Making A PSD File Smaller?

[soulja]

is there a way of making a psd file smaller? instead of alterin the image size to much?

[doddsy]

is there a way of making a psd file smaller? instead of alterin the image size to much?

can't you save it as a jpeg and "save for web" then reduce the quality as required to reduce the file size?

[elmers]

... or if you need a smaller file without any loss in quality either zip or rar it to perserve the layers, or make a png file that will flatten the layers but give you smaller size than psd with original pixel perfect quality.

[OuTpaTienT]

Make as many parts of the file as you can with vectors. Shape layers and clipping paths are extremely small. We're talking a few K instead of multiple MB.

Get rid of any unneeded layers.

Combine as many layers as you can.

[soulja]

ya i did the clipping and i also found out why my psds were so big when i was trying to follow the image size in PS.. its the maximize the psd saving option.. when taken off, the size goes half the size than before.. is that a real need for that?..

[OuTpaTienT]

If you ever plan on sharing the file with someone that uses an older (non-CS) version of Photoshop then you should leave "maximize compatibility" on. Otherwise go ahead an turn it off and it will save ya a lot of space.

[dgray03]

I'm making a poster/flyer and my file is way huge. I have alot of layers and things like that. How do I make that smaller?

[paarthsharma]

Before starting a new layout:
1. Choose the correct canvas size. Don't create layouts at 12x12 if you plan to print at 8x8. Templates, quick pages, and digital papers delivered at 12x12 can be scaled down as needed.

After your layout is finished:

2. Crop the canvas. With the marquee tool, start at one corner of your canvas and drag the mouse to the opposite corner to select the entire canvas. From the menu select Image, Crop. Press Enter. This trims any part of digital elements or photos that extend outside the boundaries of your canvas.

3. Delete any hidden or extra (duplicate) layers. Turning the eye on and off to make sure the layer is truly extra.

4. Delete that original white background layer, if it's no longer needed. Most likely it's totally covered by another piece of paper!

5. Merge any clipped layers. This is a biggie! You'll shrink your file size by a lot by getting merging the clipped layers together. If you use template you can easily end up with 6 or 7 extra layers (photos) that are clipped to the template.