Photoshop plugins load into Photoshop's Filter menu when Photoshop launches. They add all sorts of extra functions to Photoshop. In the old days Photoshop plugins were just a bunch of weird effects.. Today, however, some very sophisticated plugins have been produced that aim at complicated image retouching that would otherwise have been impossible or very time consuming in Photoshop. More recent versions of Photoshop has been inspired by some old plugins and does similar things, like lens correction and proper black-white conversion.
But how does one install plugins into Photoshop, you may ask? Adobe Photoshop installs with a folder called Plug-Ins inside the Photoshop folder. All you have to do is place the plugins inside the Plug-Ins folder. When you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will show your new plugins. If Photoshop was already running, when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit Photoshop and launch Photoshop anew. Actually you don't have to install the plugin into Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. To install in any folder you like, follow these guidelines:
1. First make sure your alternative plugins folder exists, otherwise create it where ever you like. 2. Start Photoshop. 3. Go to the menu Edit and open it. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. Open Preferences. 4. Plug-Ins might be called "Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk" depending on your Photoshop version. Go there. 5. Activate Additional Plug-Ins Folder by checking it. 6. Click the button Choose to browse to your desired alternative Plug-Ins folder.
As simple as that! This alternative plugins folder can now be used to store all your personal plugins. Exit the preferences and relaunch Photoshop. The plugins in your alternative location will be listed at the bottom of the Filter menu next time you run Photoshop.
There are generally two types of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Plugins that add effects. Retouching plugins tend to manipulate what is already in the photograph without adding anything new. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the image. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. Lens flare, bokeh or raster would be examples of effects. The distinction is not always so easy. Is lens correction a retouch or an effect, for example? It is a retouch if you correct barreling or pincushion, but if you make a regular image look like a fish eye picture, it is an effect.
Third party plugin were made possible in 1991 when Photoshop introduced the possibility in Photoshop 2. Three years later Joe Ternasky released Filter Factory for writing third party plugins. Three years after Filter Factory appeared, Alex Hunter released Filter Meister as an improvement over Filter Factory. Many of today's plugins are written in Filter Meister. In 2007 a novel approach to plugin development was released as Filter Forge. Filter Forge does not build stand alone plugins, but only plugins that run within Filter Forge. Filter Meister plugins are currently only for 32 bit Photoshop, but the developer, Alex Hunter, promises 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only available for the Windows platform.
But how does one install plugins into Photoshop, you may ask? Adobe Photoshop installs with a folder called Plug-Ins inside the Photoshop folder. All you have to do is place the plugins inside the Plug-Ins folder. When you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will show your new plugins. If Photoshop was already running, when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit Photoshop and launch Photoshop anew. Actually you don't have to install the plugin into Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. To install in any folder you like, follow these guidelines:
1. First make sure your alternative plugins folder exists, otherwise create it where ever you like. 2. Start Photoshop. 3. Go to the menu Edit and open it. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. Open Preferences. 4. Plug-Ins might be called "Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk" depending on your Photoshop version. Go there. 5. Activate Additional Plug-Ins Folder by checking it. 6. Click the button Choose to browse to your desired alternative Plug-Ins folder.
As simple as that! This alternative plugins folder can now be used to store all your personal plugins. Exit the preferences and relaunch Photoshop. The plugins in your alternative location will be listed at the bottom of the Filter menu next time you run Photoshop.
There are generally two types of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Plugins that add effects. Retouching plugins tend to manipulate what is already in the photograph without adding anything new. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the image. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. Lens flare, bokeh or raster would be examples of effects. The distinction is not always so easy. Is lens correction a retouch or an effect, for example? It is a retouch if you correct barreling or pincushion, but if you make a regular image look like a fish eye picture, it is an effect.
Third party plugin were made possible in 1991 when Photoshop introduced the possibility in Photoshop 2. Three years later Joe Ternasky released Filter Factory for writing third party plugins. Three years after Filter Factory appeared, Alex Hunter released Filter Meister as an improvement over Filter Factory. Many of today's plugins are written in Filter Meister. In 2007 a novel approach to plugin development was released as Filter Forge. Filter Forge does not build stand alone plugins, but only plugins that run within Filter Forge. Filter Meister plugins are currently only for 32 bit Photoshop, but the developer, Alex Hunter, promises 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only available for the Windows platform.
No comments:
Post a Comment