Today’s Question: When I’ve tried to import images into Lightroom Classic that include some images saved as PSD files without the Maximize Compatibility option, I don’t get an error message until after the import is complete, with some images imported and others not. Is there a way to determine before the import which images can’t be imported because of this issue?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The only clue that a PSD or PSB file with layers wasn’t saved with the Maximize Compatibility feature enabled is that you’ll see text indicating “Preview unavailable for this file” in place of the thumbnail in the import dialog. The only way to know for sure that the file couldn’t be imported is to try to import it and see if you get a message indicating that one or more files couldn’t be imported, which appears after the import process is complete.
More Detail: If a PSD or PSB file that includes layers was saved with the “Maximize Compatibility” feature turned off in Photoshop, that file can’t be imported into Lightroom Classic. In that scenario, Lightroom Classic can’t generate a preview for the image because it isn’t able to interpret the layers included with the image. Note that this also means this issue doesn’t apply to PSD or PSB files that do not contain layers beyond the Background image layer, because the lack of layers eliminates the need for the Maximize Compatibility feature.
Other than the “Preview unavailable for this file” text, the only way to know that an image couldn’t be imported is to try to import it and then see if an error message appears. If there is a compatibility issue with one or more of the files you were attempting to import, you’ll see a dialog indicating that. This dialog will include one or more lists by category of the files that could not be imported.
Most importantly in terms of resolving this issue is that you can save that list as a text file to reference later. To do so, click the “Save As” button at the bottom-left of the error dialog, navigate to a convenient location, enter a filename in the “Save As” field, and click the Save button. You can then use that saved list to track down the files that need to have the Maximize Compatibility feature enabled, so the files can then be imported into Lightroom Classic.
