With Photoshop CS5, how do you retain original size of an image dropped as a file into an open document?

Question

If I'm working on a document in Photoshop and I want to drop in an image by dragging the file from Windows explorer into the open Photoshop document, I can do that. It inserts the dropped image in a sort of "placement" mode until I finalize by pressing 'Enter'.

The problem is, it doesn't insert the image at the image's actual size. It's generally smaller. Sure I can scale it once after dropping it in but that's not very accurate. In order to get the image to go into the document at its correct size I first have to open it in Photoshop as its own document (for example, dropping it into an empty area of the Photoshop window), and then drag that as a layer into the document I'm working on. This feels more like a workaround than a solution/answer.

How can I drop in an image file into an open Photoshop document without it inserting it into the document at the incorrect size?

Answer 1

I think I found an answer to

"How can I drop in an image file into an open Photoshop document without it inserting it into the document at the incorrect size?"

Turn the following options OFF:

I recognize that this question is a couple years old, but if anyone else found that this worked for them, let me know (I did a few tweaks but I think this is the one that made it work for me)

Answer 2

This is because of the difference in PPI between the image you are placing and the PPI of your document.

Here I've placed a 350 PPI image on a 72 PPI document:

But if I place the same image on a 350 PPI document (same pixel dimensions, compare the rulers of each document):

How you can fix this:

You can edit the PPI of your image. This is stored in the EXIF data. You can use a program like IrfanView (under Resolution in the Image Properties)

This method is probably more of a pain than it would be to open up the image in Photoshop then copy and paste it into your document, but I was not able to find a way to prevent Photoshop from behaving this way (perhaps someone else will prove me wrong!)

---

^{Image Credit: Jens Wilmer}

Answer 3

To resolve this issue, I did the following: Edit> image size Select "Resample": Preserve Details

change "Resolution:" to 72 for both images ( I used 72, but as long as both images are the same here it should be fine)

hope this can help

...also, under view, I select "print size" to see the actual onscreen size (for this to work, make sure Edit > Preferences > Units & Rulers has the correct Screen Resolution for your screen (PPI based on horizontal pixels, vertical pixels and diagonal size of your screen...lookup Display PPI Calculator to figure it out)

Answer 4

The easiest fix I've come up with is after dropping your file in, while it is selected, scale it with the percentages on top. Keep them restrained to one another and adjust for the percent difference in PPI. 300 -> 72 is 416.66, for instance.

Answer 5

I have the same issue but I got a fix. I didn't use the Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S while saving the the file as PNG or JPEG. Just use the regular Save As using Ctrl+Shift+S. I chose the Smallest fize size in the pop up menu and still not losing the original size of the PNG. I'm using Photoshop 21.2.1. Hope this helps. Take note that the image to be drop or place should be the same ppi with the canvas.

Answer 6

This is a guide based on the newer versions of Photoshop (not CS5), however this issue exists in the newer versions as well, and this page is the google's goto for this topic, so this seems justified.

1. Paste the image as smart object. For that you can do one of these steps (there are probably other ways):

   • Enable File > Preferences > General > Always Create Smart Objects When Placing option and drag the image from Explorer to Photoshop.
   • Use File > Place Linked and select your image there.

2. Select the image layer in the Layers window.

3. Click the "revert button" (pictogram to the right of Transform) in Properties window.

4. Press Convert to Layers (if you no longer need the image to be viewed as a smart object).

This will revert any transform made on the smart object (relative to the original), effectively pasting the image in its original size (in pixels). As mentioned in other answers the problem stems from the image having a different PPI value from the document. There does not seem to be a way to convince Photoshop that we live in a digital age, noone needs to print their work and therefore nobody cares about PPI.

NOTE: The Preferences > General > Resize Image During Place option resizes the image to fit the canvas and is irrelevant for this solution (this transformation will be undone as well).

Answer 7

Easy solution, if you start with a blank document, is to create a document with PPI set to the needed one even if you create the document with the dimentions in pixels.

Just set the width and height of the document in pixels and set the needed PPI too, and then you can drag and drop your images with correct size.

You can calculate the needed PPI by comparing the original size of the image with the size of the image inserted into the document, then create a new document but with the correct PPI.