{"id":884,"date":"2008-07-28T07:47:40","date_gmt":"2008-07-27T22:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/plugin-installation"},"modified":"2008-08-27T14:12:52","modified_gmt":"2008-08-27T05:12:52","slug":"plugin-installation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/plugin-installation","title":{"rendered":"Installation and Management of Lightroom Plugins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div style='float:right; position:relative; border: dotted 1px #888; margin: 0 auto; margin-left:2em; padding:20px; padding-top:5px; background-color: #000'>\n<center style='font-weight:bold; font-size:120%'>Quick Links<\/center>\n<br\/>&middot; <a class='quiet' href='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/' style='color:#F55'>My Lightroom Goodies<\/a>\n<br\/>&middot; <a class='quiet' href='\/blog\/photo-tech\/'>My Photo-Tech Posts<\/a>\n<br\/>&middot; <a class='quiet' href='\/blog'>My Blog<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style='margin-top:30px'>Plugins are added and maintained via Adobe Lightroom Classic's <b>Plugin Manager<\/b>, which is\naccessible from Lightroom's <b>File<\/b> menu, and also from <span class='nobr'>a button<\/span> on the Export Dialog itself.<\/p>\n\n<p>Here's a screenshot of the Plugin Manager on my system, after <span class='nobr'>I\ninstalled<\/span> half <span class='nobr'>a dozen<\/span> plugins. <span class='nobr'>At the moment<\/span>, it's showing my\n&#8220;<a href='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/metadata-wrangler\/'>Metadata Wrangler<\/a>&#8221; plugin selected. Mouseover the labels at\nleft to highlight areas of the screenshot...<\/p>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n  #post884 .h         { font-weight: bold; font-size: 120% }\n  #post884 .hh        { border-bottom: dotted 1px #888 }\n  #post884 .hh:hover  { border:none }\n  #x884 li            { margin-bottom: 20px }\n  #i884 li            { padding: 5px }\n<\/style>\n<table>\n<tr valign='top'><td id='x884'>\n<b>(Mouseover items below)<\/b>\n<ul style='margin-left:0;padding-left:1em' id='i884'>\n<li onmouseover='mobin(this, \"x884C\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"x884C\")'><span class='hh'>List of plugins I've<br\/>already installed<\/span><\/li>\n\n<li onmouseover='mobin(this, \"x884A\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"x884A\")'><span class='hh'>Install new plugins here<\/span><\/li>\n<li onmouseover='mobin(this, \"x884D\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"x884D\")'><span class='hh'>Info \/ tools for the<br\/>highlighted plugin<\/span><\/li>\n\n<li onmouseover='mobin(this, \"x884B\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"x884B\")'><span class='hh'>Some plugins provide<br\/>additional sections<\/span><\/li>\n<li onmouseover='mobin(this, \"x884E\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"x884E\")'><span class='hh'>Opens Adobe's<br\/>Plugin Exchange<br\/>in a browser<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td><td><div style='position:relative'>\n  <a\nhref='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/metadata-wrangler\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManager.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"iPluginManager\"\/><\/a>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManagerA.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"x884A\"\nnoindex=\"1\"\nstyle=\"visibility:hidden; position:absolute; left:0; top:0\"\/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManagerB.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"x884B\"\nnoindex=\"1\"\nstyle=\"visibility:hidden; position:absolute; left:0; top:0\"\/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManagerC.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"x884C\"\nstyle=\"visibility:hidden; position:absolute; left:0; top:0\"\/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManagerD.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"x884D\"\nnoindex=\"1\"\nstyle=\"visibility:hidden; position:absolute; left:0; top:0\"\/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginManagerE.png\" width=\"722\" height=\"517\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"x884E\"\nnoindex=\"1\"\nstyle=\"visibility:hidden; position:absolute; left:0; top:0\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/table>\n\n<p style='margin-bottom:0' class='h'>Installing <span class='nobr'>a New<\/span> Plugin<\/p>\n<p style='margin-top:0'>(short version)<\/p>\n\n<p>Installing a plugin for use with Lightroom usually involves these steps:<\/p>\n\n<ol>\n<li>Downloading <span class='nobr'>a zip<\/span> file from <span class='nobr'>a trusted<\/span> plugin source.