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.
It is easy to install plugins into Photoshop. Inside the Adobe Photoshop folder, there is a folder called Plug-Ins. 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. You can actually install the plugins in a different folder than 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. Open the menu Edit. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. Open Preferences. 4. In Preferences go to Plug-Ins or Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk, depending on your Photoshop version. 5. Check Additional Plug-Ins Folder to activate it. 6. Click the button Choose to browse to your desired alternative Plug-Ins folder.
That's all there is to it! You now have an alternative plugins folder where you can store all your personal plugins. Close the Preferences and quit 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 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, promises 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only for Windows.
It is easy to install plugins into Photoshop. Inside the Adobe Photoshop folder, there is a folder called Plug-Ins. 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. You can actually install the plugins in a different folder than 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. Open the menu Edit. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. Open Preferences. 4. In Preferences go to Plug-Ins or Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk, depending on your Photoshop version. 5. Check Additional Plug-Ins Folder to activate it. 6. Click the button Choose to browse to your desired alternative Plug-Ins folder.
That's all there is to it! You now have an alternative plugins folder where you can store all your personal plugins. Close the Preferences and quit 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 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, promises 64bit support will be released some time 2013. Filter Meister is only for Windows.
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