[calcat]

I have many many filters/plugins. In PS CS2 in the preferences, I pointed to the file where I keep them (in a file outside of my graphics programs).

CS2 is only showing about a quarter of them under the 'filter' menu. Then I discovered that all of them are displayed in the 'help' menu, in alphabetical order, regardless of any sets they may be part of. So if I want to use one that starts with 'S', for example, I have to scroll all the way down, which takes some minutes.

Other of my graphics programs have no problem showing all the filters. I'm hoping there is a way to make the filters show up in an organized way, other than in the long, long alphabetized list that I mentioned above.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Calcat

[lister]

Have you tried pressing S on the keyboard? It should jump to the first filter starting with that letter

[calcat]

Originally Posted by lister

Have you tried pressing S on the keyboard? It should jump to the first filter starting with that letter

Hi Lister,
Yes, I tried that just now. Doesn't have any affect at all, that I can see. (Forget to say that the individual filters show up in 'help' under 'about plugin').

Can you or anyone tell me if the behaviour that I described in my first message about this issue is normal behaviour for PS CS2? I couldn't find any reference to this, doing a Google search, trying a number of keyword combinations.

Thanks
Calcat

[lister]

Is there any pattern to which filters/plugins are not showing up?
eg: plugins with installers have info added to the registry, so if they are added to a 2nd hdd and the OS has been reinstalled (or the drive formatted) then they will need to be reinstalled too.

You also shouldn't share the plugin directory from an older version of PS as the filters will share the same name as newer versions.

Outdated or unsupported plugins probably won't show up in the filters list either.

Too many plugins could cause problems. Ideally you should pare down the number of these installed - you'll find PS can handle a lot using it's native filters, and they tend to give better results than some of the default settings on plugins (eg; a lot of the alien skin plugin effects can be easily recognizable to those with a good eye for these things).

You could also try categorizing 3rd party filters using Plugin Commander - I've never used this (or needed to) so i can't recommend it specifically.
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/picopro/index.htm

[calcat]

Originally Posted by lister

Is there any pattern to which filters/plugins are not showing up?
eg: plugins with installers have info added to the registry, so if they are added to a 2nd hdd and the OS has been reinstalled (or the drive formatted) then they will need to be reinstalled too.

You also shouldn't share the plugin directory from an older version of PS as the filters will share the same name as newer versions.

Outdated or unsupported plugins probably won't show up in the filters list either.

Too many plugins could cause problems. Ideally you should pare down the number of these installed - you'll find PS can handle a lot using it's native filters, and they tend to give better results than some of the default settings on plugins (eg; a lot of the alien skin plugin effects can be easily recognizable to those with a good eye for these things).

You could also try categorizing 3rd party filters using Plugin Commander - I've never used this (or needed to) so i can't recommend it specifically.
http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/picopro/index.htm

Okay, it isn't a case of an OS reinstall/hdd format. Not a case of an older vs of PS. Well, I guess too many for PS is quite a lot fewer than too many for PSP, in which all my plugins show up. I will have to categorize them.

The ff factory will show up in PiCo Light. I'm having a performance issue with that right now, and there's no demo, so I'll wait to see what the author of it says, before I plunk down my $$ for the Pro vs. <g>

I'm also looking at Plugin Master, which is quite nifty. Doesn't show an array of filter effects applied to one image, as PiCo Pro does...

Thanks for your ideas.
Calcat

[hewee]

Don't have PS CS2 but in other image program all the plug-ins show up.
But they can be grayed out. They are grayed out if the file format is not right. Like if it is not true color.
So don't know if your having the same thing going on but it's not showing the grayed out plug-ins or it is only showing the filter and or plug-in that can be used for the image format you got open.

Just a guess so not sure if this is what is going on.

[calcat]

Originally Posted by hewee

Don't have PS CS2 but in other image program all the plug-ins show up.
But they can be grayed out. They are grayed out if the file format is not right. Like if it is not true color.
So don't know if your having the same thing going on but it's not showing the grayed out plug-ins or it is only showing the filter and or plug-in that can be used for the image format you got open.

Just a guess so not sure if this is what is going on.

Hi Hewee
I believe it's an issue with PS, and apparently some other graphics apps (but not PSP). The program just won't show all the third-party filters/plugins under the filter menu.

There's a page about this issue on Harald Heim's site (http:\\thepluginsite.com), where this is a recognized issue. That's why his software came into being, I guess.

Unfortunately, even PiCo Pro doesn't recognize all the filters. Some filters made with filter factory are okay, some are not. Maybe that's why some of your filters are greyed out, although I couldn't say for certain.

Plugin Master recognizes all of my filters/plugins, but it doesn't look like the filters can be applied directly to an image I'd be working on right within PS. It works on the image that is open in its own program window.

I haven't figured out how to use that, because it would be a pain to have to save the image, and then open it in PS. Also, it doesn't seem to work with transparency. I'm waiting to hear from the author of Plugin Master, in case I have missed something, in their instructions.

Nope, it's just that not all my filters are even showing up in the filter menu. *All* of them show up in the 'about plugin' item, under the 'help' menu, but they are organized alphabetically without regard to author or company (i.e. 'Simple' or 'Xero').

Thanks for your interest!

Calcat

[hewee]

I never heard of the troubles your having but you seem to know more about the trouble then I do. Odd they show up put then grayed out and not only in PS but the other plugin managers too.
Never heard of Plugin Master. You got a link for Plugin Master?
I use Ulead PhotoImpact and do have filters that don't work because it says something about transparency so guess they would work ok in PS.
In PhotoImpact you have "ALL" filters listed under filters and at the top it has but it only shows All of the filters that came with PhotoImpact and not others I have added or even the Alien Skin Xenofex 2 that came with PhotoImpact.
If I remember right PS linking to plugins is not like PhotoImpact and PaintShop Pro where you have a plugin tab and you can add more then one plugin folder and sub folder to the list and have the option to use all your pointing to or uncheck folders so they don't load.

I used the Plugin Commander Light that is free but really did not like it.