Create a contact sheet

Last updated on Oct 4, 2026

Generate thumbnail previews of multiple images in a single document with Contact Sheet II.

Contact sheets help you catalog image libraries, present project options to clients, or create visual indexes of your work. The Contact Sheet II plug-in arranges thumbnails from a folder or selection of images into a new document.

Start the process from either Photoshop or Adobe Bridge. When starting from Bridge, only images currently displayed are included unless you select specific images first. Images in subfolders are not included.

Ensure you have images saved in a folder that you want to include in your contact sheet. Contact Sheet II is available in Photoshop CS6 and later versions.

Open Contact Sheet II and select source images

In Photoshop, select File > Automate > Contact Sheet II, or in Bridge, select a folder or specific images, then select Tools > Photoshop > Contact Sheet II.

In the Contact Sheet II dialog box, select an option from the Use menu to specify your image source.

If using the Folder option, select Browse to locate and select the folder containing your images.

Configure document and thumbnail settings

In the Document area, specify dimensions, resolution, and color mode for your contact sheet.

Select Flatten All Layers to create a contact sheet with all content on a single layer, or deselect it to keep each image and caption on separate layers.

In the Thumbnails area, select Across First or Down First from the Place menu to control the thumbnail arrangement direction.

Enter the number of columns and rows for each contact sheet.

Apply spacing, rotation, and caption options

Select Use Auto-Spacing to let Photoshop space thumbnails automatically, or deselect it to specify vertical and horizontal spacing values manually.

Select Rotate For Best Fit to rotate images to optimize space on the contact sheet automatically.

Select Use Filename As Caption to label each thumbnail with its source filename, then select a font and size from the menus.

Select OK to generate your contact sheet.

Photoshop creates a new document containing your arranged thumbnails. If you selected Flatten All Layers, the contact sheet appears on a single layer. Otherwise, each image and caption appear on separate layers.

Note

The Bridge is not installed by default with Photoshop. To use the Bridge workflow, sign in to Creative Cloud with your Adobe ID, go to the Apps tab, and download Adobe Bridge.