How do I add a new plugin to paint.net?

[Evuieve]

Hi I'm new here. I am a digital illustrator who uses paint.net for most, if not all of my work. 

 

I was just wondering how one adds a new plugin to the program? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Thank you!

 

P.S. My apologies in advance if this is in the wrong topic! 

[null54]

4 minutes ago, Evuieve said:

I was just wondering how one adds a new plugin to the program?

 

Plugin installation is documented in the online help:

https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/InstallPlugins.html

[IHaveNoName]

I've thought it should be made mandatory for plugin creators to provide a readme with the plugin which tells the user not just how and where to install it but also both its display name (not always exactly the same) and where it appears in the PDN tools menus. The latter in particular is not always obvious or logical eg. Red Ochre's CompoTool is installed under the "Photo" menu , three more of his plugins are installed under "Composition" and there are composition aiding plugins by other creators in "Render".

 

It would be an onerous task doing this for some large plugin packs but in general I think it should encouraged. At the very least it would stop the regular threads we get here like this about such matters.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

1 hour ago, IHaveNoName said:

both its display name (not always exactly the same) and where it appears in the PDN tools menus.

 

Plugin Index

 

1 hour ago, IHaveNoName said:

which tells the user not just how and where to install it

 

We have a devoted thread and it is well explained in the documentation. There are other online resources like BoltBait.com. A simple search will find the answer.

 

1 hour ago, IHaveNoName said:

I've thought it should be made mandatory for plugin creators to provide a readme with the plugin which tells the user

 

Who would police this?

[IHaveNoName]

But it is far easier for a user having a readme which comes with the plugin rather than having to go to a web site, search and find the information amongst a load of other stuff.

 

You see this sort of thing too much nowadays........with everything. You want an instruction manual? Yes, download it in a PDF from the manufacturers web site. You go there and find it is no longer available because the model you bought was a couple of years old or visa versa: the model has been updated but the manual has not. Hate that.

 

Policing would be no problem, just ask plugin creators to include a readme. If RB let it be known that is what he'd prefer most would happily comply. I have faith in human nature - ask nicely and decent people will respond without having to be policed.   

Edited June 30, 2019 by IHaveNoName
typo

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Many plugin authors are putting in basic installation instructions. Things have gotten a little more complex with the release of the Store version which requires the creation of folders if they don't already exist. Should the installation process ever change, a hard coded ReadMe instruction file is going to mislead. I'm in favor of writing it once and using redirection to point to that correct answer.

 

I learned this ^ from the redirections Rick uses on his website. You may not remember when the forum changed host - it was relatively simple to change one redirection page to point to the new forum URL. Every other URL which pointed to the forumer host broke.

 

 

[Rick Brewster]

Policing would be no problem, just ask plugin creators to include a readme

 

How do you enforce that plugin authors see this request? There's no gatekeeping for plugin development, and I'm sure not going to be spending precious time combing through every plugin to verify it meets a list of requirements.

 

The simplest policy is just ... don't have a policy. The impact of this would be minor anyway. Most people find the answer with a Google search, or for some reason they need to post a question on the forum. Can be answered with pasting a link to the answer, if nothing else. I'm not going to add a time tax on myself or the other forum mods/admins for something that's pretty much already solved and without additional bureaucracy.