Josh.biz Technical Note 6 – updated October 2010
View thumbnail images for Photoshop PSD files in Windows
One great feature of Photoshop 7 was the fact that thumbnails of the PSD files were displayed when browsing Windows folders. This feature is essential is you have hundreds of PSD files in a single folder, as I often do.
Unfortunately, Adobe removed this ability due to issues with the DLL file conflicting with Windows. So what are our options?
Well, we can either use the Adobe Browser that’s included with Photoshop, additionally you could use a third party tool like IrfanView to browse the thumbnails. Personally, I just want to continue utilizing Windows and Photoshop the way that have for the last few years. If that sounds like you, then read on.
NB – Please be sure read the User Feedback further down for the latest comments.
Keywords
adobe photoshop, thumbnail, icon, psd, windows, explorer
Solution
The solution is very simple and takes less than a minute to implement. You don’t need to even reboot Windows. The change is immediate.
- Download the file, photoshop_thumbnails.zip (62kb)
- Copy psicon.dll to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Shell – if this folder doesn’t exist create it
- Run Adobe.reg
- You now can view PSD files in Thumbnails view within Windows Explorer.
User Feedback
This process has been successfully implemented for most versions of Windows and and Adobe Photoshop. However, I have received occasional unsuccessful feedback. Unfortunately, should this solution not be successful for you, we are unable to provide further support. Your feedback (whether successful or not) would be appreciated. Just add a comment using the form at the bottom of this page.
- October 2010 – I tried the above solution on a new Windows 7 PC (Home Premium) running CS5. It seemed to work for some but not all thumbnails. I turned to the Ardfry PSD Codec advertised further below. This worked perfectly. So, if the above solution doesn’t work for you, dip into your pockets ($19.95) and buy the solution below. – Joshua Dyball, Josh.biz (author of this website)
- October 2010 – ‘Solution doesn’t first work for us (french version of Windows XP professionnal And Photoshop CS4 without Bridge We needed to edit path in Adobe.reg. ‘Common Files’ doesn’t exist in french versions of XP. It is perhaps more simple to tell users that they should ‘create exactly the path provided ‘C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Adobe\\Shell\\’ if it doesn’t exist. This seems to work always.’ – Gunther Jerschabek / LDL-France
- 30 March 2009 – Thanks to Lynne who popinted out that ‘you might note for other users that the top layer in the file must be a viewable layer. If it is an adjustment layer the PSD icon still shows up. I can get around this by always insuring a viewable layer is on top by combining the layers in a group and creating a single composite layer on top (Shift/Ctrl/Alt + E)’
- 20 March 2009 – Lars from Sweden reported that he was able to make the technique work, but had to change the path to fit match his Swedish version of Windows (C:\\Program\\Delade filer\\Adobe\\Shell) in the Adobe.reg file. He also had to create the Shell-folder.
- It has been reported that this technique does not function for Photoshop CS3 with Windows Vista 64.
- Feedback reports that this technique can (but not always) be successful with Windows Vista running Adobe Photoshop CS3 and CS4. Thanks to Leanne, who reported that it worked with Vista and CS3 but only after rebooting. So try rebooting…
If all else fails, we would highly recommend purchasing the inexpensive Ardfry PSD Codec which seems to offer a competent solution for everyone.
The Ardfry PSD codec for Windows
The Ardfry PSD codec (see below) is a plug-in for Windows that allows you to view thumbnails, previews, and metadata of PSD files throughout Windows. You can view PSD files in Windows Explorer, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows 7 Media Center.
Whilst we endeavour to ensure that the information on this website is correct, we do not warrant its completeness or accuracy; nor do we not commit to ensuring that the website remains available or that the material on this website is kept up-to-date.
Your feedback is highly valued
We welcome your comments on this technical note, even if it’s just to say thanks. We particularly welcome comments which add further experience and information on the subject. If any of the links on this page fail consistently, please tell us.
60 Comments
thank you. it works.
Its not working with Windows 7. I tried so many things.
Sorry, but I am unable to offer further support. I would recomend the Ardfry PSD codec. It is inexpensive and does the job. If having thumbnails is important to you, it’s worth the cost.
It works great, thank you very much.
Works great in Vista, thanks alot!
DO you need to reboot after using the reg file?
I don’t believe it’s necessary but I would recommend doing it anyway.
Worked for Win XP, SP3 and CS5 portable
Works great in Win 7 Ultimate, thank you very much!
I use win 7 32x and it did not work for this machine. the download and the implementation took place successfully.
Worked like a charm!! Thanks so very much.
Thanks for the quick and easy fix! I’m using Photoshop CS and your solution works great, I really appreciate it. I’ve been going on close to 4-years without being able to preview the thumbnails in Explorer. I was making jpg copies of my psd files so I could see what I was looking for. Now I can delete all of those jpgs off my hard drive.
Windows Vista it works great. No need to reboot.
Info to beginners:
Right click to Run, (windows Vista send a stupid warning message, ignore it and continue), after installed only right click with mouse on a psd file, open properties, go to separator Photoshop Image and check the box Generate Thumbnails and “voilá” every psd files in all folders are visible.
Truly AWESOME. Thank You soooooo much.
✬.. Have a WONDERFUL day ..✬
Much LOVE 4U …… *huuuuuuge hug*
Morgana
Thaaaaaaaankkkkkkksssssssss !.
Followed instructions. Did not work for me.
Sorry Jeffrey. As before, I would recommend considering the The Ardfry PSD codec for Windows (see box above comments).
