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. Almost anything can be done by a plugin and some are very advanced. Recently a number of plugins have been produced, that do sophisticated image retouching that would otherwise be impossible or very time consuming in Photoshop. Recent version of Photoshop does what some of the older plugins did, like lens correction and 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. Run Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. Move the mouse to the bottom of the Edit menu, to Preferences. This opens the Preferences sub menu. 4. Go to the Plug-Ins Preferences. It may be called Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk, depending on your Photoshop version. 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 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. Retouching plugins. 2. Effects plugins. Retouching plugins tend to manipulate what is already in the photograph without adding anything new. Effects plugins on the other hand add, well, effects to the picture. Examples of retouching could be sharpening, exposure or saturation. Examples of effects plugins could be lens flare, bokeh or raster. The distinction is not always so easy. 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 photo, 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. Run Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. Move the mouse to the bottom of the Edit menu, to Preferences. This opens the Preferences sub menu. 4. Go to the Plug-Ins Preferences. It may be called Plug-Ins and Scratch Disk, depending on your Photoshop version. 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 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. Retouching plugins. 2. Effects plugins. Retouching plugins tend to manipulate what is already in the photograph without adding anything new. Effects plugins on the other hand add, well, effects to the picture. Examples of retouching could be sharpening, exposure or saturation. Examples of effects plugins could be lens flare, bokeh or raster. The distinction is not always so easy. 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 photo, 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.