Tips to open PCD file

Can't open the PCD file? You are not the only one. Thousands of users face similar problems every day. Below you will find tips on how to open PCD files as well as a list of programs that support PCD files.

PCD file extension

File Name Kodak Photo CD Image Format
File Developer Kodak
File Category Raster Image Files

The PCD file is supported on 3 operating systems. Depending on your operating system, you may need different software to handle the PCD files. Below is a summary of the number of programs that support and open the PCD file on each system platform.

Operating systems
  • 6
  • 4
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

What is PCD file?

The file with the extension PCD is the Raster Image Files file type. The creator of this file is Kodak. Additionally, the Raster Image Files category contains 522 of other files. Kodak Photo CD Image Format appears on 3 operating systems as a functional file. These systems consist of Linux, Mac OS, Windows, although it may occasionally be found on another system, it will be non-functional. It is recommended to use Adobe Photoshop to handle this file. This is a program created by Adobe Systems Incorporated. There are also 10 alternative programs to handle the PCD file. You can use ACDSee, PaintShop Pro, XnView, IrfanView in case Adobe Photoshop cannot be used.

How to open PCD file?

The most common problem when using Kodak Photo CD Image Format is that a specific PCD is not associated with the program. This causes the file PCD to open by system applications not designed for this purpose, or to display a message that there is no associated program. This can be quickly resolved by following the instructions below.

The first thing you should do is just "doubleclick" on the PCD file icon you want to open. If the operating system has an appropriate application to support it and there is also an association between the file and the program, the file should be opened.

Step 1. Install Adobe Photoshop

An often overlooked issue is to make sure that Adobe Photoshop is installed on the computer. To do this, enter the name Adobe Photoshop into the system search engine. If it is not, installation may solve the problem, as most applications create file associations during installation. Below you will find a list of applications that support PCD files.

Step 2. Create association of Adobe Photoshop with PCD files

However, it may happen that the application itself does not cause the PCD file to open in the Adobe Photoshop application, but you can set it manually. This option is available from the level of Properties of a specific file available in the context menu. The window will show, among other things, the type of the file and the information by which the program is used to launch the file. Changes can be made using the "Change" button. If there is no software on the list, simply select "Browse" and manually select the directory where the application is installed. The "always use the selected program ..." field will set the Adobe Photoshop application as the default for handling the PCD file.

Step 3. Update Adobe Photoshop to the latest version

The fault may also lie with the Adobe Photoshop program, it is possible that Kodak Photo CD Image Format requires a newer version of the program. This can be done using the application (if it provides such options) or from the Adobe Systems Incorporated website and install the latest version.

Step 4. Check for the following problems with the PCD file

Of course, it may happen that despite the above steps, the file still does not work. This could be due to the file itself, the cleanest issues are:

The affected file may be 0 KB or smaller than expected. This suggests truncating the PCD file contents when downloading or copying. The file should be downloaded again, making sure that the process has finished correctly.
The computer may have fallen victim to a computer virus or hacker. Perform a virus scan using available and up-to-date anti-virus software. Some antivirus vendors also provide free online scanners. The scan should cover the entire computer, not only the PCD file that we want to open. As a result of the scan, sometimes it is not possible to recover PCD files, which are deleted if there is a backup of this file, then after restoring it, it must also be scanned.
Older version of PCD file may not always be supported by the latest software version. These problems are known and are often very easy to fix using the software developers's website.
There can be many reasons for this. Repairing is very dependent on the file type. Sometimes the program itself has options to repair the most popular PCD file corruption. The easiest way is to restore the file from a backup, if there is one, or contact Kodak
When reading, a message appears that the file was encrypted or corrupted. The encrypted PCD files can be used by the device on which they were encrypted, on any other device it is required to have the appropriate cryptographic key and decrypt the file before its recovery.
The operating system protects files in some locations (e.g. the root of the system partition) against unauthorized access. These directories are write-protected to them and it's very hard to fix this problem. It is best to move PCD to a different directory.
This problem only occurs with more complex files. In this case, the PCD file is blocked by the first application to open it. Closing other programs should help. If the error persists after closing other programs, wait for a while. Some anti-virus or backup software may occupy the PCD file for a certain period of time. If the problem persists, restart the machine.