How to edit a PSD without Photoshop
What survives when a Photoshop file is opened elsewhere, what to check before you touch anything, how to finish the edit and get a file back out, and what to do when the client wants a PSD back.
Beginner7 min readUpdated 27 September 2026Editor · Open PSD
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What is inside a PSD
A PSD is a stack of layers with a set of instructions attached to each: position, opacity, blend mode, a mask, maybe a style like a drop shadow, maybe an adjustment such as curves that applies to everything below it. Some layers are plain pixels. Some are text, kept as words plus a font. Some are smart objects, which are other files embedded whole. Any editor that opens a PSD has to decide, layer by layer, whether it can rebuild the instruction or has to bake the result into pixels. The honest ones tell you which they did.
What carries over, and what does not
This is what the Voidcanvas Editor does with each kind of layer. Other applications draw the lines in different places; the categories are the ones to ask about whichever tool you use.
| Kept and still editable | Kept, but changed so it would open | Not supported yet |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel layers with position, opacity, fill opacity, visibility and colour labels | Text with mixed fonts, sizes or colours, warped text and text on a path: kept as pixels | Satin and pattern overlay effects |
| Groups, including nested groups, with their blend mode and opacity | Smart objects and vector shapes: kept as pixels | Adjustment layers not in the list on the left |
| Layer masks and clipping masks; locks; Photoshop artboards as boards | Blend modes the Editor does not have (linear burn, vivid light, pin light, dissolve and a few others): nearest match | Group masks; the black and white tint option |
| Text as editable type when the whole layer uses one font, size and colour | 16-bit files become 8-bit; CMYK and other modes become RGB | |
| Adjustment layers: brightness/contrast, levels, curves, exposure, vibrance, hue/saturation, colour balance, black and white, photo filter, channel mixer, invert, posterize, threshold, gradient map | Gradient or pattern strokes become a solid colour; gradient overlays with more than two colours keep the first and last | |
| Layer styles: drop shadow, inner shadow, outer glow, inner glow, stroke, colour overlay, gradient overlay, bevel and emboss | An adjustment clipped to one layer is unclipped and affects everything below it |
Whenever anything lands in the second or third column, a report titled Opened and the file name lists it under Kept, Changed so it would open and Not supported yet. Read it before you edit. It is the difference between knowing the logo is now pixels and finding out when you try to recolour it.
Before you edit: two checks
- Read the report. Anything under Changed is now pixels or an approximation. If the thing you were asked to change is in that list (a smart-object logo, a warped headline), plan to rebuild it rather than edit it.
- Fix the fonts. If the file uses fonts that are not on your device or on Google Fonts, a Some fonts are missing dialog opens listing each font and how many layers use it. Pick a replacement, keep a stand-in for now, or Add font file to load the .ttf, .otf, .woff or .woff2 the designer sent. Added fonts are saved inside the design.
Doing the edit
Once the file is open with its fonts, the common jobs are the same as in Photoshop, and the tools have the same names.
- Change text: double-click the text layer with the Type tool (T) and type. Font, size, colour, leading and tracking are in the Character panel. See Add and style text.
- Swap a photo: place the new image as a layer (Ctrl+Shift+P), drag it into the same group as the old one, and if the old photo had a mask, copy the mask across or paint a new one. See Masks.
- Recolour a flat element: if it is still a shape or has a colour overlay style, change the colour there. If it arrived as pixels, add a Colour overlay layer style to it (it recolours only that layer and stays editable), or select it with the Magic wand and fill.
- Adjust the photo: add adjustment layers rather than editing the pixels, so the original survives (Adjustment layers).
- Resize for another format: Resize one design to every format adapts the layered file rather than stretching it. The workflow Take a PSD from a colleague and adapt it for social does exactly this job end to end.
Getting a file back out
| You need | Export | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A picture for web, social or a slide | PNG, JPG or WebP (Ctrl+E) | PNG for transparency and sharp type; JPG or WebP for photos. See Export for screens. |
| A file for a printer | One page, image based, RGB, sized at 300 dpi when the design is over 2000 px on its longest side. See Export for print. | |
| To keep editing later, or hand layers to another Voidcanvas user | .void or .void.png | The .void.png is a normal PNG preview with the whole layered project hidden inside it. |
| A PSD back | not available | The Editor opens PSD but does not write it. See below. |
When someone wants a PSD back
Be clear early. If the deliverable is a picture (a post, a flyer, a banner), a PNG or PDF is the deliverable and nobody needs the PSD. If the client or agency genuinely needs an editable Photoshop file, either the edit belongs in Photoshop, or you deliver the flat exports plus a .void file and say so up front. What you should not do is promise a PSD and discover at the end that the tool cannot write one.
How to do it in Voidcanvas
- Open the Editor and press Ctrl+O (Cmd+O on a Mac), or drop the .psd on the start screen. The file is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded and the original is not changed.
- Read the Opened report if one appears, and settle Some fonts are missing if it appears.
- Edit. The Layers panel shows the same groups, masks, labels and locks as the original.
- Export: Ctrl+E for PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF. Choose Save editable file in the same dialog for a .void.png, or File, Download project file (.void).
Common problems
- "Could not read that PSD." The file may be damaged or use a feature the reader cannot handle. Ask for it to be saved again, or for a flattened copy.
- "That PSD has no layers we can read." It was saved without layers (Maximize Compatibility off, or flattened). Ask for a layered save.
- Text shifted slightly. Photoshop and browsers set type a little differently. Compare against a flat export of the original and nudge.
- The logo will not recolour. It was a smart object or a vector shape and is now pixels. Ask for the logo as SVG or PNG and place it fresh.
- Colours look different. The file was CMYK and has been converted to RGB. Check against the original's flat export and correct with an adjustment layer.
Can I open a PSD without Photoshop for free?
Yes. The Voidcanvas Editor opens PSD files in the browser with no account, and keeps layers, groups, masks, text, adjustments and styles as far as it can, with a report of anything it changed.
Will the layers still be there?
Pixel layers, groups, masks, clipping, opacity and blend modes come through as layers. Smart objects and vector shapes come through as pixel layers. Text comes through as editable type when a layer uses one font, size and colour.
Can I save the file as a PSD again?
Not from Voidcanvas. Export PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF for delivery, and keep a .void file if you want to edit the layers later.
Does opening a PSD upload it?
No. The file is read on your device. See Privacy and data.