see that nothing has changed.  The worrisome issue is that I build these images off of one ”Base” file, changing the portions of the image that need to be changed and saving the PSD file.  Some of these images will save as a BMP, while others will not.  When attempting to save the  BMP, the save box comes up, I select BMP files, click Save, and nothing happens… no dialog box asking whether I want 24 or 32 bit, etc

 

I’m not changing anything in the file structure in between.  The changes are basically a “redesigned” image and a new title. 

 

I just opened a psd and saved it as a bmp with no issue.  Then, I deleted two layers from the psd and copied two layers from the file that I’m having issues saving.  Save as bmp… nothing happens.  Same background, same Alpha channel as the other, but it will NOT save.

I’ve tried workarounds, like saving as a jpg and png, then trying to save as bmp, but it won’t happen.

 

Does anyone have a clue?

    Correct answer mike331570516n2t

    Thanks, Jane...  yes, I had tried save as a copy, too.  I think I tried everything imaginable.

    I suspect it might have had something to do with one of the layers.  Not knowing how PS works behind the scenes, I tried saving in multiple formats and the trying to convert to bmp.  Nothing worked.

     

    I had saved all of the channels from the psd file and wound up rebuilding the image from a new, clean image.  It saved right away.  I'm guessing something got corrupted in the first file as I've not had any problems since.  Strange, however, that it saved in other formats with no issues.

    Thanks for replying

    2 replies

    M
    mike331570516n2tAuthorCorrect answer
    Participant
    February 23, 2026

    Thanks, Jane...  yes, I had tried save as a copy, too.  I think I tried everything imaginable.

    I suspect it might have had something to do with one of the layers.  Not knowing how PS works behind the scenes, I tried saving in multiple formats and the trying to convert to bmp.  Nothing worked.

     

    I had saved all of the channels from the psd file and wound up rebuilding the image from a new, clean image.  It saved right away.  I'm guessing something got corrupted in the first file as I've not had any problems since.  Strange, however, that it saved in other formats with no issues.

    Thanks for replying

    jane-e
    Community Expert
    jane-eCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 24, 2026

    ​@mike331570516n2t 

    Thank you for posting your solution, Mike, as it will be helpful to those who search. I’ve marked your answer Correct.

    Jane

    jane-e
    Community Expert
    jane-eCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 20, 2026

    ​@mike331570516n2t 

     

    If you are using Save As, then try Save As Copy.

    If that works, you can change it in Preferences > File Handling.

     

    Jane

     

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