# Old Adobe Photoshop - cant access pics



## m1951mm (Apr 16, 2011)

I have an older version of Adobe Photoshop, 3.2 I think, that was a freebie. I am not interested in paying Adobe the fees needed to get to those photos as I have other software to edit photos now. Any suggestions how I can retrieve those old photos?? Anytime I try to click into the Adobe they ask me to register and then I get responses that the version is out of date. I am not very savvy on computers, but I have tried numberous times to access the old photos, I know they are there, just do not have a clue how to get to them to a place where I can edit, share etc.

Please Help!!!!!!!!!!!


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## rightit (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi Mickey,

The information you offer is somewhat limited. I assume you are referring to .psd files on your own computer. If you still have PS 3.2, have you tried exporting them to a file format usable by whatever software you now use? I can't say what format 'save as' options PS 3.2 offers (or what formats your existing software will open or import), but I would go for the highest quality format possible. I think it likely that the .tif(f) format was available at that time. If so, choose tif at its highest quality and use no compression. 

If your photos have layers, you may want to flatten the image before saving to the new file format unless you are sure that your new software supports layers, otherewise, they will not be readable in your new software.

Most software nowadays supports the .tif format, so you should easily be abale to open and edit the photo. 

If the tif option is not offered (and I find that unlikely), your next choice should be .png or .bmp.

All of the formats I've suggested are non-lossy formats, i.e., they do not reduce the quality of the image by dumping data to reduce file size when saving. You should avoid saving to .jpg unless you have no other options. 

Do not delete your old file until you have opened the 'saved' or exported file in your other software and are sure that it is in good condition. You may want to keep the old psd file as an emergency backup that can be re-exported.


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## diyorpay (Sep 21, 2010)

Since software is old, assumed operating system is WinXP.
If so, right click on Windows icon on first screen, select Explore for Windows Explorer.
Check first for folders and subfolders around the 'My Documents', My Music area. It could be called 'My Pictures'.
If not, look for an Adobe folder and any subfolders.
Maybe try Program Files, the Adobe subfolder(s). Or Program Files, Common Files, then Adobe subfolders.

Once you find the picture files, you'll know where they reside.

Then download a free but powerful open source program that mimics Photoshop, the Gimp or Picasa: 
http://www.filehippo.com/download_the_gimp/
http://www.filehippo.com/download_picasa/

It will open and convert most pic files.

If you are not good at moving files but were able to find them, after loading a program like the Gimp or Picasa on your computer, you can right click on any picture file and select 'open with' command. Then browse for Picasa or the Gimp.


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Install the GIMP for Windows. It's free and can open and manipulate .PSD files just fine. Not as easy to use or as functional as Photoshop but not bad for free software.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

poppameth said:


> Install the GIMP for Windows. It's free and can open and manipulate .PSD files just fine. Not as easy to use or as functional as Photoshop but not bad for free software.


Gimp is great. If you want a user interface like photoshop, download and install GimpShop instead. It is Gimp but with Photoshop look and feel. It is also free open source software. Paint.net is a good free open source product for editing photos as well.


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