Windows HEIF and HEVC codecs

Last updated on Oct 27, 2025

View and work with HEIF (.heic) files in Adobe Photoshop on Windows by downloading and installing HEIF and HEVC codecs from the Microsoft Store.

When opening HEIF (.heic) files in Photoshop, you may see one of the following messages:

  • Additional non Adobe software is needed to open .heic files.
    Install the required software so Photoshop can open this file. 
  • Could not open "imagename.heic" because Photoshop cannot recognize the file extension.
Note

Canon HIF or HEIC Files aren’t supported. Use raw files from Canon cameras for best results.

To successfully import HEIF (.heic) files, download and install both HEIF and HEVC Extensions directly from Microsoft.

Quit Photoshop

Get the HEIF Image Extensions - The HEIF Image Extension enables Windows 10 devices to read and write files that use the High Efficiency Image File (HEIF) format.

Buy the HEVC Video Extensions - Play High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) videos in any video app on your Windows 10 device.

Restart Photoshop and import your HEIF (.heic) file.