Photoshop plugins, or Photoshop filters as they are also called, add extra functions to Photoshop. They are automatically loaded into Photoshop's Filter menu at start-up. Most plugins focus on effects that are hard to duplicate in Photoshop.. 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. Adobe Photoshop installs with a folder called Plug-Ins inside the Photoshop folder. Simply place the plugins there. Next time you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have your new plugins as an entry. If you had Photoshop running, when you installed the new plugins, you will have to shut and relaunch Photoshop to see the new plugins. Actually you don't have to install the plugin into Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. Follow these guidelines to install plugins in any folder you like:
1. First make sure you have an alternative plugins folder. Create it where ever you like and call it what you will.. 2. Launch Photoshop. 3. Go to the menu Edit and open it. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. This will load the Preferences sub menu. 4. Plug-Ins might be called "Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk" depending on your Photoshop version. Go there. 5. Check Additional Plug-Ins Folder to activate it. 6. Use the Choose button to browse to your alternative plugins folder.
That's all there is to it! You can now store all your plugins in this alternative plugins folder. Close the Preferences and quit Photoshop. Next time you run Photoshop, the menu Filters should have all your personal plugins listed at the bottom.
In general there are two kinds of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Plugins that add effects. Retouching plugins don't add anything new to the photograph, but rather manipulate what is already there. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the picture. Retouching examples could be sharpening, exposure or saturation. Lens flare, bokeh or raster would be examples of effects. Of course there are cross overs. What about lens correction? Is that a retouch or an effect? It is a retouch if you correct barreling or pincushion, but if you make a regular image look like a fish eye shot, 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 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. Currently Filter Meister plugins only support 32bit Photoshop. But Alex Hunter says 64 bit support will come some time in 2013. Filter Meister is only available for the Windows platform.
It is easy to install plugins into Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop installs with a folder called Plug-Ins inside the Photoshop folder. Simply place the plugins there. Next time you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have your new plugins as an entry. If you had Photoshop running, when you installed the new plugins, you will have to shut and relaunch Photoshop to see the new plugins. Actually you don't have to install the plugin into Photoshop's Plug-Ins folder. Follow these guidelines to install plugins in any folder you like:
1. First make sure you have an alternative plugins folder. Create it where ever you like and call it what you will.. 2. Launch Photoshop. 3. Go to the menu Edit and open it. Go to the bottom of the Edit menu to Preferences. This will load the Preferences sub menu. 4. Plug-Ins might be called "Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk" depending on your Photoshop version. Go there. 5. Check Additional Plug-Ins Folder to activate it. 6. Use the Choose button to browse to your alternative plugins folder.
That's all there is to it! You can now store all your plugins in this alternative plugins folder. Close the Preferences and quit Photoshop. Next time you run Photoshop, the menu Filters should have all your personal plugins listed at the bottom.
In general there are two kinds of plugins: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Plugins that add effects. Retouching plugins don't add anything new to the photograph, but rather manipulate what is already there. On the other hand, effects plugins add, well, effects to the picture. Retouching examples could be sharpening, exposure or saturation. Lens flare, bokeh or raster would be examples of effects. Of course there are cross overs. What about lens correction? Is that a retouch or an effect? It is a retouch if you correct barreling or pincushion, but if you make a regular image look like a fish eye shot, 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 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. Currently Filter Meister plugins only support 32bit Photoshop. But Alex Hunter says 64 bit support will come some time in 2013. Filter Meister is only available for the Windows platform.
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