Using plug-in modules

Plug-in modules are software programs developed by Adobe Systems and other software developers to add functionality to Photoshop Elements. A number of importing, exporting, and special-effects plug-ins come with your program; they are in folders inside the Photoshop Elements Plug-ins folder.

You can select an additional plug-ins folder to use compatible plug-ins stored with another application. You can also create a shortcut (Windows) or an alias (Mac OS) for a plug-in stored in another folder on your system. You can then add the shortcut or alias to the Plug-ins folder to use that plug-in with Photoshop Elements. Once installed, plug-in modules appear as options added to the Import or Export menu, or as file formats in the Open and Save As dialog boxes.

Photoshop Elements can accommodate a large number of plug-ins. However, if the number of installed plug-in modules becomes great enough, Photoshop Elements may not be able to list all the plug-ins in their appropriate menus. Newly installed plug-ins will then appear in the Filter > Other submenu.

To install an Adobe Systems plug-in module:

Do one of the following:

• Use the plug-in installer, if provided.
• In Windows, copy the module into the appropriate Plug-ins folder in the Photoshop Elements folder.
• In Mac OS, drag a copy of the module to the appropriate Plug-ins folder inside the Photoshop Elements folder.

Note: Before copying or dragging the plug-in files into the Plug-ins folder, make sure that the files are uncompressed.

To install a third-party plug-in module:

Follow the installation instructions that came with the plug-in module.

To select an additional plug-ins folder:

1. Choose Edit > Preferences > Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks.
2. In the Preferences dialog, do one of the following:
• In Windows, select Additional Plug-ins Directory, click Choose, and select a folder from the list. Click OK.
• In Mac OS, select Additional Plug-ins Folder, select a folder from the list. Click Select or Choose.
3. To display the contents of a folder, double-click the directory (Windows) or click Open (Mac OS).

The path to the folder appears in the preferences window.

Make sure that you do not select a location inside the Plug-ins folder for Photoshop Elements.

4. Restart Photoshop Elements to load the plug-ins.

To prevent a plug-in or folder of plug-ins from loading:

Add a tilde character (~) at the beginning of the plug-in name, folder, or directory. That file (or all files in the folder) is ignored by the application when you restart it.

To view information about installed plug-ins:

Choose Help > About Plug-In and select a plug-in from the submenu (Windows) or choose Apple menu > About Plug-In and select a plug-in from the submenu (Mac OS).