When you try to open one of your Photoshop documents, a message is prompted saying “There was a problem reading the layer data. Read the composite data instead?”. Clueless about the message you may proceed to click on Read Composite Data. However, you are prompted with a message saying “Could not complete your request because the file is not compatible with this version of Photoshop”. Read this informative write-up till the end to learn how to fix the “PSD file is not compatible with this version of Photoshop” error and also learn how your PSD file can get corrupted or become incompatible.
Table of Content:
1. Why Does the Error PSD Not Compatible with This Version Of Photoshop Error Occur?
2. How To Fix PSD Not Compatible With This Version of Photoshop?
Why Did You encounter “Can’t open the file because the file is not compatible with this version of Photoshop?” Problem
These are some of the most common reasons why you encounter PSD not compatible with this version of Photoshop error.
- Improper termination of Adobe Photoshop application.
- Abrupt system shutdowns and interruptions while working or exporting the PSD file.
- Accessing PSD files from an external storage drive or network drive.
- Photoshop files became incompatible after updating the Adobe Photoshop program.
These scenarios lead to errors like PSD file not compatible with this version cc, cs6, or end of file error on Photoshop. The PSD file is not compatible with photoshop error does not allow you to open or save the PSD file. However, these errors can be fixed quickly with the help of the free workarounds that are mentioned below.
How to Fix PSD not compatible with this version of photoshop?
Explained here are a number of ways that are proven to fix Photoshop not compatible with this version issue. Starting with DIY methods that can fix minor issues in the PSD file to using a powerful PSD Repair tool to fix severely corrupt Photoshop files.
So without wasting any more time let’s get the ball rolling.
Method 1: Export the Corrupt PSD File with a New Name in Lightroom
Create a copy of the corrupt PSD file that is not compatible with photoshop, open it in Lightroom, and export it as a new PSD or TIFF file with a different name. This process might flatten the present layers but can fix and restore your inaccessible PSD file partially.
Method 2: Convert Photoshop Layers To Objects And Export the File Using Adobe Illustrator
Create a copy of your inaccessible PSD file, open it in Adobe Illustrator and choose Convert Photoshop layers to objects. Once the file is accessible in Illustrator, export it in a PSD format, and the PSD file not compatible with this version of Photoshop will be fixed.
If these quick fixes were not much of a help, then make use of the below Photoshop alternative mentioned.
Method 3: Fix Photoshop File Not Compatible With This Version Error Using GIMP
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source image editing application that can raster and retouch images. Though GIMP is not as advanced as Photoshop, it can access almost every source file that has been created using Photoshop. Follow the steps mentioned below to fix the PSD file not compatible with this version of photoshop error for free using GIMP.
Step 1: Download, install and launch the GIMP application.
Step 2: Click on File > Open and select the inaccessible PSD file.
Step 3: Once the inaccessible PSD file is loaded in GIMP, click on File > Export > Select .psd as format and again click on Export.
Note: If you have any grouped layers or editable layers open in the inaccessible PSD File, they will be flattened when you try to fix the photoshop file not compatible error using GIMP. This means that your corrupt PSD file will be fixed but you will lose a few layers from the original file. If you are looking for a tool or method that can repair your inaccessible PSD file without losing any layers, Remo Repair PSD is the right choice.
Remo Repair PSD software uses a read-only mechanism to avoid modifying your original PSD file. This tool extracts only the data from the corrupt .psd file by creating a copied file for repairing it. The tool is designed with a self-explanatory interface, which makes it easier even for novice users to repair their corrupt or damaged PSD files effortlessly. Furthermore, this tool even recovers multiple layers or separate layers from the corrupt PSD file.
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Steps To Fix PSD File Is Not Compatible With This Version Of Photoshop Error
Download, install and launch Remo Repair PSD software and follow the steps mentioned below.
- Click on Browse from the main screen and select the corrupt PSD file
- Click on the Repair button and wait till the tool repairs your PSD file
- Once the repair process is complete, you can make use of the preview feature to verify if your corrupt PSD file has been fixed.
- Later, click on the Save button to restore your repaired PSD file to your preferred destination.
What else can Remo Repair PSD do?
Remo Repair PSD can easily fix large PSD, PSB, and PDD image files regardless of the Adobe Photoshop version used to create them. It also fixes PSD files of different color modes such as grey-scale, RGB, CMYK, duotone, bitmap, lab color, and many more. If your .psd or .pdd file is compressed using the RLE algorithm, Remo Repair PSD can fix the file with ease. This PSD repair tool supports repairing PSD files created on various versions of Adobe Photoshop including the latest Photoshop CC 2019, 2020, 2021, Photoshop 8.1, CS7, CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3, CS2, and CS1.
