PDF FILES IN PHOTOSHOP

[oliviajaxson]

I need help!!

To preface my question ....I am an illustrator.   I've been at it a many years now.  Licensed with a large card company. I design prints, cards, etc.... but I have no formal training.. Tutors have helped me along the way transition from pen and ink to my PC computer.  From day one my first tutor put me in photoshop (instead of illustrator??  hindsight - oops!)   So I've used photoshop software ever since.  She also told me to save everything in PDF form.  (I now have thousands of images in PDF form, so changing them to something else is too time consuming at this point.) 

Nine or ten years ago I bought a new 64 bit Dell.  I liked working on my old Dell PC so I stuck with it.  But, suddenly with my new Dell, PDF files that we transferred were not showing up as images when I opened a folder.  Instead I had rows and rows of the PDF icons. ( I am not referring to the task of clicking on a PDF file to work on. That clicked image will show up in photoshop. No problem. I'm talking about having my settings on extra large so I could see multiple images at one time on my screen. I need to see them because many of my images are quite similar, and I need to see them side by side on my screen before I click on one to work with in photoshop.)  I could only see PDF across and down.  This became a huge issue!

I found out from Adobe that the photoshop software, unlike the Mac, was not compatible with PCs at that time as far as viewing my PDF images when I clicked on a folder as it did before on my old Dell.  What to do???  So my tutor found a software that someone created called "64 bit fix". She researched it, we tried it and it did exactly what I needed it to do.  No problem seeing images when I open a file.  

Whew... 

Now, today,  I need a new computer. Mine has had it.  I tried the Mac.  I don't like workiing in photoshop with the Mac for various reasons.  I want to purchase a new Dell but I need to know if the issue I speak of has been fixed between Adobe and PCs.   I would be very hesitant to risk using the software"64bit fix" on a new Dell that is 10 years newer, unless someone else had tried it recently. 

I spoke to an Adobe rep on the phone earlier today and he said he was "pretty 100% sure" it would work.  That was not a definitve enough answer for me, so I decided to reach out to this community for some answers. Will PDF files open as images when I click on a folder in photoshop as it does no a Mac, or does it still just open as PDF icons across the screen?  And if so, has anyone used the 64 bit fix software recently on a PC?  Again, I am not good at tech knowhow.  Any help would be appreciated.  

Thanks much for your help.  

[Nancy OShea]

I don't know what 64-bit fix is.  Never heard of it 'till now. 

You can change file associations any time from your operating system's settings.   I prefer to associate PDF files with Acrobat Pro DC, not Photoshop.  So that is my default PDF app.   

But to answer your question, you can definitely open PDF files directly from within Photoshop by going to File > Open.... Or use Adobe Bridge to view folders of files and right-click to open them in Photoshop.   No special add-ons needed.

You can also change your computer settings to associate PDF with Photoshop if that makes you happy.  It's not complicated to do on Win10.  

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-change-file-associations-in-windows-2624477