<\/li>\n<li>Unzip the plugin, and move the resulting &#8220;...lrplugin&#8221; <b>folder<\/b> to wherever you'd like to store your plugins.<\/li>\n<li>Bring up Lightroom's <b>Plugin Manager<\/b> and tell Lightroom about that folder via the <b><span class='hh' onmouseover='mobin(this, \"A\")' onmouseout='mobout(this, \"A\")'>Add<\/span><\/b> button.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p style='margin-bottom:0;margin-top:60px' class='h'>Installing <span class='nobr'>a New<\/span> Plugin<\/p>\n<p style='margin-top:0'>(long version)<\/p>\n\n<p><b>0. Clean out old versions of the plugin, if applicable.<\/b><\/p>\n<div style='margin-left:1em'>\nIf you're about to do <span class='nobr'>a reinstall,<\/span> it may be prudent to delete any old versions of the plugin\nfrom your drive so as not to confuse what you download and unzip later.\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><b>1. Download <span class='nobr'>a zip<\/span> file from <span class='nobr'>a plugin<\/span> source<\/b><\/p>\n<div style='margin-left:1em'>\n\n<p>Plugins are available from a variety of sources. <span class='nobr'>My plugins<\/span> are available\nfrom <a href='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/'>my Lightroom\ngoodies<\/a> page. <span class='nobr'>I also list<\/span> there other notable sources.<\/p>\n\n<p id='warning' style='border:solid 1px #333; padding: 5px 1em'><b style='color:red'>Warning:<\/b> <span class='nobr'>a Lightroom<\/span> plugin has as much access\nto your system as Lightroom itself, so for most people this means that <span class='nobr'>a Lightroom<\/span>\nplugin can access (and read\/delete) any file on your system, so when choosing\nto install <span class='nobr'>a plugin,<\/span> exercise the same prudence you would use when downloading\nprograms from the Internet. Just as when choosing to install <span class='nobr'>a program,<\/span> choosing\nto install <span class='nobr'>a Lightroom<\/span> plugin involves trusting that the programmer is both trustworthy\nand competent.<\/p>\n\n<p>Some browsers unzip the download automatically for you, and with others you unzip it\nyourself. <span class='nobr'>In either<\/span> case, you should end up with a <b><i>folder<\/i><\/b> whose name ends in\n&#8220;<b>.lrplugin<\/b>&#8221; or&#8220;<b>.lrdevplugin<\/b>&#8221;. (On <span class='nobr'>a\nMac,<\/span> a &#8220;.lrplugin&#8221; folder actually appears as a &#8220;module&#8221;\npackage.)<\/p>\n\n<p>You don't normally ever need to be concerned with the contents of <span class='nobr'>a\nplugin<\/span> folder, but if you need to confirm that the folder actually contains\n<span class='nobr'>a plugin<\/span> in the first place, check for an &#8220;Info.lua&#8221; file. (On Macs, you\nmay need to &#8220;Show Package Contents&#8221; in Finder to view the files\ninside.) <span class='nobr'>I mention<\/span> this because some programs\nthat produce zip files create a <span\nclass='nobr'>&#8220...<b>.<\/b>lrplugin&#8221;<\/span> folder <i>into\nwhich<\/i> they drop the actual plugin &#8220;.lrplugin&#8221; folder, which\ncan cause confusion.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<p><b>2. Move the plugin folder to wherever you'd like to store your plugins<\/b><\/p>\n<div style='margin-left:1em'>\n\n<p>Lightroom allows you to keep the plugins\nwherever you like &mdash; you just have to tell it where you place each one\n&mdash; so it's up to you to pick <span class='nobr'>a spot<\/span> to save them. Perhaps a\n<span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Lightroom Plugins<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> folder in your <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Documents<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>?<\/p>\n\n<p>When you <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Add<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> the plugin to Lightroom, you're just adding <span class='nobr'>a reference<\/span>\nto the location. <span class='nobr'>It's only natural<\/span> to think that <span class='nobr'>a copy<\/span> of the plugin was\nmade when you <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Add<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span>, but Adobe doesn't do that, so be sure not to delete\nthe plugin files from disk.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<p><b>3. Tell Lightroom where the plugin is<\/b><\/p>\n<div style='margin-left:1em'>\n\n<p>Bring up Lightroom's <b>Plugin Manager<\/b>, either from the <b>File<\/b>\nmenu, or from the <b>Plugin Manager<\/b> button on the Export Dialog. Click\nthe <b>Add<\/b> button, then navigate to the &#8220;.lrplugin&#8221; item\nfrom the previous step.