Programming Photoshop Plugins

» Adobe Photoshop SDK

The Adobe Photoshop SDK is the only way to program full featured Photoshop plugins available. Requires Visual Studio.Net (windows) or Code Warrior (Mac and Linux). Although free, the Adobe Photoshop SDK is available only by request. You may not qualify to gain access to the Photoshop SDK anyway. There is an good post at John Nack’s blog about this. John Nack is Adobe Photoshop Senior Product Manager.

There are almost no resources for the Photoshop SDK. I didn’t take a look at the CS2 SDK, but I often hear from programmers that the information provided is mostly about the API but little or no How To’s.

Newsgroups usually have good information about graphics programming, if you dig through newsgroups like comp.graphics.apps.photoshop, or better, search for Photoshop SDK at Google Groups you will find information about the SDK. Use all your advanced search skills for this!!!

Some years ago, MacTech magazine published a thorough, two part article, about the Photoshop 5.0 SDK: How To Write a Photoshop Plugin Part 1 and Part 2. This old article is, perhaps, the only one on this subject. You should read it, or at least take a look at it, no matter which version of SDK you are using.

Also, it is very useful to take a look at photoshop plugins source code. At Telegraphics’ web site you can find some free plugins along with its source code. The same goes for OpenXR and PanoramaTools.

Last, a 2D Fast Fourier Transform plugin for Adobe Photoshop with source code (plus some simple games, but obviously not for Photoshop).

Since version 7 of the Photoshop SDK there are some restriction in the creation of Photoshop Plugins for third party applications. You can read about it in this post at FIlterForge forums or in this article written by Harald Heim from The Plugin Site. You should check these two sources if you plan to create a plugin that can be hosted on multiple applications other than Photoshop.

.: PROS: You can create ANY Photoshop plugin you want. Your expertise is your limit.

.: CONS: Only for expert C++ programmers. Very little information on the web. You have to subscribe to very expensive support services to receive help. Anyway, always check Adobe’s Photoshop Developer Center page for the latest info on this subject. They are a large company and they usually change the terms.

» Filter Meister

FilterMeister is a plug-in for Photoshop and other compatible graphics programs with an included code editor to create professional plugins which can be distributed on a royalty-free basis.

Although it is not free, it is an inexpensive application. There are lots of plugins created with this tool. Many of them are commercial like the ones found at PowerRetouche, VanDerLee, Richard Rosenman, NameSuppressed, Xero Graphics, Mehdi Plugins, and The Plugin Site to mention a few.

This application is still in Beta phase, but that’s not an issue. Lots of programmers gather at the Yahoo Groups Filter Meister Mailing List and exchange their creations and give support. They are a bunch of cool great guys willing to answer any question related to plugin programming with Filter Meister. This list will be your main source of information for this software.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of information at Filter Meister web site: A code library, a filter gallery, tips and tutorials and Filter Meister documentation.

If you want to know about future releases of this application, there is a recent thread at the Filter Meister Mailing List that speaks about future additions and improvements. It is worth reading it.

.: PROS: Inexpensive even for hobby or personal use. It is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to create moderately complex plugins. Lots of support from the friendly creators and a users group. Lots of examples at the web site. Ideal solution for color correction or image filtering plugins.

.: CONS: Documentation is not that complete. Not capable of creating full featured plugins with user driven tools, but thats more a lack of features than a drawback.

» Filter Forge

This is a newcomer and it is simply amazing. The best is that you don’t need to know how to program at all. Filter Forge is a visual developing tool based on pre-build components that you have to connect forming a path that leads to a specific result which can be a texture or a image filter.

Filter Forge can be an excellent prototyping tool. It allows to focus on the algorithm and eliminates the need to code all the necessities first (rendering code etc etc). Plus, it already has many well-known image processing algorithms implemented as components.

There is one drawback: You can’t create standalone plugins. Instead you create image filters or texture generators that run inside Filter Forge. But the results are so stunning that you won’t care about that.

