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, we find on the market a number of plugins that do very sophisticated image retouching that would otherwise have been difficult or 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.
It is easy to install plugins into Photoshop. 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. Next time you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have your new plugins as an entry. The new plugins will show up the next time you launch Photoshop. So if it was running when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit and relaunch Photoshop. 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 you have an alternative plugins folder. Create it where ever you like and call it what you will.. 2. Start Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. At the bottom you will find Preferences; go there. This opens 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. Now locate your alternative plugins folder by clicking the Browse button.
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.
Plugins generally fall into two categories: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Effects plugins. 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. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. 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? 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 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. 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. 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. All you have to do is place the plugins inside the Plug-Ins folder. Next time you launch Photoshop, the menu Filters will have your new plugins as an entry. The new plugins will show up the next time you launch Photoshop. So if it was running when you installed the plugins, you will have to quit and relaunch Photoshop. 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 you have an alternative plugins folder. Create it where ever you like and call it what you will.. 2. Start Photoshop. 3. Open the menu Edit. At the bottom you will find Preferences; go there. This opens 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. Now locate your alternative plugins folder by clicking the Browse button.
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.
Plugins generally fall into two categories: 1. Plugins for photo retouching. 2. Effects plugins. 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. Sharpening, exposure or saturation would be examples of retouching. 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? 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 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. 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. 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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