How to Open HEIC Files in Photoshop for Better Editing

Individuals are bound to edit images for technical and creative reasons. They might want to fix a part of the photo, enhance the quality, add emotions through effects, and more. In fact, some people want to communicate through their images by editing. HEIC is commonly used in editing due to its efficiency and capability in producing high-quality images. Additionally, Adobe Photoshop is one of the most famous and complex tools for editing this image format.

However, other people cannot open HEIC in Photoshop. What seems to be the problem? Let us dig into it with this article! The detailed guide on how to open a HEIC file in Photoshop will also be seen. Continue reading this post for more information.

Part 1: When Can Photoshop Open HEIC?

Adobe Photoshop and HEIC files are pretty famous in this current generation. Photoshop is known for its complexity in editing, and HEIC is famous for its small file size, yet it contains better image quality compared to other image formats. You can improve more of the HEIC files in the Photoshop Super Resolution feature. How convenient to use Adobe Photoshop and HEIC files at the same time, right?

However, Adobe Photoshop and HEIC files sometimes face an issue. It happens when Photoshop users cannot open the HEIC files. Can Photoshop open HEIC files? macOS devices support it, but Windows devices do not.

Part 2: How to Open HEIC Files in Photoshop

Mac supports built-in features to open HEIC files without the need to download plugins or extensions to open them. However, your macOS version must be High Sierra 10.13 or later versions. You also need to ensure that you have downloaded Photoshop CC 2019 v20.0 or the latest version. Old versions of Adobe Photoshop cannot handle your HEIC files, even though your Mac supports them. Additionally, you should have a still version of the HEIC image because Photoshop will not open the motion part of Live Photos.

Unfortunately, HEIC is not supported on Windows devices. The Photoshop HEIC plugins and extensions are needed in this case. The steps below will be your best guide on how to open your HEIC files in Photoshop.

Step 1Ensure that the Photoshop program has its latest version to support HEIC images. After that, click the Edit button at the top left of the screen. Select the Preferences button from the drop-down options afterward. Then, click the Camera Raw button to continue.

Step 2Select the File Handling button from the left side of the main interface under the General section. Two sections will appear on the right. Go to the JPEG and TIFF Handling section.

Step 3Go to the JPEG section and click the Automatically Open JPEGs with Settings button. Next, select the Automatically Open All Supported JPEGs and HEICs button.

Step 4Now, you can open or import your HEIC files in Photoshop by dragging and dropping them into the interface.

Part 3: How to Open HEIC Files When Photoshop Doesn't Support the Format

It was mentioned that Windows devices do not support HEIC. If so, how to open HEIC files in Photoshop in Windows 11 and other versions? You can either convert HEIC to supported formats of Photoshop or download plugins. We will further explain these procedures in the sections below.

1. Convert HEIC Files to Supported Formats with AVAide Image Converter

AVAide Image Converter is your best choice to convert HEIC files to different image formats. It includes JPEG, JPG, PNG, and more. These image formats are all supported by Adobe Photoshop. This online tool automatically opens all supported JPEGs and HEIC files during the process. Additionally, you will save time in converting multiple HEIC files to different image formats because it supports batch conversion.

Moreover, this online program keeps the best image quality after the conversion. Having a low quality of converted files issue will not be faced using this tool! Do you want to know how it functions? Please follow the steps below.

Step 1Open your computer and navigate to its web browser. Search for AVAide Image Converter afterward. Then, go to the Select Output Format section and select your preferred image format.

Step 2Click the Choose Files button on the main interface. Then, choose the HEIC files from the computer album to import them.

Step 3Click the Download All option at the bottom. This action will save the converted images to your computer.

2. Convert HEIC to JPG Using Photoshop

Photoshop photo editor is used as a converter. This function of the mentioned tool can be used to fix the incompatibility issue of HEIC files with Windows devices. However, this can only be performed when you have a spare Mac. The best image format for the HEIC files to be converted to is JPG, due to its wide range of compatibility with devices. Learn how Adobe Photoshop converts HEIC to JPG with the steps below.

Step 1Click the File button at the top left of the interface. After that, drop-down options will appear. Click the Open button and find the HEIC file you need to convert. Double-click it to import it into Photoshop.

Step 2Click the File button again from the same spot. Then, the options list will be prompted. Click the Save a Copy option from the list to continue. Go to the Format section from the small window that will appear on the screen.

Step 3Multiple supported formats of Adobe Photoshop will appear on the screen. Click the JPEG button and rename the file if preferred. Click the Save option at the bottom. The image will be saved automatically afterward, mostly in the Downloads folder.

3. Install Adobe Photoshop HEIC Plugin

If converting is not your option, you can download a Photoshop HEIC plugin or extension. However, some Adobe Photoshop HEIC plugins or extensions are not free. Please see the guide below for a quick procedure.

Step 1Ensure that your Adobe Photoshop is not running on your computer. If it is, ensure that you close it. Then, go to your Windows Microsoft Store. Please search for the HEIF Image Extension tool and click the Install button to get it.

Step 2Search for the HEVC Video Extensions. After that, click the [Price] button to purchase it. Now, set up the two tools and launch Photoshop to import your HEIC files.

By Jane Pineda on Sep 05, 2025