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<p class='h'><a name='kinds'>Kinds of Plugins<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>Plugins can add functionality in <i>any combination<\/i> of the following:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><p>A <b>Publish Plugin<\/b> adds <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span> publish service to the list available\nin the lower left of the Library Module, in the <span class='QO'>&#8220;<\/span>Publish Services<span class='QC'>&#8221;<\/span> panel.<\/p><\/li>\n\n<li><p>An <b>Export Plugin<\/b> adds <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span> destination to the list available in\nthe &#8220;File &gt; Export...&#8221; dialog. <a href='#using'>See here<\/a>.<\/p><\/li>\n\n<li><p>A plugin can add export filter modules that can be used with any Export or Publish action. <a href='#filter'>See here<\/a>.<\/p><\/li>\n\n<li><p>A plugin can add features to the &#8220;File &gt; Plug-in Extras...&#8220;\nand\/or the &#8220;Help &gt; Plug-in Extras...&#8220; menus.<\/p><\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Again, a plugin can have any combination of the above. In particular, plugins that send files\nto remote photo-hosting sites can be Publish only, Export only, or both Publish and Export.<\/p>\n\n<p>A plugin might not provide services through any of the methods shown above. My <a\nhref='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/folder-watch'>Folder Watch plugin<\/a>, for example, provides all of its services\nfrom the Plugin Manager itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class='h'><a name='using'>Using an Export Plugin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p>An export plugin can be selected by bringing up Lightroom's export\ndialog, then clicking on the &#8220;Hard Drive&#8221; popup menu at the top...<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/ExportDestination0.png\" width=\"633\" height=\"224\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"iExportDestination0\"\/><\/div>\n\n<p>That\nbrings up a list of the export handlers available, the three built in items\n(Email, Hard Drive, and CD\/DVD), as well as any added by plugins that are\nboth installed and enabled...<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/ExportDestination.png\" width=\"633\" height=\"250\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"iExportDestination\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class='h'><a name='filter'>Using <span class='nobr'>a Filter-Module<\/span> Plugin (a &#8220;Post-Process Action&#8221; Plugin)<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>Some plugins provide generic support that can be used with any Publish or Export action. For example, my <a\nhref='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/metadata-wrangler\/'>Metadata\nWrangler plugin<\/a> allows you to strip selected metadata from exported\ncopies as they are produced. <span class='nobr'>It can be<\/span> used with any Export or Publish action, whether via Lightroom standard\nmethods or unrelated plugins.<\/p>\n\n<p>Adobe calls these &#8220;Post-process Actions&#8221;, but most people call them\n&#8220;Export Filters&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n<p>Once you've added and enabled <span class='nobr'>a filter<\/span> plugin via the Plugin Manager, it\nshows up in the lower-left of the export dialog....<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic tight'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/PluginFilter.png\" width=\"665\" height=\"265\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"iPluginFilter\"\/><\/div>\n\n<p>Click on its name, then the <b>Insert<\/b> button at the bottom, and\nyou'll see it added to the main dialog. <span class='nobr'>In the screen<\/span> snippet above, the\n&#8220;Metadata Wrangler&#8221; dialog section is shown collapsed, so you only see its\nbanner. <span class='nobr'>If you were<\/span> to click on the little triangle beside the name, you'd\nsee the full dialog for the plugin, which, in this case (my Metadata\nWrangler filter) is huge (see <a\nhref='\/blog\/lightroom-goodies\/metadata-wrangler\/'>here<\/a>\nfor <span class='nobr'>a screenshot<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n<p class='h'>Plugin Maintenance &amp; Upgrades<\/p>\n\n<p>Once a plugin has been installed with Lightroom, you can enable or disable it from the <b>Status<\/b> section of the Plugin\nManager. <span class='nobr'>A disabled<\/span> plugin can't be used from within Lightroom, but remains available in the Plugin\nManager, so it can be easily enabled when you want to start using it again.