Plugin Commander,
a stand alone application (both a freeware and professional version) that
will compile FF plugins, have an FX preview, compile them for Adobe Premier,
convert back and forth between the two, and much more.
Plugin Commander,
a stand alone application (both a freeware and professional version) that
will compile FF plugins, have an FX preview, compile them for Adobe Premier,
convert back and forth between the two, and much more.
Plugin Manager
and the Freeware Version of Plugin Manager
(two different links) for the PC version of Photoshop. The Plugin Manager
will allow you to rename filter categories, slider names, recompile and
decompile Filter Factory filters, and more. A needed tool for the Photoshop
user. Will only work on plugins made using Filter Factory.
Right click on a separate directory containing a group of plugins and select 'Create Shortcut'. A shortcut link will be added to the directory (it's the one with the little arrow). You may have to do a View>Refresh to see it. Once you find the shortcut, move it to the Photoshop>Plugins directory. Now start Photoshop. Photoshop will load all the plugins from that directory, no matter where they are located, all because the shortcut points to them. This way, it's easier to remove a shortcut than an entire directory full of plugins. This will work for versions 3.x and 4.x of Photoshop on the Windows 95 platform. Just be sure in 3.x that the shortcut goes directly into the Plugins directory since 3.x doesn't read sub-directories like 4.x does.
Photoshop 4.0 will now read every plugin, in every sub-directory under the Plugins directory, and load them. Which does make it somewhat easier to manage them all. Using Tip #2 below to sort out your plugins from each other, simply put them in their own respective directories, and make sure those directories are not under the Plugins one. The new directories should be at least at the same directory level Plugins is at, or above it. Now, all you have to do is move the directory itself containing the plugins you want into the Plugins directory before starting Photoshop 4.0. Prior to 4.0, you had to move each *.8bf file, a pain when going back to unload them when finished. This way, they are always kept separate, and a lot easier to manage. Since you're probably using Windows 95, take advantage of long file names and re-name any new filters you get with a name that refers to its origins as part of its original name. Just remember, loading way too many plugins will eat memory and slow down Photoshop considerably.
I've lost some of my Plug-Ins from the menu!
Yup, it happens when you have way too many filters, like me. Don't worry,
they're still there, they just haven't been loaded by Photoshop. The Filters
menu seems only able to handle 23 separate categories in alphabetical order. If
you have 23 already, and a new one gets added, the last category name drops off,
but the filters from the dropped category are still loaded in alphabetical order
under "Other" in the Filters menu. And here's the next catch - each category
will only hold a maximum of 45 filters, but, you might not see them all. If your
screen resolution is 1024x1024, you have a 17" or larger monitor and the Windows
text you are using is the small font style, you should see all 45 filters. If
your resolution, screen size, font size gets lesser, smaller or bigger, not all
the filters will show up. So you don't want all your filters to load, just the
ones you want, and you seem to have a mess of filters to sort out, there's still
hope. Here are three tips you can use to manage them:
First....
You'll have to move plugins that you've installed so you can get your Filter
Menu back to seeing all the plugins that are listed in your Plugins directory.
Tip #2 will help you do this. Once this is done, you can begin to set your
plugins to be listed in the Command Palette, and you can make as many Command
Palettes as needed.
Now....
If you've never learned how to use the Command Sets palette, now is the time to
learn. First, make sure your image is in RGB mode so you'll have access to all
the filters. If you have a filter that requires a different mode, you'll have to
switch to that mode when you come to it. Now, open a Command Set Palette up from
the menu by going Window>Palettes>Show Commands. You'll get a palette box that
may or may not be empty. Find the little right pointing arrow in the upper right
hand corner of the Palette and click on it. Pick New Commands and a dialog box
will appear (you'll come back to this arrow for saving, editing and loading
Command Sets.) Don't type anything in the empty field since you'll be selecting
your filter. Now, going down the filter menu, starting at the bottom category,
choose each filter in the Other category one by one, creating a new Command for
each filter listed. Repeat for each filter. When the Other category is done,
save it as Other Filters.acm (I have Windows 95 for the long filenames) in the
Photoshp/CmdSets directory. Now, delete all the filters listed in the Command
Set that was just saved, (not the filters themselves), and start over again with
the next filter Category going up the list, saving each Command Set and naming
it the name of the Category. When your done saving five or six Categories (or
whatever Categories were not originally seen) move back all the filters you
moved and restart Photoshop. The object is that these filters you are moving are
the 3rd party filters that have pushed the regular Adobe filters off the menu,
which is what you just made command sets for (the Adobe default filters for
example). When you move the 3rd party filters back, they'll push the existing
filters off the menu, the ones you just made command sets for, but the newly
created command sets will allow you access to them. To get at one of the
Categories that's missing, open up a Command Palette window, click on the arrow
and select Load Commands, choose one from the dialog box, and now you have them.
