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pluginmanager10b.exe
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readme.txt
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1997-06-03
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==============================
The Photoshop Plugin Manager
==============================
Version 1.0b, Febuary 25, 1997
=======================================
WARNING:
Before you start using this program,
back-up your plugin directory!!!
=======================================
This program is FREE. Use it at your own risk.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topics:
1) Requirements
2) What's new in Version 1.0b?
3) Installation
4) ZIP contents
5) Why do I need a plugin manager?
6) How does it work?
7) How about Filter Factory plugins?
8) FILTERS.INI
9) Features
10) Configuring Plugin Manager
11) Note on Paintshop Pro 4.x users
12) Why is it FREE?
13) Known problems
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Requirements:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Photoshop 2.5, 3.0.x, 4.0
- Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Win32S
- at leat 800x600 video mode
(The main window does not fit in a screen size of 640 x 480 or less)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) What's new in Version 1.0b?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Photoshop 4.0 compatible!
This means, PM scans subdirectories of your plugin directory for
filters on startup.
Note: Only the first subdirectory level is scanned!
e.g. "c:\plugins\alienskin\" will be scanned
"c:\plugins\alienskin\others\" will NOT be scanned
I don't have Photoshop 4.0 and don't know how PS behaves on this point
- You can launch Photoshop from within Plugin Manager
- Shows the filename of a selected plugin in the main window
- Allows physical deletion of plugins
- "Auto Apply" Option:
Applies filter changes immediately to disk. This is the easiest and
fastest way to work with the Plugin Manager.
- some minor enhancements and bugfixes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Installation:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extract all ZIP content in a directory of your choice. If you create
a shortcut to the executable, make sure you type the correct working
directory. Otherwise you will get a warning message on startup and you
can't save ff plugins (error message: "template.bin not found")
On startup, the Plugin Manager will register a new shell file type
'.pmf' - this is the extension for filter setups you create on "Save"
or "Save As".
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) ZIP contents:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- pmanager.exe (executable)
- readme.txt (this document)
- history.txt (list of bugs and changes)
- template.bin (empty filter factory file)
- ffactory.bin (empty filter factory file)
- filters.ini (list of non-Filter Factory plug-ins)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Why do I need a plugin manager?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have MANY plugins, you will notice, that some of them are not
listed in the Photoshop menu the more it gets filled up. They are still
there, but you can't see them because Photoshop is not able to add more
menu entries.
The Plugin Manager will help you to enable or disable plugins, which
means that some plugins will renamed, so that Photoshop won't find them
on startup.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) How does it work?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Plugin Manager will change the *.8bf file extension to read *._bf
which effectively disables the plugin so Photoshop can't find the file
and load it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) How about Filter Factory plugins?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Plugin Manager will let you reorganize Filter Factory plugins by
allowing you to:
1. Rename the Filter menu name that shows up in the Filter menu.
2. Rename the filename itself of the filter so it becomes easier to
manage and to avoid duplicate filenames.
3. Move the Filter to another existing menu category, or you can create
a whole new menu category.
4. Sort out those unknown ones or less used ones by disabling the
Filter.
The buttons at the bottom of the Plugin Manager dialog box are used to
reorganize the filters. Under the Category window is New and Rename.
Selecting New will bring up a small box where you can type in your new
Category name of your choosing. Selecting Rename will allow you to
change the name of an existing category.
Under the Plugins window are 'Move To...', 'Enable' and 'Disable'. When
you highlight a plugin listed, select 'Move To' and a dialog box
containing categories listed in the Category window will be displayed.
Some proprietary categories may not be shown, such as KPT or Photoshop's
built in filters in version 4. Pick a category to move the plugin to,
and choose OK. You can also do batch changes by selecting all plugins
shown and choosing a single category for them to be moved to.
Choosing 'Disable' will change the '8bf' extension to '_bf' and 'Enable'
will change it back. Photoshop on startup will ignore the '_bf'
extension and not load the filter. Using 'Enable' and 'Disable' will
work on all filters.
When you are satisfied with your "filter setup", you can save this setup
to '.pmf' files, where the filename, title, category and state
(enabled/disbled) are stored in by choosing File>Save or Save As and
naming the *.PMF filter information file.
NOTE: Plugin Manager has not modified your plugin directory at this
step. To have your setup take effect, you have to press the "!"-button,
or choose the entry "Apply Changes" in the "Plugin" menu. A warning
message box will appear to inform you that your plugins are to be
physically changed (you can change this behaviour in the "preferences"
dialog).
By choosing Extra>Rescan Plugins from the menu, you can double check
your changes in Plugin Manager.
Next time you start Photoshop, you will notice your changes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) FILTERS.INI
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This file contains all plug-ins, the Plugin Manager can't recognize
automatically. This is: all plug-ins NOT created using Filter Factory
(like AlienSkin, KPT, etc.).
Please note: You can't move or rename plugins listed here - there
is no save way to patch them. The only thing you can do is enable
or disable this kind of plugins.
If you find entries in the category [Unknown] in the Plugin Manager
main window, you have plugins not listed in filters.ini.
You can edit the filters.ini file with any editor to add a name,
category and description for this plugins.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9) Features:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can decompile Filter Factory plugins, which means, you can turn an
'.8bf' file into an '.afs' file that you can load into the editor of
the Photoshop Filter Factory. The Filter Factory plugin is found on
the Photoshop CD-ROM in the GOODIES directory, ffactory.8bf is the
filename, just copy it to the plugins directory and it will load under
Filters>Synthetic>Filter Factory. An additional '.txt' file is generated
where you can find the original author, copyright, slider labels, etc.
If you want, you can modify ALL properties of Filter Factory plugins
from within Plugin Manager without having to start Photoshop a