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I want to upload .psd (Photoshop CS5) files to a subversion repository, and since the format seems so comprehensive (or maybe just bloated and convoluted), I'd like to just publish the core of the files, not useless metadata, thumbnails, or other things that would just take space or reveal unnecessary information.

So basically I'm looking for a tool that can help me clean up the files before committing them (something akin to pngcrush, but for PSD files), or instructions on how to perform that in Photoshop.

I'd like the files to retain the minimum necessary data to be edited again if necessary, and I do not need support for Photoshop versions prior to CS3, nor I use bleeding edge features such as 3D.

Edit: If you open a file with this tool, it will show how many metadata there is to PSD files: http://regex.info/exif.cgi. I'd like to get rid of the metadata at least, I'm sure the size will decrease even just by removing the embedded thumbnail and metadata.

Edit 2: This Windows tool shaves some 20KB of metadata from PSD files. It doesn't look like it removes thumbnails, but that's not a problem since I like the thumbnails as I use an enabler for them on windows. The tool is shareware, but could be of use to those interested in its other supported formats.

wonea
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Camilo Martin
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2 Answers2

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As the link you've provided shows, the metadata in a PSD file amounts to about 30K. Removing it will have a negligible effect on the filesize.

Here's how to get a PSD file to be as small as possible:

  • Delete all necessary layers
  • Flatten/merge as many layers as you can
  • Make sure there's no data off the edge of the image that you don't need
  • When you're prompted on save, untick the "Maximize Compatibility" box
  • Zip the final PSD file.

You may think that the PSD format is "bloated", but equivalent layered TIF files are usually much larger.

Good luck!

Django Reinhardt
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One of the best things you can do to limit the size of your PSD file is to uncheck the preference option in Photoshop named "Maximize Compatibility".

You can find this option in "Edit > Preferences > File Handling".

You have to make sure you won't need to open that file with an older version of Photoshop or you'll risk being limited in your capacity to modify them (non-recognized features will be saved in a "flattened" way, thus increasing file size).

Shadok
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