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Image MIME Reference
FreeHand

Macromedia FreeHand Document

image/x-freehand
VS

Adobe Photoshop Document

image/vnd.adobe.photoshop
PSD

A complete technical comparison of Macromedia FreeHand Document and Adobe Photoshop Document — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature FreeHand PSD
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support ✕ No Yes
EXIF Metadata ✕ No Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Macromedia FreeHand Document
image/x-freehand
Extension
.fh.fh4.fh5.fh7.fh8.fh9.fh10.fh11.ft11
Container Proprietary Binary (Aldus Graphic Document)
Compression Uncompressed / Deflate (in later versions)
Algorithm
NoneDeflate (Optional in later versions)
Color Depth Vector Data (RGB/CMYK)
Developed by Altsys / Aldus / Macromedia
Released 1988
Magic Bytes
41 47 44 31 to 41 47 44 34
Full FreeHand reference →
Adobe Photoshop Document
image/vnd.adobe.photoshop
Extension
.psd.psb.pdd
Container Adobe Photoshop Document (PSD/PSB)
Compression Uncompressed / RLE (Run-Length Encoding) / ZIP
Algorithm
RLEZIP (with or without prediction)None
Color Depth 1-bit (Bitmap), 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit (Float/HDR)
Developed by Adobe Systems
Released 1990
Magic Bytes
38 42 50 53
Full PSD reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser FreeHand PSD
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
FreeHand

FreeHand Strengths

  • Historically one of the most powerful and intuitive vector editors on the market, praised for multi-page support long before Adobe Illustrator implemented it
  • Files are generally compact and self-contained
Limitations
  • Completely abandoned proprietary format; Adobe actively blocked native import in modern versions of Illustrator
  • No support in modern web browsers; must be converted to SVG
  • Versioning fragmentation means parsers must account for wildly different binary structures depending on the specific .fhX extension used
PSD

PSD Strengths

  • The undisputed global standard for layered raster graphics and non-destructive image editing
  • Supports incredibly complex compositions combining raster data, vector shapes, live text, and adjustment layers
  • Full support for advanced color spaces (CMYK, Lab, multi-channel) and 32-bit floating-point HDR workflows
Limitations
  • Proprietary format: while the specification is published, complete feature-parity is rarely achieved by third-party software (e.g., smart objects and complex layer styles often break)
  • Files can reach enormous sizes (gigabytes) due to the preservation of unflattened, high-resolution layer data
  • Zero support for native rendering in web browsers or standard mobile image viewers

When to choose which format

FreeHand
Use FreeHand when…
  • Legacy Graphic Design Portfolios
  • Historical Desktop Publishing Archival
  • Old Corporate Logo Vectors
PSD
Use PSD when…
  • Professional Photo Retouching
  • Digital Painting and Illustration
  • UI/UX Design Workflows
  • Graphic Design and Print Production

More comparisons

FreeHand vs ACES → PSD vs ACES → FreeHand vs APNG → PSD vs APNG → FreeHand vs AVCI → PSD vs AVCI → FreeHand vs AVCS → PSD vs AVCS → FreeHand vs AVIF → PSD vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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