PSB file in LR

[aiur4]

Why PSB files are not supported in LR? I have tons of PSB files to organize with LR and I still dont understand Adobe not to support PSB files for LR. So why not supporting PSB files for?

[dj_paige]

Why? Because that's the decision Adobe made. As I don't work for Adobe, I can't give further details. Perhaps you should contact Adobe to ask this question instead of asking in a user-to-user forum.

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

The PSB format (large document format) was designed to be able to save images larger than 4 GB.

Ligthroom is designed to handle raw files from digital cameras, and even a 100 megapixel sensor will only produce files in the 100 - 160 MB range. So if your PSB files are below 4 GB, you could save them as Tiffs, and import them in Lightroom, which has a file size limit of 65,000 pixels on the long side, or a total of 512 megapixels.

[Ian Lyons]

The largest file size supported by Lightroom is 65,000 pixels per side or 512 Mega pixels whereas PSB files can be up to 300,000 pixels. This is why Adobe refer to PSB files as 'Large Document Format' in Photoshop Save and Save As dialogs, and only recommend it's use for large documents.

More info on supported file formats can be found at -  Supported file formats in Lightroom

[Todd Shaner]

My guess is that Adobe has chosen not to support PSB files because of potential performance issues with LR's non-destructive editing tools. PSD file size is limited to 30,000 x 30,000 pixels (900 Megapixels) or 2 GB and TIFF files are limited to 4 GB. PSB files are normally only needed when exceeding these limits, which would most likely cause LR to run very slow. Probably for this very reason Adobe has also limited the image size to 512 Megapixels maximum regardless of the file size in Gigabytes. Heck, we see performance complaints from people who are using image files less than 1/10th that size.

Supported file formats in Lightroom

[johnrellis]

Note that it's not at all unusual for a Photoshop image to exceed 4 GB, even though the compatibility layer (the layer read by LR) doesn't cause performance problems for LR.

The total size is often driven more by the number of layers than the number of pixels. I've had customers at agencies send me example PSBs larger than 4 GB that are 50 megapixels, 16-bit, and 20 layers (e.g. a product photo of a sneaker painstakingly adjusted for a picky art director). The compatibility layer isn't that large -- 300 MB uncompressed -- and is comfortably handled by LR.

Or consider a 3 x 2 interior panorama that's about 200 megapixels, 16-bit.  The PSB can exceed 4 GB after only 4 layers or so. LR can handle a 200 megapixel compatibility layer just fine.

[Todd Shaner]

John, thanks for pointing that out–I've added my vote to the Photoshop Family request.

[Ian Lyons]

All fine, except the issue is not the size in terms of megabytes, layers, etc. The underlying problem is what Camera Raw can support, and as we know it deals in pixels, not bits or bytes.

[Todd Shaner]

Agreed, but the "pixel limit" is currently 512 Megapixels regardless of file format. As johnrellis pointed out it is possible to create a layered PS file that exceeds the 2GB PSD and 4GB TIFF file size limit and still be well under 512 Megabytes. Both PSD and PSB file formats support 'Maximize Compatibility' option, which is compatible with LR. There may be other issues preventing PSB file format from being supported in LR, but I haven't seen anything stated by Adobe.

[johnrellis]

it is possible to create a layered PS file that exceeds the 2GB PSD and 4GB TIFF file size limit and still be well under 512 [megapixels].

Right.  I have customers at agencies who have licensed my PSB Quick Look plugin for hundreds of users, and they routinely produce PSBs larger than 4 GB but with much less than 512 megapixels.

[johnrellis]

There may be other issues preventing PSB file format from being supported in LR, but I haven't seen anything stated by Adobe.

I'd be pretty surprised if there were other serious engineering concerns.  The internal file formats are nearly identical, differing only by a few fields that are 32 bits rather than 64 bits.   My PSB Quick Look plugin uses ImageMagick's PSD reader, modified by me to read PSBs -- only a few lines of code were changed.  Both PSDs (900 MP) and PSBs (90 GP) can exceed LR's maximum number of pixels (512 MP), so the existing limit checks for PSDs would apply equally to PSBs.

[johnrellis]

Please add your me-too vote and constructive details about why you want PSB supported to this popular feature request in the official Adobe feedback forum: Lightroom: Support cataloging PSB files (files larger than 2 GB PSDs and 4 GB TIFFs) | Photoshop Fam... . (This forum is primarily a user-to-user forum in which Adobe product developers rarely participate.)

[RichardChung]

It is a disaster saving TIFF and open it in LR.

After opening the file in LR then export to PS.... I lost all the layers. .... no return....

[Per Berntsen]

Your layers are not lost, they are still in the original file.

When using Edit in Photoshop, choose Edit Original, which will open the original with layers in PS.

Edits you have done in LR will not be visible, but edits you do in PS will be visible when you save the file and return to LR.

Since Lightroom cannot work with layers, it has to be this way.

[RichardChung]

Thank you for the help.

I just figured that last night.