Slowly

...Also, it appears that you are the author of the only way to manage plugins in paint.net, PluginsData.dll. But your link in your signature points to a post that dates back to 2016. Is there a link to the latest and greatest version of your pluginpack, where I can get the latest version of the Plugin Browser...?

...I'm guessing this is for the freeware version. Also, this link doesn't appear to have a link to a plugin repository where plugin authors can post their binaries and updates...did anyone step up to the plate and volunteer to maintain such a repository? (sorry, I've been away from the forums for awhile)

...aaamen. Also, Those of us in corporate environments, especially hardened corporate environments, almost always DO NOT have the admin rights necessary to install software on work machines, and even if they do, usually they have to clear it with corporate security first before being allowed to install it. Often, corporate security simply does not allow employees (except developers) to install unapproved software on corporate equipment at all. I am lucky. My employer, even though I work in a hardened corporate environment, recognizes that I am a developer/engineer and should get some leeway in this area. So, whenever there is an update to paint.net: - I log on to my home Windows image where I do have administrative rights - I run the update installer to update the executable and binary files - check the 'plugin errors' section of the Preferences to see what plugins don't work anymore and which ones need updating - Find about 2 hours on a weekend, then tediously sift and hunt and peck through the hundreds of forum posts to see if the author of the plugin has a post that has the download link to the update. If I can't find it, I abandon hope for that plugin and delete it. Usually, I find a post saying the plugin has been updated, then I sift and hunt and peck through the hundreds of additional forum posts to see if I can find the download link. If I find that, I replace the old dll. - after all that is done, I pull the registry entries and save them to a file in the program directory folder - then I zip the entire folder up to a usb stick, plug it in to my work computer, and replace the files there. A tedious process, but there is simply no better alternative to Photoshop than paint.net, so it's worth it, because I only use Photoshop for major projects. Paint.net is just fine for the other 99.99%. On Windows. On the Mac, or Android, that's another story, I have several quality bitmap and vector apps I can use there.

...NK, I am not a technical noob. I have a B.S. in Applied Computing, and have been a programmer/analyst for well over 40 years. I adore Paint.NET and think it is the most intuitive windows app I have ever encountered. I am certain that there is great interest in a portable version of Paint.NET that will run for users without installation on machines which they don't have admin rights on, because of its quality. However, despite many websites claiming the contrary, Paint.NET is NOT necessarily portable to all machines. I tried to run its current version on a school computer, which only has .NET version 4.0 installed (I am a grad student). It told me I had to have .NET version 4.6. I then edited the INI file just to see what would happen. Paint.NET displayed an error and quit. I then googled for a portable version of the .NET framework. Couldn't find one. Trying to figure out how to create a portable .NET framework package myself, I poked around in the registry on a machine I do have admin rights on. All .NET registry entries are in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive, which is accessible only to admin accounts. So, I currently have four options: Only run a version of Paint.NET that requires only the version of the .NET framework that is installed on the machine I want to run it on. Works but less features and not upgradeable. Only run Paint.NET on a machine that I have admin rights on. Create a virtual image of windows for a Type 1 hypervisor such as VirtualBox, specifically for Paint.NET, which I have admin rights on. Big and Slow. Wait for Rick to come up with a huge Paint.NET portable package that includes a portable version of the .NET 4.6 framework. He probably say, "bahaha, not anytime soon". <:'( Slowly