Photoshop plugins, or Photoshop filters as they are also called, add extra functions to Photoshop. They are automatically loaded into Photoshops Filter menu at start-up. Most plugins focus on effects that are hard to duplicate in Photoshop. Recently a number of plugins have been produced, that do sophisticated image retouching that would otherwise be impossible or very time consuming in Photoshop. Photoshop has since begun to offer functions similar to some of the old plugins, like lens correction and proper black-white conversion.
But how does one install plugins into Photoshop, you may ask? Inside the Adobe Photoshop folder, there is a folder called Plug-Ins. Simply place the plugins there. Launch Photoshop and the menu Filters will have your plugins listed. If Photoshop was already running, when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit Photoshop and launch Photoshop anew. The plugins can in fact be installed in any folder you want, not just Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. This is how to set Photoshop up to load plugins from any folder you like:
1. First make sure your alternative plugins folder exists, otherwise create it where ever you like. 2. Launch Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. At the bottom you will find Preferences; go there. This opens the Preferences submenu. 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.
That's it! You can now store all your plugins in this alternative plugins folder. Exit the preferences and relaunch Photoshop. When you relaunch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have the plugins in your alternative plugins folder listed at the bottom of the menu.
In general there are two kinds of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Effects plugins. Retouching plugins don't add anything new to the image, but rather manipulate what is already there. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the image. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. Effects examples could be lens flare, bokeh or raster. Of course there are cross overs. What about lens correction? Is that a retouch or an effect? If you correct barreling or pincushion, it is a retouch, but if you use it to create the look of a fish eye lens, it is an effect.
Third party plugin support was first introduced in Photoshop 2 in 1991. In 1994 Joe Ternasky released Filter Factory for writing third party plugins. In 1997 Alex Hunter released Filter Meister as an improvement over Filter Factory and many of todays plugins are written in Filter Meister. In 2007 a novel approach to plugin development was released as Filter Forge. Filter Forge plugins require Filter Forge to run and they are not stand alone. Filter Meister plugins are currently only for 32 bit Photoshop, but the developer, Alex Hunter, says 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only for Windows.
But how does one install plugins into Photoshop, you may ask? Inside the Adobe Photoshop folder, there is a folder called Plug-Ins. Simply place the plugins there. Launch Photoshop and the menu Filters will have your plugins listed. If Photoshop was already running, when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit Photoshop and launch Photoshop anew. The plugins can in fact be installed in any folder you want, not just Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. This is how to set Photoshop up to load plugins from any folder you like:
1. First make sure your alternative plugins folder exists, otherwise create it where ever you like. 2. Launch Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. At the bottom you will find Preferences; go there. This opens the Preferences submenu. 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.
That's it! You can now store all your plugins in this alternative plugins folder. Exit the preferences and relaunch Photoshop. When you relaunch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have the plugins in your alternative plugins folder listed at the bottom of the menu.
In general there are two kinds of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Effects plugins. Retouching plugins don't add anything new to the image, but rather manipulate what is already there. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the image. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. Effects examples could be lens flare, bokeh or raster. Of course there are cross overs. What about lens correction? Is that a retouch or an effect? If you correct barreling or pincushion, it is a retouch, but if you use it to create the look of a fish eye lens, it is an effect.
Third party plugin support was first introduced in Photoshop 2 in 1991. In 1994 Joe Ternasky released Filter Factory for writing third party plugins. In 1997 Alex Hunter released Filter Meister as an improvement over Filter Factory and many of todays plugins are written in Filter Meister. In 2007 a novel approach to plugin development was released as Filter Forge. Filter Forge plugins require Filter Forge to run and they are not stand alone. Filter Meister plugins are currently only for 32 bit Photoshop, but the developer, Alex Hunter, says 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only for Windows.
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