Viewing PSD Images in MS Windows Expolorer or My Pictures

[John_VanKirk]

Have used Photoshop Elements 2 for a couple of years and was always able to see PSD images as thumbnail images in MS Windows Explorer or as thumbnails in My Pictures. Uninstalled PE-2 and Cleanly Installed a full version of PhotoShop Elements 3 and am Not able to see the same PSD images in the MS Windows Explorer or as thumbnails in their subfolders. Those PSD files are seen with the PhotoShop Elements-3 placeholder Icon rather than a thumbnail.

There is no mention of a change in the book.

Is there a config setting change to make PSD files visable in Windows Explorer or My Pictures, or has Adobe programmed it this way? The PSD file images are visable as thumbnails in the PE-3 File Browser built in the program as they should be.

I have the Edit\Preferences\Saving Files setting of Maximize PSD compatibility to 'Always'.

Appreciate someone taking a look in their Win-XP Windows Expolorer or My Pictures, and suggestions.

[MikeH]

John

This happens with me as well... Actually I have noticed something else, when I select File > Open or File > Save As from within PE3, the PSD images are also just placeholder icons... :shock:

I'm trying to find out what is causing this to happen - surely it's not supposed to be like this...

Mike

[MikeH]

John

I found your previous post:

Hi Ray,
Appreciate your response. My configuration preferences are set to maximize PSD files. I see that PhotoShop CS does not show PSD files in Windows Explorer because Adobe set it up that way. They did not include the PSicon.dll file in the program and it is not in PhotoShop Elements 3 either, so I suspect it is not a supported method.

Double click on My Documents\My pictures, and see in the thumbnail view if you see actual thumbnail images of PSD layered files, just like you see JPG's or GIF's, or just a place holding icon. PSD's are rendered perfectly in PE-3's file browser, just not in Windows Explorer the way they used to be in PhotoShop Elements 2.
Appreciate other people also trying the same thing and posting their findings.
John

Does this explain the problem?

Also, I am trying to find a post with a viewer used by others called "View" something or something "View" - Wendy / Jodi / Grant ?

Mike

[MikeH]

OK... I found it "Ifranview" - although PSD is listed as supported file type to read, PSD images still only appear as icons in that program as well. :?

Mike

[Grant]

Mike

Ifranview is very popular loved by many. I have tried this program and if I wasn't using ACDSee then I may have considered it.

Grant

[MikeH]

Grant,

Oh thanks for intervening - I was beginning to get a complex answering my own posts (quick get the Anthony Robbins book :D ).

This is bugging me though, why can't you view PSD thumbnails in anything other than Photo Browser?

Mike

[Grant]

This is bugging me though, why can't you view PSD thumbnails in anything other than Photo Browser?

Mike

Probably because it is an above proprietary file.

Grant

[Jodi Frye]

I don't know but I can get the psd thumbnail view outside of browser...in My pictures etc...

But then, I have more than pe3 installed;
Beta pe3
ps6
ps7
pe1

[MikeH]

Jodi,

My friend has PS6 and can see PSD thumbnails in My Pictures. Guess the older post I found may be right - that a dll file in other versions of PS is not included in PE3.

Mike

[Jodi Frye]

hmmmmm, I think you may be on to something inspector ;)

[Matt K]

I too used to be able to see thumbnails in MS Explorer. It seemed to change when Adobe released a version of Photoshop with the File Browser. Could be they're trying to move people toward using that to view their files instead of MS Explorer. Just a guess...

[John_VanKirk]

Matt,

Sounds like Adobe left out the dll to display PSD files in MS windows explorer and 'My Pictures' in PE-3. I had used PE-2 for the last year, and was able to see PSD files as thumbnails in 'explorer' and 'My Pictures'. I completely Uninstalled PE-2 before installing the full version of PE-3, and the only other Adobe program installed is the 'Reader'.

Know anyone who has only PhotoShop CS installed? It was mentioned that the same behavior is seen with the latest PhotoShop version.

It may be that because guys keep older versions of the same program installed that they may not be seeing all the changes or limitations, of the most recent version.

John Van Kirk

[Wendy]

Its an interesting point about people having older versions on their computers ... as a lot of us certainly do have more than one. In fact I don't think I know anyone who only has the one version :)

If John hadn't said he unistalled PSE2 prior to installing PSE3 I would have wondered if it was to do with the uninstall of PSE2. Certainly uninstalling PSE2 after installing PSE3 has removed various bit .... but this doesn't seem to be the case here.

It is interesting


Wendy

[Wendy]

I have just done a seach in the Photoshop (Windows) forum and found that this is mentioned many times.

The missing file is psicon.dll and there seems to be a workaround available for CS ... don't know if it would work in Element.


Wendy

[Chuck S.]

I have 3 versions of that file lurking on my system: one from Photoshop LE, which came with my original camera way back in 2002; one associated with Photoshop Elements 2; and one in a folder called common files\adobe\shell, but that one is older than the Elements 2 file.

[Wendy]

Chuck,

One of the references I came across said that they took it out because "it caused problems" ....

No mention on the Mac forum about any change to the icons ... so it looks like it may just be a windows thing.

Wendy

[Jodi Frye]

kind of weird actually, my current beta version did not have this problem...tho i do remember a build or two along the way that only showed the pe3 icon instead of the thumbnail...and this was with all other adobe programs installed.

I did finally get my actual 'shelf box version' in the mail today from Adobe. I guess I'll see what I get after I install it tomorrow.

[John_VanKirk]

I uninstalled completely, including registry entries, all of PE-2, and PhotoShop Allbum 1.0, before cleanly installing the full version of PhotoShop Elements 3. I do not have a copy of PSicon.dll on my computer so it must have been removed with the PE-2 Uninstall.

As Wendy said, if you uninstall an older version after installing a more recent version of a program, you run the risk of removing shared files that cripple the latest application program, and in many cases, force you to uninstall and re-install the latest version again. Some Installer programs will remove the older version of an app, others may ask, or not do anything.

Just adding a copy of PSicon.dll should not cause PSD thumbnails to show up in MS windows explorer without an exe program to address that function, but it will be interesting to hear others' ideas.

John VK

[Jodi Frye]

well apon closer inspection of my box version of pe3 that I finally received from Adobe today I see the words;

MACINTOSH version in upper left hand corner. I use Windoze.

My luck really needs to get better.


:roll:

[Chuck S.]

Jodi, it's an omen.....you're supposed to become a Mac person!

:lol:

Chuck

[Wendy]

Jodi,

Does this mean that both you and Chuck are joining us? :) ? :)

Wendy

[Jodi Frye]

Wendy, Chuck, when pigs fly.

For what i need/want from a Mac machine i'd have to start doing porn films or something as lucrative just to pay for it.

Chuck, what do ya say ? :lol:

[Grant]

Wendy, Chuck, when pigs fly.

For what i need/want from a Mac machine i'd have to start doing porn films or something as lucrative just to pay for it.

Oh my ... are you holding auditions? Do you have a casting couch? :oops:

Grant

[Jodi Frye]

Grant, i'm sorry, did you want to join in ?

note to self; don't post about porn ;)