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Inspiring
December 23, 2008

P: No image preview on Open dialog box on Windows

  • December 23, 2008
  • 485 replies
  • 33842 views

The preview window in the "Open" dialog box on Windows is gone in Photoshop. So if I click on a PSD file (once) to preview it, there isn't one. I have to completely open the file or go digging for it in Bridge. This is a very fundamental feature that needs to return, especially for those of us that have hundreds of files to dig through. PLEASE fix this.

485 replies

Inspiring
September 28, 2020

How do I get a directory in windows 10 to show the image in the thumbnail of PSD files instead of the PS logo

Inspiring
September 20, 2020

I could do this in CS2 but can't in the new version after what I paid for the suite? Why? I have a lot of older files that aren't labeled well. Not having this feature is wasting so much time.

Inspiring
January 10, 2020
Not sure why you felt the need to defend the removal of a very useful aspect of the old program... it is not a bug, but it is a step backwards and STILL needs to be fixed 8 years later! 😞
Participating Frequently
July 12, 2018

Ok so I have been battling this problem for a while now, and yes I am aware that MS for what ever reason does not support (natively anyways) of having adobe products having thumbnails. But I've been happily using Mystic Thumbs for several years with no issue, how ever in the last 6 months or more, .psd thumbs no longer seem to work, that is a thumb of the project I'm working on within the psd, not a program icon. So I tried Sage thumbs with similar problems though this time it was .ai files. I tried in vain once to get an answer as to why MS doesn't support adobe programs natively to no avail they said to ask adobe who intern said to as MS, so that was a circular problem never going to be answered to anyone satisfaction. I read somewhere a while back that MS asked adobe not to support thumbnails on MS platform, why I have no idea but there you have it. I have been trouble shooting this problem to no avail for a long time, and short of switching to a Mac (which in all honesty I really would rather not for one small all be it an annoying issue) I can't seem to find a solution. Has anyone else come across such a problem and figured it out. I have tried all the most common problem solving issues I can find in regards to 3rd party software to no avail.

July 12, 2018

Hi

You haven't mentioned what version of Windows you're on but if it's Windows 10, check in settings to make sure .psd files are set to Photoshop

Participating Frequently
July 12, 2018

Sorry windows 10, It was not set to photoshop but had no impact on allowing mystic thumbs to create thumbnails for any psd files.

Inspiring
October 28, 2017

Photoshop has been around for a long, long time. Still, after all these years, a user cannot get a display of existing psd files in a directory. Why?

Having the ability to see what you're opening is a valuable thing. Sometimes, the name alone is insufficient.

And get this. I know a program that can view psd files and it can even make a slide show out of them.  If this program can view thumbnails, then why doesn't photoshop allow this?

MAKE IT HAPPEN!  There SHOULD be a way to view your existing psd files so that you're sure to open the correct one. That's just plain common sense. 

gener7
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 28, 2017
Livingston1030
Participant
November 16, 2017

Sagethumbs worked with psd's for years for me. But when Adobe updated pshop about a week ago, Sagethumbs no longer works :/

Is there a fix for this?

Participant
September 24, 2017

In my windows explorer, I can't view the thumbnails for PSD files. I used view option but nothing happened. So how can I view the thumbnails?@

JJMack
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 24, 2017

You need to install a package like FastPictureViewer Codec one you windows system Microsoft code does not do display thumbnails for RAW and PSD files.  Some Addone will generatle them in File explorer and window's file dialogs.

JJMack
Inspiring
October 3, 2017

Why should I have to pay for 3rd party software to view the thumbnail view while I am in the native PhotoShop App, trying to open a .PSD file?  Seems kinda of stupid, since I already pay for the app annually.

alan.a.mick
Participant
June 19, 2017

My photoshop files (PSD) do not show an image preview / thumbnail in Windows File Explorer, as do JPG and other image files. I see an option when saving to save a thumbnail, but this does not show up in Windows File Explorer. (Windows 10, Surface Studio)

How do I get PSD image thumbnails / previews for Windows Explorer?

mysticcoder
Participating Frequently
August 18, 2017

Alternatively, you can go the whole way and try MysticThumbs.

Not just PSD, not just RAW, and not just more, but 70 - yes that's right, 70 (currently) file formats, plus a QuickView pressing the space bar like Mac does, plus customisations to appearances which include transparency checker-boarding, sizing and a whole lot more. It costs a little more but is a very powerful tool for artists. It has a 14 day trial period.

Participant
July 17, 2018

Seems the obvious fix is to have a codec installed when Photoshop is installed that can handle Adobe file formats, etc. This is something you should not need a 3rd party solution for...

Legend
May 8, 2017

When is it going to happen? Don't say it's a Microsoft issue either. FastPictureViewer can do it just fine for $15. Why can't you? Other apps do it for free! What's stopping you exactly?

Every other app out there can generate thumbnails in Explorer, including 3D apps like Cinema 4D. What's holding Photoshop up for so long? What special draconian measures have Microsoft taken to specifically deny PSD thumbnails from soiling their OS, and no other app?

Acrobat DC does it out of the box now:

Where is that option for Creative Cloud that says: Enable thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer for all CC apps? When is it going to come?

When is Photoshop going to do it? If I sound frustrated, it's because I am. It's been years now of this nonsense. Using Bridge is not an acceptable alternative. I have no use for that bloatware. Don't say submit a feature request either. That's been done multiple times with no result.

There is no excuse any more. Just get it done for heaven's sake!

JJMack
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 8, 2017

So use Acrobat DC if you do not want to use other codec packages.  Adobe removed that type of support from Photoshop years ago when Adobe started to use Operating system File System Dialog s  not Adobe's own dialog s by default.    Windows does not display thumbnails for all image file type.   I forget what version of Photoshop had that support. You would not want to use it if it could still be installed.

JJMack
brian704
Inspiring
May 8, 2017

Or just use Bridge when you want to look through psd files

Participant
July 6, 2016

Hi,

for once Google can't help me 100%.

I'd really like to see .psd (and other adobe files) as thumbnails previews directly in Windows 10, so I don't need to open Bridge or Photoshop itself to browse my pictures.

As far as I can understand, there's no way to do this in Windows itself and you need to install some thirdparty software.

Does anybody know

1) a workaround to make Windows 10 show a preview psd thumbnail

2) or know a SAFE (no malware, virus) extension to use so thumbnails are shown directly in Windows?

Thank you.

JJMack
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 6, 2016

Install FastPictureViewer Codec Package it cost around $15.

JJMack
Participant
October 21, 2016

Hi there,

does anybody know how to get the PSD-icon back on my fastpictureviewer-thumbnail?

InD/AI are shown with the pecular icon on it. so i can distinguish the jpgs from the original InD/Ai-file.

Doesn't work anymore with PSDs... what makes it complicated, as i always need to look up which file is which format.

annoying!

The file in the "blue box" should be tagged as PS, but is not < _<

Thanks for any help

Merken

ssprengel
Inspiring
April 17, 2016

I use the Fast Picture Viewer codec pack for Windows that is able to show embedded previews from various documents, including Photoshop, and it works in the PS  File / Open dialog.  I've used it since XP and it is still working with Windows 10:

http://www.fastpictureviewer.com/codecs/

You don't need the viewer, just the codec pack, for $10-$15.