Opening files — formats and size limits
Which image formats PhotoFresco opens, the size limits for images, PSDs and canvases, and what the messages mean when a file is too large or damaged.
PhotoFresco opens PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP and AVIF images, Photoshop PSD files, and PhotoFresco .pfd documents. Opening a file decodes it in your browser. Session recording is on by default and can upload copies of opened files; see Privacy.
Ways to open a file
- File ▸ Open… (⌘O / Ctrl+O) picks a file from your computer and opens it in a new tab.
- File ▸ Open Recent reopens files you had open before.
- File ▸ My Documents… opens documents saved in your browser.
- File ▸ Place Embedded… adds an image to the current document as a new layer.
- An AI agent can open files only from folders you granted it, up to 32 MiB each.
Animated PNG, GIF and WebP files open as their first frame.
Size limits
Every open path checks a file's structure before it decodes the pixels. A file that is too large is refused straight away, so it can't freeze the tab or run your browser out of memory:
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| File size | 256 MiB for PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP and AVIF; 1 GiB for PSD and .pfd |
| Side length | 30,000 px for the canvas, the image and each PSD layer |
| Canvas area | 8192 × 8192 px (67.1 megapixels), the same as the largest document File ▸ New creates |
| Decoded pixel memory | 1 GiB across all layers, masks and the composite |
| Layers | 2,000 PSD layer records, with groups included |
| Animation frames | 1,000 |
| Decoding time | 60 seconds, after which the decode is stopped |
When a file is refused, nothing is opened and your other documents are untouched.
What the messages mean
A refusal shows a message at the bottom of the editor. It names the file and the limit:
| Message ends with | What to do |
|---|---|
| "each side can be at most 30000 px" | Downscale or crop the image in another app first |
| "the limit is 67.1 MP (8192×8192). Downscale it before opening." | The image fits the side limit but has too many pixels in total. Downscale it |
| "Decoding needs … of pixel memory" | A PSD with many full-size layers. Flatten or downscale some layers first |
| "The file has … layers; at most 2000 are supported." | Merge or delete layers in the PSD first |
| "The file is damaged or truncated" | The file is incomplete or corrupt. Download or export it again |
| "Unsupported file format." | The file is not one of the formats listed above (for example TIFF or HEIC). Convert it to PNG or JPEG first |
These messages describe only the file's size and structure. They never include its contents.
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