Photoshop Files and Formats

People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop open or save in? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Photoshop has the capability to open and save many different graphic files. Here are some of the most popular ones.

Note: When you open an image file other than a Photoshop one, that image will default to the background layer.

.psd, .pdd, .eps
Photoshop File. This format preserves the information in all the layers. If you're going to continue working with a picture, this is the best format to use. File size can be quite large, however. Note: It is advisable to save your work in the most up to date Photoshop format available. For example: if you have Photoshop CS and are sent a Photoshop 7 file, you should save it as a Photoshop CS file to preserve any elements that may not be supported by Photoshop 7.

.jpg, .jpeg .jpe
This format compresses the images, so that information (details and colour subtleties) are lost. You can choose how much you want to compress the image. Good format for use on the web. Small file sizes. Millions of colours.

tif, .tiff
Common in use with early scanners. Will produce high quality images, but very large files. Not for use on the web.

.gif
Pronounced both "Gif" and "Jif", this file is one of the most popular for web graphics as it loads quickly. 8 bit format (256 colours max.). It has possibilities for transparent colour and animation.

.png
New format for use on the web that is intended to replace both gif and jpeg. Compressed, millions of colours, transparencies. It compress in a different way than jpeg, and has advanced possibilities, such as alpha channel (opaque or partly transparent colours). The only trouble is: Internet Explorer doesn't support these! In 8 bit (256 colours) mode it compresses better than gif.

.bmp
Windows bitmapped image. Used by Microsoft Windows applications. Good quality, large file size. Not for use on the web.

.wmf
Windows MetaFile. Useful for clipart, and can be used to make large area, small sized background files.

.pcx
Older general purpose format. Practically obsolete now. Not for use on the web.

.psp
Internal format for Paint Shop Pro, useful if you want to swap files between these two applications.

.pcd
Kodak PhotoCD format, used with Photo Developing - although most photo processors will save your photos as jpegs if you ask them to.

.pdf
Portable Document File. Adobe's file system that allows electronic cross platform sharing of documents.

So what's the best format for web graphics: gif or jpeg?

The general rule of thumb is to use gifs for diagrams, line drawings, illustrations, and images that contain large areas of flat colour, and jpegs for photographs and images with continuous colour tones. The jpeg format has a very good compression rate, but compression reduces the quality of the image, so it's best to experiment with the tools in Image Ready until you have the optimal quality/file size. The gif format, on the other hand, has a smaller file size - but a limited range of colours.

Shaun Pearce is a writer and video maker. His latest production, "Photoshop Master", is an interactive video tutorial series. It shows you how to get the most from Photoshop, and can be downloaded from http://www.learnphotoshopfast.com

---

Microsoft CRM Customization: Integration with Third Party SQL Application/Database

Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More

SSH (SCP) Send Files from Windows to Your Linux Box

Not all of us have the luxury of working both... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Inventory Control ? Overview For Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More

You Can Write Microsoft Office Program in About 60 Minutes

Microsoft Office program is a programming tool called Visual Basic... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation for Large Corporation ? Overview for VP IT

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More

40/sec to 500/sec

IntroductionSurprised, by the title? well, this is a tour of... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains implementation: Restaurants Supply Chain Management Example

Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More

Bill of Lading ? Custom Reporting for Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview for Consultant

Bill of Lading is required report for Logistics and Freight... Read More

Scrap Booking Online: Word Perfect or Corel Graphics Suite?

Scrapbooks are very popular these days. I think that almost... Read More

Falling in Love With More Than One Screensaver: The Fun Part

Having from five to ten and more favorite screensavers is... Read More

.Net Charts and Graphs Interact with Businesses and Customers

Bar charts, bar graphs, and any other chart or graph... Read More

CRM and Customer Life Cycle

Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a combination of enterprise... Read More

Rapid Application Development - Is it Really a Need of Today?

Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a software development methodology. In... Read More

Managing Stress in the Computer Industry - Five Steps to a Stress-free Life

It would be easy to think, like most people apparently... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: carpet, textile, fabric, felt distributor ? implementation overview

In this small article we will show you the possible... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Middle East - Arabic Language Support

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More

A Simple Computer Software Definition

What is Software?Software is a set of instruction written to... Read More

Basic Tips and tricks for Windows XP

Running Applications in Compatibility Mode With Windows XP, you can... Read More

Who?s Watching What You Type?

If someone entered your home, uninvited and installed numerous cameras... Read More

Can Group Collaboration Software Meet Business Needs?

According to a survey conducted by InfoTrends/CAP Ventures entitled "Content-Centric... Read More

Why Stick With Email Clients Like Outlook?

Trying to figure out a stream in banning one email... Read More

It?s Back!! WordPerfect?s Amazing Comeback

Have you noticed WordPerfect is gearing up for a comeback... Read More

Is Your Small Business Ready For A CRM Software Solution?

I have yet to see a business that, sometimes in... Read More

The True Meaning of Freeware

The vast majority of us will have, at some point,... Read More

Enterprise Resource Planning Overview

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview covers What is ERP, Brief... Read More

Simple Solution for Php Includes - IFrames

I have recently created my first Php program. I wanted... Read More

Examining the Substance of Studio MX

To all web designers out there, this article is for... Read More

Helping Newbies Understand Professional Software

The Windows registry is a huge database that ensures normal... Read More

Performance Tuning of a Daffodil DB / One$DB -JDBC Application

This article illustrates the best practices to improve the performance... Read More

Cisco Certification: Five Things To Do DURING Your CCNA Exam

There are plenty of articles out there about how to... Read More

Corporate ERP Selection: Microsoft Great Plains

In our opinion, traditional approach when you select ERP/MRP system... Read More

Do You Know These Facts About Spyware ?

Imagine something that follows you home and sets itself up... Read More

Software Piracy

SOFTWARE PIRACY We regularly hear reports... Read More