You can append command sets to one long list (see below) or open them up one at
a time. Just remember, the more plugins that are loaded, seen or not seen, will
suck up memory and generally slow down Photoshop.
What I've Learned....
Seems as though PS loads each and every filter in the Plugins directory (I
assume until it runs out of memory) and just keeps loading filter categories in
Alpha order until it runs out of the 23 category limit pushing the ones at the
bottom off the list and into the 45 filter limit in the Others category, then
into the Filter Twilight Zone , but what doesn't get put in the filters menu is
still loaded anyway. So now you have access to the disappearing filters. If you
open a Command Set and then try to copy over the matching filters into the
Plugins directory after Photoshop has loaded, they won't be recognized. The
filters first have to load in order for the Command Set to see them, even if
they aren't listed on the filter menu. The Command Set seems to have a limit (I
hate limits!!) of 32 items, but that may depend on the screen resolution you're
using, like in the Filters menu limits. At least now we can get at an unlimited
number of filters by opening Command Sets, or appending them to an existing one.
Tip #2 Moving Plugins Using Explorer or File Manager and Seeing What's
What
You'll have to have both Photoshop running and File manager or Explorer open to
the Photoshop | Plugins directory. What you'll be doing is moving plugins, one
by one, to another directory called Plugins Not In Use or Not Used (if you're
using old style Windows) under the main Plugins directory. Since I use Windows
95, I created the Plugins Not In Use directory. To decide which Plug-Ins to
move, open up a file in Photoshop so you can have access to all the Plug-Ins,
and make a mental note of the Plug-In name you want to remove. That name may or
may not be close to the actual filename of the Plug-In *.8bf file. If you've
think you've found it, move the file to the Plugins Not In Use directory, then
go back and try to use the Plug-In. If you were successful in getting the right
one, you'll get an error message of some kind. It might say Plug-In xxxxxxxx.8bf
not found, or, like I got in Windows 95, it tried to tell me I didn't have
enough RAM. That error message really surprised me, but it just means it
couldn't find the Plug-In. If you missed the right Plug-In, move it back and
pick another. Keep doing this until you get the right ones and you're happy with
what you want, restart Photoshop, check your results, and keep it or start
weeding out Plug-Ins again. The Plug-Ins that get dumped into the "Other"
category when you have too many seem to be put there in some random fashion I
have yet to figure out. But, with this technique, until Adobe comes out with a
better way, you be able to manage your Plug-Ins better. And now you know why I
organized the Filter Factory Galleries the way I did, makes things simpler.
Tip #3 Hex Editing The Filter Factory Galleries (Only)
You can hex edit the Filter Factory Gallery Plugins using a regular hex editor
to change the code for what Gallery category the filters load into. I use a hex
editor called Hexworks Hex editor. You could probably find it on the Net by
doing a search. Any hex editor will work, just don't use a regular text editor.
When you open the file up, choose "text string search" (not a binary search) and
search for this "text string": Filter Factory Gallery A. The letter will change
with the Gallery you have open. It will be in two places, change both places.
You can change the Gallery letter to any letter you want, but just don't change
the number of characters in the whole phrase. If you do change the phrase, there
has to be the same total of letters and spaces used again. And remember to work
on a backup copy, and not the original file in case you mess up. If you choose
to edit another type of plugin, you're on your own there. I'm not a hex editor
wizard, so if anyone has more experience and a tip to share,
let me know and I'll put up your tip.
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