Hard drive space becomes a premium resource as we gather more digital products. I know I keep seeing my available hard drive space decreasing as I add to my collection of resources.
To determine how much hard drive space you have available, if you are using a PC:
- Click on the Windows logo (lower left corner of your screen)
- Click on “Computer”
- Right click on the drive that you would like to explore
- Go to Properties, and you will see a pop-up window, such as I have shown above.
Here you will be able to determine how much drive space you have used and how much you have available.
In past tutorials we have looked at 2 ways to save hard drive space:
Today let’s look at one more way to save hard drive space, and that is by deleting extra file formats that come with a product.
Many designers include multiple file formats such as PSD, TIF, and PNG in their products. This is typical with templates, for example, offering the consumer the opportunity to choose the file format that works best for them and the software they use.
Below is a screen capture of what is contained within one of the It’s a Snap Template folders. These templates were created by Jilbert’s Bits of Bytes.
First pictured is a folder with all of the “parts” of the template, in PNG format. Next is the PSD format, then the TIF format.
I am often asked if one needs to save all of these formats. It’s a personal choice; but if you are trying to save hard drive space, deleting the file formats you do not use is one way to help achieve that goal. (Since I do not use a Mac, if _MACOSX files are included, I also delete those.)
Here are the file sizes for this template:
- PNG folder = 3.8 MB
- PSD = 13 MB
- TIF = 5.2 MB
Because I use Photoshop, I personally would choose to save the TIF file and delete the PNG and PSD files, saving 16.8 MG of space in just this one folder.
The entire It’s a Snap Templates product consists of 4 templates. I did not measure each one, but if we assume they are all similar, by deleting the PNGs and TIFs from this set, we could save 67.2 MB of space. Multiply that by how many templates you may own… and, well, I think you get the idea.
Again, it’s a matter of choice what you keep or delete, of course! But deleting extra file formats is one option for you to consider when your hard drive space is starting to run low!
It’s a Snap is a collaboration between ADBDesigns, Jilbert’s Bits of Bytes, and myself, SnickerdoodleDesigns.
Below is a preview of the templates mentioned above. They are perfect for the Pocket Scrapper and also to be used in combination with traditional scrapping.
There’s still time to enjoy It’s a Snap introductory pricing, thru April 7th! Or, for the best value, consider any one of the three Collections available!
Here is a It’s a Snap cluster gift for you to enjoy! Click on the image below to download!
See you next week!
If you would like to keep this tutorial on your computer for easy reference, you may download a PDF here: Saving Hard Drive Space by Deleting Extra File Formats
Thank you for the cluster and frame. I’m not sure how the TIFF files work. Do you open this file in Photoshop? Does it show you the Layers? Does PS Elements treat them the same way?
Hi Steph, You are welcome. TIFF files open in Photoshop and do show layers. PSE treats them the same way. Hope that helps.
Great information!
I have spent a bit of time converting PSD files to TIFF files on PSE.
I have two comments:
1) In PSE, you need to do the following to be sure that your TIFF is as small as possible: Do file>save as>and choose TIFF format; Save; and when the TIFF options box comes up, under Image Compression choose LZW; and at the bottom, under Layer Compression choose ZIP (slower saves, smaller files). If you mark NONE under Image Compression, you will not get the great space savings you are looking for.
2) You will need to do the above procedure on one file at a time. If you are trying to Process Multiple Files (under the File menu), be aware that they will be compressed files – you will not have your layers if you turn PSD files into TIFF files in batches. If I am incorrect about this, I would love to know how it is possible to turn multiple PSD files into layered TIFF files – it would save a bunch of time for anyone trying to free up hard drive space!
🙂
Thanks for the reminder about deleting extra format files. I’m rapidly nearing the point where I’m beginning to worry about my remaining HD space and this is an excellent way to gain some back…and thanks for the lovely clusters Karen. 🙂
Thanks, Anita, for adding that information. I intended to include that in next weeks tutorial; but truly, it should have been included here for those, like you, who are not just deleting, but perhaps converting. Thanks, Elaina, and you are welcome!
Thank you. I also save tiff files to use in PSE and they work just as well as psd files. I see no difference in quality or functionality. Thank you for the clusters too! Very pretty!
I not only delete the extraneous formats & files and save only the .tif file, but if the .tif is bigger than I think it should be, I open it up & resave the way Anita mentioned — because not all designers save it in the smallest possible format, which kind of defeats the purpose!
I have just deleted 6506 _MACOSX files, after reading this. I couldn’t believe it, this is not even searching for the other’s I could delete, as I’m near to overload, this is a wonderful tutorial and explanation. Thank you Karen.
Thank you for the info on saving additional HD space. What program are TIFF files initially intended for? & if they can be used in PS/PSE & use so much less space, why are there PSD files?
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