One of the reasons why Filter Forge doesn’t create standlone 8bf filters is that it uses HDRI images licensed from Sachform for lighting, and their agreement with them does not permit embedding these HDRIs into stand-alone filters. Read an earlier discussion on this topic

This software has two main work areas: The main window, where you run your filters, and the Visual node editor, where you create your filters and the interface controls.

The program is in a Beta phase, but you wouldn’t tell that. It is more stable than the vast majority of release version applications.

Want more? Well, it is free (in this Beta phase). You are encouraged to become a beta tester and to submit your own filters to a filter library. If you create great and popular filters, you may receive a free copy of this program when it is released.

All the information you need is in Filter Forge web site, including a very active forum with lots of users sharing their filters and working hard to earn their right for a free copy of filter forge.

Being a relatively new software, there is almost none information about it on the web. The program itself is very intuitive. There is an online help and lots of examples to follow. But before you apply for beta testing, you can read a tutorial I’ve written some weeks ago: Creating a Wet and Muddy Rocks Texture With Filter Forge which is, at the time I’m writing this, the only tutorial about Filter Forge on the Web.

.: PROS: Too many to mention here. A true winner.

.: CONS: None that cannot be fixed in the release version. Perhaps it is slow on some complex filters.

» Centaurix Photoshop SDK for Delphi

Photoshop SDK for Delphi is a plug-in development solution for Borland Delphi 5, 6, 7 and for Borland C++ Builder 6.

Not much information on the web about this product. It hasn’t been updated since 2004 and it is an incomplete port of the Photoshop SDK. Anyway, if you are programmer, you may want to take a look at it because it is beyond my knowledge the power of this SDK. Judging for the examples on the site, it seems to work great.

There is a support forum where you can have your questions answered.

.: PROS: Inexpensive. You should be able to create full featured plugins, although I’m not quite sure.

.: CONS: Very little information. Not many people using it.

» Photoshop Scripting

Since a couple of versions ago, Adobe added scripting capabilities to Photoshop.

It is not directly related to plugin programming, but it is great for automation purposes. You can even create some simple interfaces for your scripts.

There is a lot of information about Photoshop scripting but I will mention only two: PS Scripting forum with an amazing amount of information and a very active community. And the second resource is a tutorial and mini-guide written by Jennifer Apple from Photoshop Support: Working With Photoshop Scripts. This article is so full of information that my friends at Photoshop Support have saved me a lot of hours of research.

.: PROS: Free and easy way to add functionality to Photoshop. Lots of information available.

.: CONS: I’m not sure. I’m not into Photoshop Scripting. Perhaps better interface design capabilities. But don’t consider it like a plugin replacement. Think of it in terms of automation.

» Filter Factory

A minor tool that came with older versions of Adobe Photoshop. If you want to play, this is a good option, but don’t ever think of producing something commercial with it. The FilterFactory documentation is a good reading and some useful algorithms are included.

» Filter Foundry

Mostly the same as Filter Factory. Just a toy but it can be used to test some algorithms.

» Filter Formula

A better version of Filter Factory. In my opinion, still a toy (speaking in commercial terms).

» Andromeda Software

Creators of renowned Photoshop plugins such as Red Eye Pro, 3DLuxe and Cutline Filter. They now offer plugin development services.

» Digital Element

Creators of Aurora and Verdant, offer custom plugin development.

» Ambient Design

You can contract services from this company that developed nothing less than the KPT5 plugins suite for MetaCreations (now distributed by Corel).

» Filter Meister Mailing List, Elance and Rent a Coder

In the Filter Meister Mailing list your request will be read by many Photoshop plugins programmers. Post a friendly message asking for programming services. Other way to outsource your plugin is to post a project in Elance and Rent a Coder and hire a freelance programmer to do the job for you.

» Adobe Systems Partner Finder

Search Adobe’s database of third-party programmers and consultants worldwide.