How to open a PSD file in Affinity
You've landed a file from a client, a collaborator, or your own archive of past work: a PSD. You're working in Affinity now. The question is, how do you open a PSD file without losing layers, smart objects, or your mind? Good news: it's painless. Affinity handles Photoshop files natively, and this guide covers exactly what happens when you bring one across.
Open the file directly
The simplest route: go to File > Open, select your PSD, and click Open. Affinity reads the file, preserves your layer structure, and drops you straight into editing. No conversion step, no intermediary format.
Alternatively, drag the PSD from its folder onto an off-page area of your workspace. Same result, fewer clicks.
One important caveat: importing is a one-way process. Affinity will not overwrite your original PSD. It saves as an Affinity document instead. If you need to write back to PSD format (say, for a DAM system or a client who won't budge), you can export via File > Export.
What happens to your layers
Layers come across intact and ready to edit. Adjustment layers are mapped to their Affinity equivalents. If your PSD contains artboards, each one becomes its own layer inside Affinity. If you're new to Affinity's layer system, it's worth a quick read.
Large Document Format files (PSB) are also supported. So if you're working with multi-gigabyte composites, you're covered.
Smart objects: keep them editable
By default, smart objects in PSD files are rasterized on import. That's fine for many workflows, but if you want to keep them editable as stand-alone objects (with non-destructive adjustments, filters, and transformations intact), you need to switch one setting on first.
Go to Settings > General, scroll down and enable “Import PSD smart objects where possible”. After that, any smart objects in your imported PSDs will remain editable. When you duplicate or copy a layer containing a smart object, it keeps that editable functionality.
To edit a smart object once it's imported: select the Move Tool, then either double-click the layer in the Layers panel, or choose Edit Document or Replace Document from the context toolbar.
Placing a PSD into an existing document
If you don't want to open a PSD as a standalone document, you can place it directly into a project you're already working on. Use File > Place. Multi-page files drop each page onto its own artboard.
Color space: what to expect
Affinity preserves the color space of your imported file by default. The active color profile is displayed in the top-left corner of the workspace. If you need to convert to your default working color space, go to Settings > Color and use the “Convert opened files to working space” option.
A few settings worth knowing about
While you're in Settings > General, there are a couple more options relevant to PSD imports:
- Import PSD text as text rather than bitmap: keeps type layers editable.
- Enable "save" over imported PSD files: recommended only if you're using PSD as an interchange format with a DAM app.
And that's it
Knowing how to open a PSD file in Affinity doesn't require a tutorial series or an afternoon to figure out. Open, edit, done. Your layers are there, your smart objects are editable if you want them to be, and your color profile is intact.
If you're migrating a full project from Photoshop or just dipping into client files regularly, Affinity's PSD support is solid enough to keep your workflow moving. No workarounds, no drama. Your file is in. Now put Affinity's photo editing tools to work.
