Preview unavailable for this file

[johngpt]

Spoiler alert: I've answered my own question. See below.

Preview unavailable for this file is what shows for my psd images created in PsCS4, when I'm in my just installed Lr 4.3 import window. I suspect it may have something to do with my PsCS4 preferences for saving, as Lr 4.3 has no trouble seeing/creating previews of any other files. It even sees jpeg files and TIFF files created in PsCS4. It sees/creates previews for jpegs created from the psd files. Only the psd files say preview unavailable.

Here is a screenshot of my PsCS4 file saving preference.

Has anyone come across this issue? I've googled and can't find anything. I've been to the Adobe site too. I've searched at this forum. I've used various ways of stating the searches, but haven't come across anything.

The only thing I see so far is perhaps maximizing PSD and PSB compatibility?

Okay, I've answered my own question before posting this query.

Yes, changing maximize PSD and PSB compatibility to Always made the difference. I opened PsCS4, changed the preference, restarted it. Then I made a psd file of this screenshot. Lo and behold, Lr 4.3's import window can now see/create the preview of it.

I'm going to post this anyway, just in case someone else out there may have this question.

But now I've got a follow up question:

Other than opening up all my old psd files and re-saving with maximized compatibility, is there any way to have Lr see them?

I suspect that I just need to move forward from here with all psd files from now on being able to be seen.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Well done for figuring it out John, and welcome to the forum! Yep, your discovery is spot on. You could run a batch process to resave the PSDs, but it doesn't update the PSD with maximize unless you change something. You could filter for all the PSD files in Bridge and then run Image Processor to create maximized PSD's, although if I was going to do that, I'd probably batch them to TIFFs instead.

 

[johngpt]

That's an excellent suggestion Ms. V.

Even if I save them as un-layered TIFFs, I would know that they refer to the PSD files of the same name. I would see them side by side in Lr, and if I chose to work on the images, I would know to choose the PSD if I wanted all the layers.

Or might there be an advantage I'm not considering to saving them as layered TIFFs?

 

[johngpt]

Victoria, I experimented from within Bridge. It made new PSD files maximizing compatibility without needing to open each file and make a change.

If anyone is interested, here is a screenshot below of what I had chosen within Bridge to get to Tools>Photoshop>Image Processor.

The next screenshot shows what I had chosen within the Image Processor dialog.

By ticking Maximize Compatibility, and clicking on Run, it batch processed all the PSD files I had chosen within a folder in Bridge. It put those new files into a subfolder titled (appropriately enough) PSD. If you look in the first screenshot image, you'll see some folders that have that subfolder PSD. Thank you Victoria for that batch processing suggestion. It was far faster than I could have done it opening each file individually. And the batch processing didn't require that a change be made in the original file in order to Save As a maximized version.

Lightroom was able to see/create previews of these newly modified files without a problem.

I'm pondering whether to trash the original PSD files and replace them with the maximized files in the main folder, or whether to just keep the maximized files in the PSD subfolders. I'm wondering if Lr with its option to not add duplicate files would then not add my newly maximized images.

From the Terminal app on my mac, it would not be difficult to move all the files around quickly and easily.

Thanks again Ms. V. And I'm still interested in hearing your thoughts on whether saving as layered or un-layered TIFFs would be preferable. I have thousands of images on my external hard drives that I would eventually like data based within Lr. My experiment tonight was to determine whether the batch processing would maximize the PSDs without making a change in each individual file.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Great, yep, that's because it's creating a new file. The Batch option in that same menu won't work.

One of the reasons I'd get it to go to TIFF's is once it's finished, you can then filter for the PSD's and delete them all very easily - yes I know that's cheating!

 

[johngpt]

Were you recommending layered or un-layered TIFFs?

I like the idea of batch processing to them. If I catch your drift, I could then use Lr to delete the unable to be previewed PSDs from the catalog, not delete them from the folders within which they reside.

EDIT: I went back and used Tools>Photoshop>Image Processor to create TIFFs from a couple PSD files. Even choosing LZW compression, layered TIFFs were created. And these files were placed into a new subfolder titled TIFF. So from the batch processing, there isn't a way to create un-layered TIFFs, so no need to spend time answering my question Victoria.

Again, thank you very much for your help.

 

[johngpt]

I spent about 15 minutes just now in Terminal, removing the old un-maximized PSD files from main folders, and moving the maximized PSD files from the new PSD folders into the main folders. For 20 folders.

If anyone using a mac is interested in seeing the command line process for doing that, let me know.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I was thinking of layered TIFFs. I'm glad you were able to find a good solution!

 

[johngpt]

I've discovered, and should have known, that since the Image Processor batch procedure put the new files into a sub-folder named PSD, that from Finder I could just drag those new files into the main portion of the folder and the dialog box asks me if I want to replace the old files with the new. Choosing Replace put the new files where I wanted and got rid of the old files. No need to do what I had done in Terminal. Unless you need to satisfy some of those geek urges...

:nod:

 

[jthree]

I don't know if there is a more recent thread, with answers, to this issue but this is what I found to be true. Each of the file names I was trying to import/preview contained a forward slash (/). Once I removed the character I was able to preview the images and import them without any problem.

 

[clee01l]

I don't know if there is a more recent thread, with answers, to this issue but this is what I found to be true. Each of the file names I was trying to import/preview contained a forward slash (/). Once I removed the character I was able to preview the images and import them without any problem.

Welcome to the forum.

While the forward slash (/) is a legal file name character in OS X, it is not in Windows. LR has been coded to be compiled and run in both Windows and OS X. So, All of the file naming restrictions that apply to Windows app need to apply to LR as an OS X app.

 

[johngpt]

I don't know if there is a more recent thread, with answers, to this issue but this is what I found to be true. Each of the file names I was trying to import/preview contained a forward slash (/). Once I removed the character I was able to preview the images and import them without any problem.

I suspect that the forward slash issue is a different problem than the non-maximised PSD issue I had. I'm glad that this is being mentioned here in case someone else comes across that particular problem. I for one, wouldn't have known about the forward slash being legal for Macs but not for Windows, or that Lr wouldn't be able to handle it in a file name because it's ported for both platforms. Thank you Cletus and jthree.