How To: Using The ABR Viewer

 One of the fun things to do in PSP is use brushes when trying to kick up the level of your creativity.  And while yes, you can still find some PSP brushes on sites like DeviantArt, more times than not you are going to find brushes for Photoshop, which are in the .abr format.

All is not lost though.

Using the ABR Viewer you can "convert" those Photoshop brushes into .png files and then use the Import/Export function within PSP to make them into brushes that you can use in PSP.

The ABR Viewer is a small, stand-alone program that works OUTSIDE of PSP.  It is very simple, very easy to use.  Converting, and then importing, takes a couple of steps however once they are imported to your PSP, they are there permanently.  So, if done correctly,  you will only need to do this once for each .abr file.  (Please note that if you find you need to uninstall and reinstall PSP for some reason, you may need to import them again for the new installation, so keep/save the .png files that you will get via the ABR Viewer.)

👉👉 Please note:  I have set the screenshots to "extra large" size, however, if you need to see them bigger, click on them to open to their original size. 👈👈

👉👉 *If you find a step missing, or have questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me and let me know!*  👈👈

So, let's begin.

1.  Before I did anything, I made a folder to put the .abr files in and one to put the converted .png format images in.  It will help keep the confusion down, thereby making the steps easier to do/follow.  I usually have them as subfolders in a "convert" main folder on my spare drive.

2.  Grab the program, HERE.  Install per the directions.  I put mine on my desktop, and then in a folder on my desktop for external programs like this, Font Forge and Cfont Pro as I only use it sporadically, as needed.

3.  Once installed, you can open the program by clicking on the little icon.  When opened it should look like this:

4.  At the top. go to File > Open Brush Sets.

A window should open that allows you to browse to the folder that holds your .abr files.  Click on one of those files, then click "Open" in the bottom right corner of the window.

5.  You will now see each of the abr brushes as thumbnails in the program:

5.  At the top go to Export > Thumbnails:

And another window should pop up ... you will want to browse to the folder you have set for the png thumbnails (since I have quite a few of the mels brushes, I put the png folder in my main folder for their brushes):

Click on the OK button at the bottom.  That folder will now open up automatically and show the png files you just "converted":

If you don't intend to convert more .abr files, you can now close the program.

6.  Right click on one of the png files.  Go to Properties, and then the Details tab at the top.  You will want to look at the size of the image, which is where the highlighted square is:

When you import/export brushes into PSP, they cannot be more than 500 pixels on the largest side.  These are 591x591 pixels, so I will need to resize them.  So open each one in PSP (either as a group, or individually) and resize them so the largest side is 500 pixels or less.  For those that are unsure how to resize, open one of the png files in PSP.  Go to Image > Resize and use these (approximate) settings .... you will want the largest/biggest side to be no larger than 500 pixels, so if your brush is an odd size (such as rectangular), you will want that longest side to be 500 pixels or less:

Be sure that "Resize All Layers" is checked.

Resave the png in this new size.

Do this for each png file.

Now .... the following step is determined on whether you are using a new version of PSP, or older version.

>> If newer, follow these steps .... If older (like me!) you will need to follow the steps just after this.

FOR NEWER VERSIONS ⮟⮟⮟

A.  Once you have all of the png images resized, in PSP, go to File > Import > Custom Brush.

The following window should open:

B.  Click on the OPEN button in the upper left - browse to the folder that has those resized png files.  Scroll to the files you want to import.  If you have several, you can do them altogether.  At the bottom of the window, where it shows file formats to look for, you will want "All Files" at the bottom of the drop down menu:

C.  Click on the first one in the listing, then hold down your SHIFT button and then click the last one in the listing - that should hightlight all of them.  When you have the ones you want chosen, click on the "OPEN" button in the bottom right.  You should see thumbnails in the left panel of the import window.  It will look like this (this is a screenshot when I did different brushes):

D.  You will do the same thing with the SHIFT button to highlight all the ones you want to import.  Once you highlight them, you will click on the "ADD ALL" button in the middle.  You will see them now show up in the right side window.  Then click "OK".  They will import into your brushes.  To verify, open up your brush tool and open the preview window (yellow arrow, it will look like it has a drop down menu) and scroll to the name of the brush and you should find it.  They are now available for usage, permanently.  This is a "one and done" kind of thing.

FOR OLDER VERSIONS ⮟⮟⮟

>>If you are using an older version of PSP, images converted in Windows 10 and 11 will be "unsupported" because the version of the png image is new/current and incompatible with the older versions.  However not all is lost - we can still EXPORT the png images to PSP.  It's just that you will need to do them individually.

A.  With your png image open in PSP, you will go to File > Export > Custom Brush.

The following window will open:

B.  If the correct name of the file isn't showing, manually put it in there.  (When you do a lot of these you will notice that the name of the last one saved will show in the file name area so you will need to edit the file name each time you save a new brush).  If you wish to add any other info in the other text areas, feel free to do so. Be sure the "Save Variance" option is CHECKED. When you are satisfied, click on OK in the upper right corner of the little window.

C.  To verify, open up your brush tool and open the preview window (yellow arrow, it will look like it has a drop down menu) and scroll to the name of the brush and you should find it:

They are now available for usage, permanently.  This is a "one and done" kind of thing.

And you are done!!  Enjoy your newly available brushes!!