Introducing Photoshop Plugins
by Istvan Racz
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. Place the plugins inside the Plug-Ins folder, and you are done. Next time you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have your new plugins as an entry. 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. 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! This alternative plugins folder can now be used to store all your personal plugins. 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.
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. 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. Ten years after Filter Meister was released, a novel approach to filter 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 available for the Windows platform.
Source: <a href="http://todayhub.com/rss2//article.php?id=3766">What are Photoshop Plugins?</a> and <a href="http://articles.org.in/article.php?id=392832">Introducing Photoshop Plugins?</a>
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New Unique Article!
Title: Introducing Photoshop Plugins
Author: Istvan Racz
Email: jan@janesmann.com
Keywords: Photoshop plugins,,Photoshop, digital photography,hobbies
Word Count: 510
Category: Hobbies
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