Can't display layered psd files in Media Tab.

[sully]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but a search did not reveal any.  I have a lot of Photoshop .psd files with layer masks and or alpha channels.  iView generates a thumbnail but cannot display the image in the Media tab.   It either shows only text "This layered Photoshop file was not saved with a composite image" or displays the alpha channel.  I believe iView has always had this problem requiring one to flatten psd files and remove alpha channels if you want iView to display full size Media Tab images.

Since upgrading to Tiger 10.4.5 on a Mac, the Finder cannot display a preview of the file, yet all earlier versions of OS X properly displayed previews.  This is definitely an Apple problem.  It makes DAM very difficult at times when one is trying to locate files with the finder to drag into an iView catalog.  I guess iView was never designed to display layered PSD files, but I wish it would just render the background or bottom layer if the file has no composite image to display.

Peter can you bring the finder preview problem to the attention of Adobe and Apple?  I can't get their attention nor can others in their forums.

Thanks,
Sully

[dexter]

Sully,

       I running 10.4.5 and tested layered psd files with and without alpha channels in iView. They both display correctly. Also, the finder shows an accurate preview of the layered psd.

In iView-Prefs-Media Rendering, under the Images tab do you have 'Use Alpha Channel' selected ?

With this option enabled, iView shows correct masking of individual layers. Make sure you 'Rebuild Item' under the Action menu in iView.

Hope this helps.

...Dexter

[peterkrogh]

Sully,
iView uses Quicktime to display images, which does have extensive support for PSD files. It does not, however, support every configuration.  Just to be clear, is this happening on all PSD files, or only those without composite previews?
Peter

[sully]

Thanks for the reply, Peter.

As far as I can tell, layered files without composit preview and any file with an alpha channel fail to preview in the Finder.

Here is a link to a screen capture of an image in a Photoshop window on top of a finder preview window:
http://www.pbase.com/csully/image/57043043.jpg

The alpha channel encloses the sky.

[peterkrogh]

Sully,
Do you have "Use Alpha Channel" checked in the iView Media Rendering Preferences pane?
Peter

[sully]

Peter,

Yes, "Use Alpha Channel" is checked.

Dexter,
When the file is first rendered by iView, the thumbnail is correct.  But when I tell it to Rebuild Item, the thumbnail displays the alpha channel like the bad Finder preview.

[dexter]

Sully,
       In Photoshop - Prefs - File Handling, do you have Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility set to Always ?

...Dexter

[Duncan Skelton]

I see this same phenomenon.
The PSD image was edited with Adobe Photshop7 on Windows XP.
It contains a mask stored in an alpha channel.
I catlog the image on a PC (XP pro) using iView Media Pro 3.n.n
Both the thumbnail and the main image display as shown in this post, with the masked area appearing blank - it looks cruddy.
I have saved the PSD with "maximise compatibility" checked, and iView is configured to use the alpha channel.

[Dennis O'Clair]

This topic comes up again and again.  I have a catalog of 6000 images, with about 75 PSD files that fail to render properly in IVMP.  There doesn't seem to be a common cause (except that there are alpha channels) or cure.  The only solution that I have found is to use layered tiffs instead of layered PSD.

Dennis O'Clair

[danaltick]

Dennis,

I use layered Tiff files.  I've experienced the same problem with PSD's.  Tiff files are a more open standard interface analogous to DNG.  However, I have run across one or two Tiff's that I had the problem with as well.  They had multiple alpha layers, and the problem is much less frequent.

Dan

[dhawkins1234]

I came across this forum with the same problem, and upon following dexter's advice (maximize compatibility), the thumbnails now display correctly, including all of the layers and adjustments without flattening the .psds.

Sully,
       In Photoshop - Prefs - File Handling, do you have Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility set to Always ?

...Dexter

Perhaps your problem is with PS7 or an older version of iview or both, but I am running CS2, and iView 3.1.1 (Build 42B8) and everything seems to work now where it didn't before after selecting the maximize compatbility option and resaving the file.

Check and see if you have the latest version of iView, it's free to upgrade

[Walter]

I had the same problem for some layered PSD files (not all of them, though). Following Dexter's advice, I set Photoshop's Maximize Compatibility to Always and it corrected the problem.