<\/p>\n\n<p>You can have Lightroom forget about <span class='nobr'>a plugin<\/span> with the <b>Remove<\/b> button, on the\nbottom of the left-hand column.<\/p>\n\n<p>If the <b>Remove<\/b> button is grayed out for <span class='nobr'>a particular<\/span> plugin, it's because the plugin is located in Lightroom's system\narea. Such plugins can be removed only by deleting the plugin files from disk.<\/p>\n\n<p>The <b>Status<\/b> section might also display plugin version and web-site\ninformation, if the plugin provides it (such as in the screenshot\nabove).<\/p>\n\n<p><b>Upgrading <span class='nobr'>a plugin<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n<p>Upgrading a plugin to a newer version is similar to installing the first\ntime, except that if you <i>replace<\/i> the original\n&#8220;.lrplugin&#8221; folder with the new one, you don't have to\nre-register the location with Lightroom. <span class='nobr'>In that case<\/span>, you simply need to\nrestart Lightroom, or click the &#8220;<b>Reload Plug-in<\/b>&#8221; button\nin the Plugin-Manager's &#8220;Plug-in Author Tools&#8220; section.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you install the new version in <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span> location, and register it via\nthe Plugin Manager, the previous version will remain, but be disabled. <span class='nobr'>You can enable<\/span> only one version of any particular plugin at <span class='nobr'>a time.<\/span> Simply\n<b>Remove<\/b> the older versions when you no longer need them.<\/p>\n\n<p><b><a name='upgrade'>Upgrading one of my plugins<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/lr\/UpgradePlugin.png\" width=\"557\" height=\"163\"\nclass=\"raw img_right\"\nid=\"iUpgradePlugin\"\/>\n\n<p>I've built an upgrade mechanism into my plugins, such that when <span class='nobr'>a new<\/span>\nversion is available, you can simply press the <b>Upgrade Now<\/b> button in\nthe Plugin Manager. That causes the new version to be downloaded and\nunzipped in place over top of the old version. <span class='nobr'>You then press<\/span> the <b>Reload\nPlug-in<\/b> button, or restart Lightroom, to have the new version take\neffect.<\/p>\n\n<p>(If something goes wrong with the upgrade process, you'll have to\nmanually download and install the new version. <span class='nobr'>In such a<\/span> case, you might\nwant to inspect the log file left in the temporary-files area of the\nsystem, named for the plugin, e.g. &#8220;flickr-log.txt&#8221; for my\nFlickr plugin).<\/p>\n\n<!--\n\n<p class='h'><a name='legacy'>Legacy Plugin Folders<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p>If Lightroom finds a plugin in any of the legacy install locations\nfrom <span class='nobr'>Lightroom 1.<\/span><i>x<\/i> (described <a\nhref='\/blog\/2007-11-17\/638'>here<\/a>), they are\nautomatically visible in the Plugin Manager.<\/p>\n\n<p>As with any plugin, they can be enabled and\ndisabled within the Plugin Manager. They can not, however, be fully\ndelete via the Plugin Manager. <span class='nobr'>To remove<\/span> them completely\nfrom Lightroom, you have to manually remove the plugins from disk (or, at\nleast, from the legacy plugin folders).<\/p>\n\n<p>Some people prefer to continue to use the legacy install locations,\nsimply adding new plugins there (thereby avoiding the need to register them\nwith the Plugin Manager). This approach is perfectly acceptable, of course,\nbut comes with the drawback that added plugins are not auto-registered\nexcept when Lightroom starts.<\/p>\n\n-->\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here's a screenshot of the Plugin Manager on my system, after I installed half a dozen plugins. At the moment, it's showing my \"Metadata Wrangler\" plugin selected. Mouseover the labels at left to highlight areas of the screenshot...<\/p> <b>(Mouseover items below)<\/b> List of plugins I'vealready installed Install new plugins here Info \/ tools for thehighlighted plugin Some plugins provideadditional sections Opens Adobe'sPlugin Exchangein a browser <p style='margin-bottom:0' class='h'>Installing a New Plugin<\/p> <p style='margin-top:0'>(short version)<\/p> <p>Installing a plugin for use with Lightroom usually involves these steps:<\/p> Downloading a zip file from a trusted plugin source. Unzip the plugin, and move the [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":864,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/884\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}