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My colleague has Paint Shop Pro X2, I have Photoshop. He tried saving a PSD version of a multi-layer image in PSP but, when I open the file in Photoshop, there's only a single background layer - the result of all the layers merged together.

I've tried a couple of plug-ins for for Photoshop that allows .pspimage files to be opened, but they just didn't work.

Is there a way he can save a single file that I can open in Photoshop, but with all the layers preserved?

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3 Answers 3

I believe if you save the file as .tiff it will preserve the layers.

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I don't believe TIFF support layers. –  DA01 Sep 22 '11 at 1:20
You're right only TIFF images saved/opened in Photoshop preserve the layers. –  MikeJerome Sep 22 '11 at 1:49
That's a surprising omission. I haven't touched PSP in years, and never worked with it much, but I would have thought it sophisticated enough to save a layered tiff. –  Alan Gilbertson Sep 24 '11 at 4:25
I actually don't have psp to test, but I tried opening a layered tiff in paint.net and it didn't preserve the layers. You could always try it with psp. –  MikeJerome Sep 24 '11 at 4:52

Sometimes this is an issue with the originating software - is there a dialog or check box for including layers? Paint Shop Pro may not include layers by default.

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Paintshop Pro X2 was released in 2007. Most likely there will not be any easy solution. You could try to download a testversion of the current Paintshop version and export a new PSD file. Chances, that this will really work are not too good.

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