Thank You! Had it, lost it, found it again here – works in WinXP.
Thanks for your work, great fix, using Windows Vista 32 bit, worked straight away and I did not need to reboot.
Thanks a lot. It worked fine once I´ve translated the path to my XP version (Spanish in this case)
sir where should i extract the file im using windows home premium 64 bit so there is two folder program files and program files(x86)
I’m honestly not sure. Why not just try each?
Worked a charm, thank you very much! Especially when the top result for this problem offered a webpage with no files to download.
It is working in CS2.It is very useful to me to view the thumbnail where files are in the PSD format.Very much thankful to you.
Thank you very much! It has worked!!
Works great in Windows 7 x64 Enterprise Edition.
Just a note for 64bit users. I used the path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Shell\CS4
And it works fine. You may need an Administrator account to do the copying and the registry entry.
Thanks Josh.
After the second run of adobe.reg, it worked.
Thank you!
This works !
note: restart is required .
thank u sir
I have Win 7 x64 and Photoshop CS3 installed. I tried it and it didn’t work. I tried copying the psicon.dll both into “Program Files” and “Program Files (x86)” and modifying the registry file accordingly. In both cases nothing happened. My guess is it has something to do with the version of psicon.dll! If you view it’s properties, you’ll see it’s from version 7 from 2002! So it may not be capable of rendering PSD’s from newer versions of Photoshop. Just my guess.
Thanks Chuck. I am aware that the file is very old. I am simply redistributing a file which helped me out long ago and cannot upgrade it myself. I personally use the The Ardfry PSD codec for Windows which is available for the modest fee of $20. I am considering removing this page as the file will increasingly become incompatible with newer versions of Windows and Photoshop. However, at the moment, lots of people still find it useful.
Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!!
THANK YOU LOADS AND LOADS.. saved me lot of time
Thank you very much for providing a simple, clean and effective solution. Much apprciated.
Well its not showing images but still showing as icon after installing above files. Hope there is no resident spyware in the installation.
Hi Sunil. This fix has been available here for over 5 years and has helped hundreds of people. It doesn’t always work for everyone but does for most. I think your comment suggesting it might contain spyware is unwarranted.
This worked for me. Sweet! Thanks a bunch.
Hello, unfortunately it doesn’t work at my system (Windows XP SP3 with Photoshop CS 5.5).
What can I do? Thanks!
Purchase the Ardfry PSD codec for Windows? See green box above comments.
I have Windows 7 64bit, 8gb, and Photoshop CS5 64bit…. it works fine!
Thank you!
Works great. Windows XP pro. Didn’t even have to reboot!
Windows XP Pro 2002, SP3, Adobe CS4 Extended with additional texture tools from Nvidia.
http://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop
Worked straight off, no problems. Saved a lot of time and angst, thanks a bunch.
It didn’t work for me on Windows & using CS5 Extended. I downloaded IrfanView and it worked like a charm. Thanks!
Not paying $20 just to see PSDs in explorer. Seriously. Stop trying to rip people off for something that should be free to begin with.
THANKYOU. Just changed from XP to W7, got CS3 running in W7 thanks to another fix from Google, and only had the ****** thumbnails to sort out, and THERE YOU WERE. GENIUS!! Time for a drink.
Hi Josh. What do you mean “Run Abode.reg”???
Thanks Tom
To run (execute) a file, you double click it.
Hang about, Jei! I’m not selling anything. I’m just sharing a file that worked for me. The Ardfry PSD codec for Windows is an alternative option I’m also sharing (for those that can’t get the free downloaded file to work)
Worked great for me. Thank you very much.
Ohmygod thank you! it works
Here’s something I discovered by accident when using Photoshop on Win7. If you Open a PSD file, and set the file selector to display Large Icons, it displays PSD thumbs ok, even though they don’t show in Explorer. So Win7 obviously contains the code to display PSD thumbnails somewhere.
Try this: Open a folder containing some PSD files, & set display to Large Icons. No thumbs (yet). Leave the window open.
Now Open one of the PSDs in PS (probably works in any app), and set the file selector to show Large Thumbs. Go back to the Explorer window & press F5.
Voila…
Ardfry PSD codec for Windows worked great on Win 7 with PS CS5, simple and clean install, worked immediately. Well worth the $20. thx
Just thought you might like to know, I tried this with a very old copy of PhotoShop 6 running on Windows 7 Starter. At first it just changed the default icon for .psd files in Explorer, but once I went into Control Panel –> Default Programs and re-selected PS6 for .psd files, the thumbnails showed up correctly (with the right PS6 overlay even!) Thank you!
Worked perfectly for me with Windows XP SP3 and Photoshop CS3, thanks a lot. I had a similar problem to you, and hate using Adobe Bridge.
Works flawless on WinXP SP3 with CS5. THANK YOU !!!
))))))
Thanks guy. This worked perfectly w/ my XP & Photoshop CS4 setup.
This didn’t work for me on Windows xp and photoshop elements 10
Sorry to hear this. But it’s really only aimed at Photoshop users, rather than Elements. Worth a try though!
Worked perfectly, thanks!
thanks soooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it was a struggle to get it to work, since i didn’t know what “run” meant, nor how to locate it in the “zip”… but finally i got it right, and wow, i’m happy!!!
Why pay $20 for the codec when you can get it for free here.
http://www.brothersoft.com/download-psd-codec-windows-7-347907.html
Microsoft should be giving this out for free.